Officer Gives Extra Effort to Catch Suspect
By: Barb Consiglio
Updated: June 16, 2010
BROOKVILLE, JEFFERSON COUNTY---A Brookville Police Officer is being praised for his extra efforts in apprehending a suspect.
When Scott Ishman made contact with Matt McManigle regarding possible warrants for his arrest, McManigle shoved the patrol car door into Ishman and ran away…and from there, the chase was on.
“Not too many officers would have jumped into an unknown river, which the Red Bank is,” said Brookville Police Chief Ken Dworek.
Ishman chased McManigle from his camp in the woods, through the Red Bank River, and up the bank on the other side. He said he had the opportunity to stop McManigle with a tazer, but decided against it.
“I didn’t feel that he was going to do anything overly dangerous other than try to escape himself,” Ishman said, “I did have an opportunity to taze him when he was running from me, he was about 10 feet in front of me directly. A few times in the woods he had fallen down and things like that, but I verbally, throughout the entire pursuit, tried to get him to stop and cooperate.”
McManigle eventually got tired and surrendered. Ishman arrested him and took him to the Jefferson County Jail. Dworek said Ishman went above and beyond the call of duty.
“The officer, I can’t say enough about. In all my 45 years of police work and my training with the state police, he’s probably in the top handful that I could ever say that I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with and working with,” Dworek said.
Ishman got a hero’s welcome upon his return to the police station.
“That made me happy knowing that the guys know that I’m willing to do things to have their back in the future and stuff like that,” Ishman said, “Because that’s important to know that I’ll take it to the next level to make sure everything, you know, I always have their back.”
Dworek said Brookville is a little safer with Ishman on patrol.
“Our only fear is that the Secret Service, or the FBI, or the State Police are going to come in and recruit him away,” Dworek said, “In that regard, he’s not aloud to leave here until the mayor and I leave, and who knows how long that will be.”
Dworek said Ishman has broken several cases of burglaries and robberies in Brookvills, and said it’s his motivation and perseverance that sets him apart.
