Crime Fighting Court Reporter

Sometimes Creepy Things Happen Right In Front Of You 
This past weekend I noticed a bag of pigeons being dragged through the middle of the street by a dog.  What?  Um, yes.  I saw a bag containing three pigeons… a yellow, mesh bag… in the mouth of a dog… in the middle of the street.  There was no sign of where the bag had come from.  There were no neighbors nearby.  There was no Candid Camera crew.  It seemed to just appear from some strange Bag o' Pigeon Continuum.  At the risk of being redundant: Sometimes creepy things happen right in front of you.

I'm not exactly up-to-speed on all pigeon law, but I had a vague sense that this was not legal.  Something about cruelty to animals or something? 

When You Are Faced With Something Extraordinary, What Do You Do?

  • You do nothing
  • You try to help
  • You wait for someone else to figure out what to do then cheer them on
  • You curl into the fetal position

Here Is What I Did 
After the dog scurried away, leaving the bag alone, I approached and investigated its full contents.  There were three pigeons in total, though only two were alive.  I took the bag to my front yard and went into the garage to get a knife.  I cut the bag and freed the two live pigeons.  The first one scrambled out and immediately took to the air in a marvelous gesture as if to say, “I'm free!“  The second had to be coaxed out.  He apparently had a broken leg or jetlag or something.  He stumbled out and hobbled into the air like a damaged WWII fighter plane as if to say, “It's going to take more than being taken hostage in a mesh bag and eaten alive by a dog to ruin my day.“

I then gave the remaining deceased pigeon a proper burial in my side trash can. RIP.

And This Pertains To Court Reporting How Exactly?
So what does any of that story have to do with court reporting?  I've included a video about a court reporter who encountered an extremely dangerous situation in his courtroom.  A criminal facing two life sentences for drug dealing lunged for the criminal prosecutor.  From the looks of it, the prosecutor is lucky to have survived.  She was lucky to have had a trained court reporter nearby to save her life, is what I mean.  The court reporter, Ron Tolkin of Brooklyn NY, said, “I think if he had the opportunity he would have cut her throat.  I was trying to get him away from her.  I was truly worried that he was going to choke her to death.“

Ron Tolkin aka Crime Fighting Court Reporter should be applauded for his valiant efforts in saving the prosecutor.  On a rooftop somewhere in my neighborhood I'd like to think there are a couple of pigeons who would agree.


Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Author
Todd Olivas

Todd Olivas is a court reporter and entrepreneur.
He founded TO&A in 2003.

  Comment by Lola | Sunday, July 6, 2008
See why I haven`t worked in a courtroom for the past 20 years. I`ve always had visions of someone busting into a conference room during a divorce depo and trying to kill the opposing counsel, though.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Hope you weren`t offended!

  Comment by Katherine Cuellar | Wednesday, July 9, 2008
I experienced an incident in juvenile court. A very tall, strong teen defendant became unruly, began to try to escape, started swinging, the bailiff was radioing for help. In an instant, the judge was through the door into his chambers, locking it, and trapping the courtroom clerk and myself right in the middle of this with no way out. It took about six grown men to subdue this guy while the clerk and I stood there pressed up against the wall, since we could not get past them.
  Comment by stena | Saturday, August 2, 2008

Wow!!

Todd you never cease to amaze me with the articles and info on your web site. It`s useful, helpful,and motivating. It`s Another example of how a court reporter`s job is never done! I`m glad to see everyone involved was ok. Maybe it`s time to put metal detectors before the prisoner and public entrances to the courtroom!?!



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