When awarding citizen heroes, why did Toledo PD forget the CHL-holder?

The Toledo Blade is reporting that Toledo police held a ceremony this week to honor 19 citizens for acts that helped police solve numerous crimes in 2004. Conspicuously missing, however, is an award for a man who helped police solve crimes by using his legally carried firearm.

From the story:

"Help me," the 12-year-old girl mouthed to John Neal through the window of a car driving away from his West Toledo business.

The 51-year-old, who saw suspicious activity earlier with the car, called 911 and gave a description of the vehicle and its license plate.

His information and details later provided by the girl and her 12-year-old friend, both of whom had been kidnapped by the driver, helped police release specifics about the car and the suspect.

That's where Bob Carney came in. The South Toledoan was watching the news when he saw the story about the girls, who were taken from the Miracle Mile shopping center Oct. 30 and sexually assaulted.

He wondered whether a car that had been in his neighborhood for about two months was the one involved, so he called 911.

Police later arrested the suspect, Daniel Cole, a registered sex offender in Georgia.

"I didn't realize how much I had done until I was told I possibly saved the girl's life," Mr. Neal said.

Mr. Carney insisted that he "didn't do anything special."

"I didn't do anything the normal person wouldn't do," the 63-year-old retired beer salesman said.

Toledo police disagree. They believe the two men, as well as 17 other citizens, should be recognized for their acts - such as chasing purse-snatchers and following bank robbers - that helped police solve numerous crimes.

The citizens and several Toledo police officers will be honored today during a 9 a.m. awards ceremony in Toledo City Council Chambers at Government Center, downtown.

After giving more details on the ceremony, the story goes on to list the other award-recipients.

Certainly many of these acts were carried out by people who have truly decided to refuse to be victims, and they deserve to be honored. But as we read this story, we couldn’t help but wonder why no award for Habib Howard??

Readers of the Blade, of this website, or of the NRA’s First Freedom magazine, as well as listeners of NRANews.com, will no doubt recall the story of a man who was able to defend himself during a store robbery in Toledo just days after obtaining his Ohio CHL. Why no award for Habib Howard? Could Police Chief Mike Navarre's strong opposition to citizens’ self-defense rights have played a role in Howard being overlooked?

In a June 2004 story about how carry-out owners were arming themselves after a year or more stretch of violent robberies in Toledo, "Toledo's police Chief Mike Navarre said he teaches small business owners not to have a gun." Instead, the story said, Navarre "wants owners to comply with criminals because anytime you have more guns in a tense situation, the better the chance of people getting shot and it's just not worth it."

So what are store owners like Habib Howard supposed to do if they are shot at, like Howard was about to be? Navarre offered his opinion on the subject in January 2004:

Asked what they should do if bullets are flying, the chief said, "Take immediate cover - get away from the bullets." He added: "Pick up a baseball bat if that’s your only defense against bullets coming toward you."

Given Chief Navarre’s blatant opposition to the human right of self-defense when it comes to the use of firearms, is it any wonder why Habib Howard’s own act to help solve a crime went unrecognized by Toledo police this week?