Students’ quick thinking helps thwart burglary

Quick thinking on the part of some Stand Watie Elementary School fourth-graders helped foil a residential burglary they witnessed through a classroom window.

The students were recognized for their efforts, which led to an arrest, during a visit to the Oklahoma City Police Department’s dispatch center on Monday.

On May 10, the students watched two men go inside a home across the street from the school, 3517 S Linn, take items from the house and load them into a black Ford F150 truck.

The whole time they fed details to their teacher while she talked to911 dispatchers.

“The students and their teacher were instrumental in this case,” police spokesman Travis Vernier said. “They were able to provide us with a good description of the suspects, what the suspects were driving ... they then provided us with a direction of travel.”

Students also identified some of the items taken. One student is overheard on the 911 call yelling, “It looks like they’re taking a TV,” Vernier said.

“The teachers did a great job of keeping control of the classroom in a chaotic moment and the students did a great job of paying attention and providing us with important information,” he said.

Police took two suspects into custody and returned the stolen property to the victim, Vernier said.

Police dispatcher Anna Reisman called it “one of the best calls I’ve ever taken, and I’ve been here more than five years.”