By Tony Farina
Some stories defy explanation, especially when law enforcement is involved, and people expect fair treatment. In the case at hand, the law enforcement involved is the Niagara Falls Police Department, and the complainant is Niagara Falls native Ken Thomas, who is currently recovering from a jeep accident in Las Vegas and has been trying to recover his ailing mother’s belongings from the police while he recovers before returning home. Despite considerable effort on his behalf by this reporter, designated as his representative, the police have not returned the belongings, including a purse and other valuables.
Despite numerous conversations with Capt. Sandy Arist, in an attempt to resolve the matter, the police apparently have not recovered the belongings from a woman named Kristine Harrison, who claims to have authority to hold the belongings from Beverly Thomas, Ken’s mother, who is recovering in a nursing home and hopes to be released shortly.
Ken Thomas strongly disputes any authorization for Kristine Harrison to hold the belongings, saying she’s really an intruder who took it upon herself to take the belongings when Ken’s mom was taken ill. I have not been able to reach her for her side of the story, but Ken talks to his mother every day, and she tells him she wants him to get her belongings back from Harrison, who, according to mom, has no right to have them.
You might think, as I do, that the police should respect the word of the son to recover his mom’s belongings, but for the record, Capt. Arist has no comment despite seemingly trying to be helpful at first. But now she’s unreachable.
There’s also a very valuable parrot and cage involved that is owned by mother, and the son is filling out paperwork to try and have the bird released to him when he is able to return home, hopefully fairly soon.
So, there you have it. You might say the police are violating Ken Thomas’ rights to get his mom’s property back with no real explanation. Fair treatment by the police? One has to wonder what is going on here and why. We’ve tried to see or hear some legitimate explanation from the police, but so far have not received any credible response as to why they haven’t returned the belongings to the son, whose mom wants him to have.
