Commentary by Larry Lannan
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
The person to first coin that phrase was either Joseph P. Kennedy, the father of President John F. Kennedy, or legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne.
No matter who came up that quote, it applies to the way the Fishers community came together when police were faced with a murder investigation after a body was found on Nov. 1. An arrest was made three days later.
When police began looking into the death of Henry Kim, 73, of Fishers, they asked for assistance from the public for any information that might be helpful in finding the person responsible. There were a number of tips that came in to local authorities.
Based on the information that is now public, a teacher at Hamilton Southeastern High School notified police about a change in appearance in one of her students, compared to the last time he was in class. Based on that information and other leads, a search warrant was issued, leading to the arrest of Maxwell Winkler, 17, an HSEHS student.
Many parents have asked on social media why Winkler was allowed to be in a classroom Nov. 3 if he was a murder suspect. Based on all the information available, police did not zero in on Winkler as a suspect until that evening, long after classes had been dismissed for the day. School authorities were not aware one of their students would be charged with murder until about 8 p.m. Nov. 3. Winkler was arrested early on Nov. 4.
Fishers is a place where a crime like murder rarely ever happens. You wonder if local authorities will be ready when they must respond to a murder case. In this instance, the police and the community acted quickly and worked together and an arrest resulted.
Police will certainly review how this case was handled with a critical eye as to how they could do a better job next time. John DeLucia, Hamilton Southeastern School Board president, said at the Nov. 10 meeting that the school system will review how the situation was handled and “always reserve the right to get better and improve.”
As Fishers continues to grow, odds are we will experience more serious criminal acts. That doesn’t mean Fishers isn’t a safe place to live. We just need to get tough when faced with tough situations.
