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05-19-2006, 02:55 PM #7Senior Member
Couple Arrested For Asking For Directions, w/VIDEO
Originally Posted by Euphoric
A caring cop doing his job was her own faceless hero
Tampa columnist
HOOPER
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By ERNEST HOOPER, Times Columnist
Published November 23, 2004
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Ashley walked into the room wearing a pink sweater and jeans. She looked like most teenage girls, except for the mix of joy and nervousness on her face.
Her mother Tammy gestured toward the man in the black double-breasted suit and said, "This is the officer we've always told you about. This is Scott Guffey."
Ashley, with brown hair framing her blue eyes, gave Guffey a gentle hug. Finally, she had a face to match the name of her hero.
This wasn't the first meeting between Ashley and Guffey, just the first Ashley remembered.
Guffey, a Tampa Police Department veteran, intervened in a complicated domestic situation 15 years ago when Ashley was an infant. His efforts dramatically altered the course of Ashley's life, and for that, Tammy has remained grateful.
So has Ashley.
Tammy Cage met Guffey in November 1989. He was a young cop working street patrol. She was a panic-stricken mother, worried that her estranged husband was going to disappear with her 11-month-old daughter. (Tammy asked that her surname not be used in the paper because she still worries about him.)
The man, who was married to Tammy when Ashley was born but is not her father, had asked to spend some time with Ashley. Even though he and Tammy were separated, she agreed. When he didn't return in a few hours, Tammy feared she would never see Ashley again.
Frantic, Tammy went to the Tampa Heights home where she believed her husband and his new girlfriend were hiding Ashley. Guffey and his partner, Jimmy Myer, were patrolling the area, and Tammy flagged them down.
Guffey found a packed station wagon and U-Haul trailer outside the Tampa Heights house, but the woman who came to the door refused to let him search the house. So Guffey told her they would wait outside. They asked a captain for permission to search the home and waited while their superiors processed the request. Nearly three hours passed.
Finally, the girlfriend emerged with Ashley. Tammy says Ashley was wearing overalls, and her hair had been cut to make her look like a boy. She's certain her husband was planning to leave town.
Guffey took the infant and returned her to Tammy. The drama made Guffey's name indelible.
Unfortunately, there was more drama ahead for Tammy and Ashley. Tammy remarried, but when that relationship turned abusive, she sent Ashley to live with her natural father. That turned into an abusive situation for Ashley, and she returned to live with Tammy at age 10.
The young girl found herself unable to trust men.
"Most people say go to someone you trust for help," Ashley said. "But when you're in that situation, there's no one you trust."
Tammy needed a way to renew Ashley's faith, so she told the story of Scott Guffey, the honest officer who had helped them stay together.
It wasn't long before Ashley started asking every cop she saw if they knew Scott Guffey. She stopped officers at the Gasparilla parade. She asked her school resource officer, who said he knew Guffey and would bring the two together.
The reunion happened last week. The cop and the teen talked about music - both like alternative-rock group Hoobastank - and school. Ashley is making good grades. Tammy gave Guffey 15 yellow roses, one for each year she and Ashley have shared together since that unforgettable night. Guffey said he was humbled they were so appreciative after all these years.
Ashley's gratitude is just beginning to show. She wants to become a social worker and help children.
And today she celebrates her 16th birthday, thanks in part to a caring cop just doing his job.
Officers have the potential to alter lives in ways they may never realize. They need to remember that, and we need to appreciate every positive outcome.
That's all I'm saying.
2 sides kids 2 sides..........
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