You've heard the police report about what happened last Sunday night at an Aurora motel. Now Karen Cirulli, a community organizer along the Aurora corridor, salutes the brave motel manager who broke up the sexual assault and subdued the suspect until police (lots of them!) arrived:
This past year I have been delighted to meet new faces on Aurora, some of whom have become friends. Samantha is one of those folks that I have had the honor of getting to know. "Sammie" is a twenty-something office manager at the lovely Everspring Inn on Aurora Ave. She is a very dedicated and hard working woman who takes great care of the Everspring office and guests, and has a heart for the community . Sammie helped host the Everspring BBQ back in November. Yes, November. Despite the slightly cold and rainy weather the community came out to listen to music, eat burgers and hang out. Aurora is not exactly a place to just hang out, let alone in a motel parking lot, so this was a beautiful picture of hospitality and light in a sometimes dark neighborhood. Sammie helped connect me to the motel owners (who, by the way are lovely too) and get the ball rolling for the event. Sammie also recently participated in one of the Asset Based Community Development workshops that I attended along with many other community leaders.
The other night my husband Kevin and I were driving past the Everspring Inn and saw about 10 cop cars surrounding the motel. My heart skipped a beat as I wondered what had gone down there. I quickly texted Sammie to find out if she and the rest of the office gang were okay. She called and said she was okay, and that she had a story to tell me, but I'd have to wait until the next day.
The next day I got to hear how Sammie essentially saved a woman from serious injury or worse. There was an altercation between two of the motel guests upstairs. Sammie went up to find out what was going on. When she came out of the elevator, she saw a man pinning a woman down. He was assaulting her. Sam quickly ran and got her pepper spray. When she came back, she pulled the man off of the woman. As a result, the victim was able to get away. Meanwhile, Sammie had the guy on the ground. She sprayed the mace next to him to make sure it worked and to threaten him. Another employee, Becky, called 911. Sammie was able to keep the guy down with the threat of the pepper spray but was also dealing with her eyes and nose dripping from the little bit that had been released in that narrow hallway. The cops thankfully got there in a good amount of time and took the guy away.
Whew... what a night! I feel like if this heroic act had happened just a few blocks up in Greenwood, Sammie would have gotten much attention. So that is why I'm telling this story, to tell as many folks as possible about the heroic act of Sammie and her sidekick Becky... here to save a victimized woman - and the day!
Thanks for reading,
Karen
