Downtown Hyannis: God Bless Good Samaritans! [HN Photos & Video]

ABOVE: It’s unclear how this young woman in her early twenties, visiting from off-Cape, became separated from the friends she had been out with earlier. Fortunately, several Good Samaritans spotted her passed out on the pavement behind the JFK Museum around 2 a.m. this morning. She was a long way from home and certainly did not belong on the ground in an area with a history of violent crime. Thankfully, she was found and safely transported to Cape Cod Hospital. God bless the Good Samaritans!

ABOVE: A Barnstable Police patrolwoman checks on an elderly gentleman in a wheelchair who was living next to the Hyannis Village Green shortly after 2 a.m. this morning.

ABOVE: Another man who happened to be sleeping near the green placed his towel over the elderly gentleman, who wasn’t feeling well and said he was cold. (As a side note, the man placing the towel said he had my father as a mathematics teacher at Falmouth High School back in the early 1970s. He was on the green last evening simply because he missed the bus back to Falmouth, according to him. God bless him!)

ABOVE: A woman who was sleeping near the Hyannis Village Green last evening kindly held the elderly gentleman’s hand as he began experiencing chest pains shortly after 2 a.m. this morning.

ABOVE: Thanks to Good Samaritans and first responders, the elderly wheelchair-bound gentleman was transported to Cape Cod Hospital by a Hyannis Fire Department ambulance crew, where he’ll hopefully receive the medical care he needs.

ABOVE: A Barnstable Police patrolman checks on the well-being of a couple living behind the JFK Museum early this morning.

Midnight Grilling Outside Downtown Dunks [HN Video]

HYANNIS, MASSACHUSETTS – Police investigated an open cook fire on private property early this morning next to the downtown Hyannis Dunkin’. The couple was setting up to grill food beside the building. The woman claimed to be a Dunkin’ employee, but it was shortly after midnight and there was no way to confirm whether she was authorized to grill on the property after hours. The property was clearly marked at all entryways with signs reading “PRIVATE PROPERTY – NO TRESPASSING OR LOITERING.”

When HN arrived on scene, Barnstable Police officers were being polite and patient with the couple. I did not observe officers being rude, as the couple seemed to suggest.

Bottom line: Downtown Hyannis seemed like a poor choice of location for an open cook fire in the middle of the night.

Both the man and woman were upset at being asked to leave. But officers had already made contact, and their hands were tied. The property was clearly posted with “PRIVATE PROPERTY – NO TRESPASSING OR LOITERING” signs. Officers had little choice but to insist the couple move to a more appropriate location. If officers had ignored the open fire after making contact and something happened—a fire, someone getting burned, etc.—they would face scrutiny for not properly doing their job.

The following HN video shows the couple understandably upset… and it also shows officers doing their job. HN simply documented the encounter. The couple eventually complied, which is why I chose to give them a “courtesy blur.” It must have been frustrating for them, but officers needed to respect the wishes of the property owners who posted the signs. Hopefully the couple found a better place to enjoy their midnight “din-din.”

[HN Video – Press Play!]