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It was late spring or early summer, we don’t remember for sure which.

But we do distinctly remember the friendly officer dutifully directing traffic during some event on Public Square — maybe it was the Fine Arts Fiesta — offering a nice “hello” to some pedestrians as they crossed North Main Street in front of him.

We remember thinking to ourselves that particular man in blue — we didn’t know his name then — was making a very good public impression.

We had forgotten entirely about that brief encounter until we saw photos last week of the officers who testified against Walmart shooter Scott Sargent.

Standing behind lead prosecutor Jarrett Ferentino after Sargent was convicted by a Luzerne County jury Friday was that same guy who we had noticed months before while conducting the mundane duty of traffic control with a smile.

It was none other than City Officer Alan Gribble, the man who neutralized Sargent during a rampage two years ago in the Walmart parking lot in Wilkes-Barre Township.

It’s worth repeating his heroics that day.

Gribble, armed with a shotgun, testified that bullets flew by his face as he tried to get closer to Sargent, who was holding off police by spraying fire from an assault-type rifle.

Eventually, Gribble and Township Officer Jude Allen were able to make a rush at Sargent, flushing him from a hiding spot behind the store and setting the stage for what could have been a tragic situation.

As Sargent and Gribble locked eyes, Gribble said Sargent began raising his rifle. That’s when Gribble shot Sargent in the abdomen, ending the bullet battle without one single fatality. It’s nothing short of miraculous that no one died that day — police, civilians in a busy shopping center lot, or Sargent himself — considering the number of rounds being fired.

And the credit has to go to the officers who bravely confronted Sargent, putting their own lives directly at risk.

Another hero who emerged from the frantic scene was Wilkes-Barre Township Officer Brian Bouton, who drove a police SUV into the line of fire to provide cover for his colleagues as the gunfire raged on. Bouton said Sargent fired a round that went right through his windshield and headrest. Fortunately, Bouton ducked toward the passenger seat as Sargent fired and was not hurt.

When all the action was spelled out in detail during Sargent’s trial, we got the sudden urge to drive to the nearest police station to shake hands with and thank all the men and women who protect us each day.

Just think of what their job entails. One minute, a policeman could be directing traffic or writing a ticket or filling out paperwork, and the next he or she could be ducking bullets. It takes a particular mindset and loads of training to be able to handle all of those possibilities, and not everyone could do it.

So, we applaud Gribble, Allen, Bouton, and all the other law enforcement who stopped Sargent. We don’t know the names of all the good guys on scene that day, but we know we were lucky to have you there.

In an age where it’s become in vogue to protest against the police or call for investigations of the investigators, it’s important to highlight the tremendous work the vast majority of these men and women perform on a daily basis.

— Times Leader

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