WERE PARENTS RIGHT TO BE ALARMED?
A daycare center in Spenard with more than 100 children inside went into lock-down on Thursday after a man, who appeared to be drug-addled and acting erratically, entered the building.
Police were called but didn’t arrive for an hour and a half, so parents and staff stood guard, locking doors and windows.
In the Ring security camera footage posted by KTVA, the behavior that alarmed neighbors and the day-care center staff is apparent:
Neighbor Jessica Graham, who described the situation live on Facebook, called 911, but said the dispatcher told her no one was available to help.
“I have great appreciation for our police officers, but what good are they when there are none available when needed? This is COMPLETELY unacceptable. Something needs to be done about this because it could have ended a lot worse,” she wrote on Facebook on Thursday afternoon.
The scene unfolded at Faith Christian Community by Lake Hood, where the man climbed a roof, jumped onto the roof of a nearby greenhouse, falling through that roof, and eventually climbed a tree before falling 50 feet.
When police and medics arrived, Richard Bender was taken to the hospital for treatment. He has since been charged with criminal mischief, a Class A misdemeanor.
