Nov. 9, 2016 – West Bend, WI – There have been some pretty amazing law enforcement actions in West Bend recently that show what an amazing Police Department we have in the community. Another outstanding example just happened this week.
Around noon on Tuesday, Nov. 8 West Bend police were called to the Cash Store, 1021 South Main Street. The clerk behind the counter hit the emergency call button.
“I heard it on the news in the morning that there was someone wanted out of Green Lake County,” said the clerk. “I thought that sounds really familiar and I got to work, Googled her information, said ‘Yeah that’s her’ and then she came through the door.”
The clerk at the Cash Store agreed to an interview if her name was not used as she had concerns about her safety.
“She was a customer of ours,” said the clerk. “She had been in the day before.”
The clerk said the woman just didn’t seem right.
That woman, Cynthia Stark-Griffin, 57, was wanted by authorities after she was suspected of trying to kill her father in Green Lake County early Sunday morning.
Authorities said she allegedly set fires inside her father’s home in the Town of Marquette. Nobody was injured however law enforcement in Green Lake County filed a felony warrant for Stark-Griffin for attempted homicide and arson charges.
“I just didn’t want anybody to get hurt,” said the clerk. “The police were amazing.”
The clerk said the woman had two little dogs and the Washington County Humane Society arrived within 30 minutes to help.
“I was way more scared thinking about when she was in the store the day before, and I didn’t know,” said the clerk.
News reports indicated the woman may have had weapons in her possession. The clerk said Stark-Griffin came into the Cash Store with a big tote. “That really scared me,” she said.
The clerk said the West Bend police were just amazing. “They came in with big shields on and they were all over. They were in the bushes and they put spike strips down behind her vehicle,” she said.
“I had to get away from the front of the counter and before you knew it they had her on the ground,” said the clerk.
While the incident was going on the West Bend School District sent a note home to parents saying students in the Pathways program in the Mutual Mall next door were safe. The school district also thanked West Bend police.
“I just can’t say enough how good the police were,” said the clerk. “Even after it was all over the captains came in and asked about appropriate force that was used; they are just so professional.”
Several weeks ago West Bend police dealt were in a standoff with a man on Edgewood Lane. Neighbors heard shots had been fired by the suspect. Police reported the man pointed a gun at the officer and pulled the trigger but the gun misfired. That man was eventually taken into custody and nobody was injured.
Considering what’s going on nationally, West Bend police have to be given a lot of credit for keeping this great community safe.
