Commendation For Field Office Operations Supervisor

From the Tacoma News Tribune:

Lisa Black of Bonney Lake said she learned all she needed to know about handling handcuffs from watching “COPS” on TV.

That knowledge came in handy last month at the South Seattle Social Security Administration office where she works. A knife-wielding man tried to enter the office minutes before it opened and stabbed the office guard.

Black’s actions earned her a commendation this month from Bonney Lake Mayor Neil Johnson for her “bravery and humanitarian spirit in the face of life-threatening danger.” The certificate was presented at a City Council meeting.

Black, 45, is the operations supervisor for the office and a 13-year SSA employee. She said the real heroes were office guard John Robinson, 45, of Tacoma and a parking attendant from the building.

The morning of March 19, Black said, the sound of the office alarm going off sent her running toward the front door shortly before 9 a.m. There she found Robinson lying on top of two other men.

Blood covered his face and head where he had been stabbed. He couldn’t see because of the blood in his eyes.

Beneath Robinson was the parking attendant who just happened to be passing by when the fight erupted in the small hallway leading to the door. The attendant saw the man with the knife fighting with the guard. He and Robinson brought the assailant to the floor.

“I was kind of holding John’s hand, and the guy started struggling,” Black said. “He said, ‘Get off me!’ He started moving around.

He was a big guy, at least 250 pounds and over 6 feet tall, she said.<

The parking attendant told her he may not be able to hold the assailant’s wrists much longer.

Black reacted. She knew Robinson had handcuffs on a clip on his utility belt, so she grabbed them.

“I had watched ‘COPS’,” she said. “I knew how to open them.

“I just acted. I didn’t have a thought pattern. I knew I had to do everything necessary so he wouldn’t get up,” she said.

Black had to pull his one hand closer and finally secured the handcuffs on him. The man gave up struggling and the police arrived.

Black, who is the mother of two daughters, ages 15 and 26, said the blood on her clothes and hands was easily washed away. Robinson, on the other hand, was hurt and is still home recuperating. He is employed by Federal Protective Services, a branch of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Asked why she jumped into the fray instead of standing back like others in the hallway, Black said: “This is my office. He (Robinson) is my friend. I couldn’t just watch.”

Upset and loud people are a part of her federal office, she said, but one attack like that in a career is enough.

“I’m hoping I never have to do that again.”