02/08/2023
"How's it going tonight?!"
Those four words will be truly missed by every member of the Vermillion Police Department. Several times per week, Steve, our local Redi Towing driver, would greet officers this way, no matter how cold it was, how windy it was, or how late at night it was. We are so devastated to learn Steve passed away yesterday.
If you've watched the news over the past few years, you probably know law enforcement hasn't always been popular. We largely work with wonderfully appreciative and kind people, but it isn't so uncommon that people are unhappy with an arrest decision, and oftentimes, even more unhappy that it involves a tow. Officers know they'll encounter verbal abuse from time to time, but luckily, it was often followed up with a visit from Steve, who always arrived on scene with a smile and a sincere desire to help. DWI arrest-related tows, accident-related tows, snow tows, recovered stolen vehicle tows: Steve did it all, and was often introduced to new officers as "a surgeon of towing," always knowing what tools would be needed and how to do things as safely as possible.
About this time last year, on a bitter cold night, Steve came to the scene of a drug arrest from a vehicle. Initially, Steve was called because the vehicle had every reason to be towed under the sun: substituted license plates, unregistered, no insurance, etc. Between when Steve was requested and when he arrived, drugs were located in the vehicle inventory, so when he arrived, he was met with apologetic officers who explained he'd have to wait a bit longer, as some discovered items called for a more thorough search. Not only was Steve patient, but he offered to help remove the substituted license plates, and when one of the officers was having trouble opening a glove box that had a broken latch, he offered a multi-tool of his to help pry it in the right spot to get it to pop open. Well, in the process, we managed to break Steve's multi-tool. The officers felt terrible (those tools are darn handy!) and when they saw Steve later that week, they gifted him a new one. Steve expressed his gratitude for probably three months for that multi-tool, when he was the one to go out of his way to lend a hand in the first place.
A multi-tool can be replaced. Partners like Steve cannot be. Redi Towing has assured us that service will not be interrupted, but whoever takes Steve's place has big boots to fill. From all of us at the Vermillion Police Department, we send our deepest condolences to Steve's family and to Redi Towing.
Our request: take a moment this week to do an act of kindness, in honor of Steve.
