Above all other lessons taught to us by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as a society we have learned once and for all that we must never under-appreciate our health care workers again.
Those on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19 have shown themselves to be nothing short of heroes. People are dying, people are losing loved ones, and yet every day millions of health care professionals don their gear and stand ready to battle anew.
And yet … and yet, there are crooks aiming to take advantage of the situation and use the love shown to health care workers for their own ends.
The Kennewick Police Department has put out a warning regarding two women who are stealing packages from outside of residents’ homes in Washington State.
The worst part? They’re dressed as nurses. Authorities believe they’re imposters.
In one sighting, the women were caught on a surveillance video tape taking a package off someone’s front porch. They’re dressed in scrubs and wearing lanyards that appear to show identification badges.
“The nurses we are fortunate to know only give their time, lives, and take the vitals of their patients (not their property),” police posted on Facebook.
One of the packages stolen on Wednesday was actually taken from the home of a real nurse, Michelle Santiago, and her law enforcement officer husband.
“We have a home security system so I pulled up the videos,” Michelle told CNN.
“I could see the FedEx driver drop the package off around 3 o’clock that afternoon in one video and in (a following) video this woman walks up and takes it less than 5 minutes later.”
Michelle went on to share the video in a neighborhood group on Facebook. The package contained a customized organizer for her husband’s police equipment.
“Even if we had been home I don’t know if I would’ve gotten out there fast enough to get the package,” Michelle explained. “She literally grabbed the package minutes after it was dropped.”
Police have circulated images from the video tape in the hope of identifying the two suspects. A spokesperson for the Kennewick Police Department told USA Today on Sunday that a host of suspects have been identified but no arrests have yet been made.
“It’s a little bit trickier when you have different names coming in and pictures of people [that] don’t match,” Sgt. Todd Dronen said.
Anyone who might know the identities of the women in the video are urged to call nonemergency dispatch at 509 628-0333 and provide KPD Case 20-16877.
How can people sink so low as to steal packages and parcels during such a time of crisis? And to masquerade as heroes when it seems as though they’re crooks? Sometimes I despair of humanity.
Share this article on Facebook and help us assist the police in identifying those responsible.
In the meantime, let’s hear it for the brave nurses and doctors all over the world risking their lives every day to fight coronavirus.
