Sep 20th, 2019
The Mobile Police Department has named its Civilian Employee of the Month award recipient for August 2019. Employed with the department since May 2013 and serving as a public safety dispatcher, Kindra Perryman was chosen because of her vital role in helping officers during a dangerous commercial burglary.
On Aug. 23, 2019 at 11:02 a.m. at the VIP Barber Shop located at 2523 St. Stephens Road, three men armed with handguns and rifles robbed the business and left in a white pickup truck. It was determined later that the pickup truck was a stolen vehicle. On that day, Perryman was assigned to the radio relief position. After being apprised of the robbery among all of the other calls for service, she relieved the Third Precinct dispatcher at approximately 11:49 a.m.
At approximately 12:32 p.m., an officer fell in behind the stolen vehicle on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Bishop GW Ayers Street and initiated a vehicle pursuit that led to an incredibly tense situation lasting for nearly one hour. The suspects were armed with not only handguns but rifles as well.
Perryman immediately held traffic and started backing units. The pursuit was extremely fast paced and the officer pursuing was continuously giving updated locations. Perryman executed the echo procedure flawlessly, giving locations even when the sound from the officer’s radio was partially garbled. Her voice never wavered.
The suspects bailed at 12:36 a.m. and the magnitude of the intensity of the situation increased exponentially. Even though the descriptions given of the suspects were coming in fast, Perryman managed to copy all of the information and repeat it back in a clear, concise manner.
Keeping up with all the units involved was a formidable task. The officer who spotted the stolen vehicle first requested she poll his automatic vehicle locator to get his exact location and she didn’t hesitate. She kept a meticulous record of all the details. One officer advised he was at Pathway School and she committed that information to memory. Several officers came over the air and Perryman remained stoically calm and extremely professional even though they were chasing on foot and at times hard to understand.
There were multiple sighting of the suspects and multiple requests for particular units to start to particular areas. The tension and stress of the situation was palpable. Yet Perryman’s multi-tasking skills were beyond reproach. A unit came across the air asking if the principal at Pathway School had been alerted to go on lockdown. Perryman immediately called the officer who had previously advised he was at Pathway School so he could alert the principal.
Units were continuously moving locations and setting up perimeters as the suspects ran in different directions. Perryman not only kept up with all the units involved in the manhunt, she pulled up calls from citizens who were reporting sightings of the suspects. She instinctively knew when to talk to units allowing them to communicate among each other, but still capable of springing into action if she was needed to provide suspects descriptions and locations.
Perryman’s role was daunting and arduous, but her genuine concern for the safety of all units involved was evident in her job performance. Her excellent work ethic, ability to remain calm, attention to detail and sheer dedication helped officers in this manhunt.
MOBILE POLICE DEPARTMENT