Cape cop helps boy swap defective bicycle for a new one

It was a close call.

Cape Girardeau police officer Matthew Peters was in the middle of a three-hour detail June 7, blocking the intersection of Sprigg Street and Morgan Oak Street during a fire at 238 S. Sprigg St.

He saw Shont-tez Bell, 7, bicycling east across Morgan Oak from the Outlet convenience store, headed for a nearby alley. A pickup truck arrived at the intersection, going north on Sprigg, as Shont-tez was crossing. The pickup driver was able to stop but ended up rolling past Shont-tez.

Shont-tez laid down his bicycle and slid on the pavement. The bicycle ended up across the grill of the truck while the child was on the ground, near the driver’s side of the truck. For his quick reflexes, Shont-tez received a nasty scrape on one of his legs.

Peters rushed to the young cyclist, who explained he had to stop his bicycle with his feet and lay it down because it had no brakes.

“At that point, the only thing I cared about was whether he was OK,” Peters said.

Shont-tez told Peters he was OK and briefly ran off before coming back a minute or two later and asking whether he could get treated for his injury at one of the ambulances on stand-by.

At this particular fire, there were no injuries — everyone had gotten out of the building safely — leaving EMTs waiting. A Cape County Private Ambulance EMT cleaned his wound and applied medicine.

As Shont-tez was treated in the ambulance, Peters told the boy he enjoyed riding bicycles as a child, and he had a few close calls himself — with the scars as evidence. He asked Shont-tez about his bicycle.

Peters has made a habit of this type of interaction, saying part of his job is to get out of the patrol car and talk to people.

Peters said he often is called to incidents involving children playing in the street. If the children move for cars, he sometimes will join them — throwing the football around or playing basketball.

Peters asked Shont-tez where he lived, and the child pointed to the building that was on fire. He lived in one of the two apartments on the second floor.

Peters found Shont-tez’s family, who were worried the boy might have been injured in the blaze. Peters explained the boy was in the ambulance for a scrape in a bicycle mishap.

Before Shont-tez left the scene with his grandmother, Peters gave him a badge sticker that he put on his chest.

“I’m police now,” Shont-tez proclaimed, according to Peters.

Peters said his main duty was to protect the public, and he couldn’t let Shont-tez ride around on a bicycle without brakes.

“Our whole job is public safety,” Peters said. “When you see something with your own eyes, it leaves more of an impact on you.”

The first step the next day was contacting Wal-Mart manager Renee Fischer to ask whether the store could make a bike donation. Fisher often has worked with Cape Girardeau police as a former loss-prevention specialist, and the store approved the request.

“We do have a great relationship with the police,” Wal-Mart store manager Gary Elders said. “They help us on numerous things: from the smallest things to the biggest things.”

Peters now needed to track down Shont-tez. He went to the child’s aunt first, who referred him to his grandmother.

Peters asked Shont-tez’s grandmother whether he could take the child to the store.

“You’re going to pick out your new bike today,” Peters said to the boy. Shont-tez responded with a big smile.

Shont-tez selected an all-black Mongoose bicycle with pegs on both wheels, worth about $130. He rode the bike through the store.

“He said, ‘Thank you’ a thousand times,” Peters said.

Peters said he saw Shont-tez riding the bike this week. He made sure to stop and ask where he got that bike.

“From the police,” Shont-tez responded.

Peters said Shont-tez has been moving back and forth between his aunt’s and grandmother’s home until his family finds a new home.

“That’s why people become police officers, to help others,” Peters said of getting Shont-tez the bike. “It’s part of being human.”

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

238 S. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.