Franklin Township officer opens lines
of communications for autistic teen
JOB WELL DONE
■ BY NICK SWEDBERG
Zion Westbrook is autistic, doesn’t speak and has run away from
home several times.
During many of those incidents, Franklin Township Local 154
Member Rich Hartnett was there with other officers, helping track
down the 16-year-old, who would check the doors of neighbors’
homes and go in if they weren’t locked.
But in October, the 44-year-old veteran officer, who was born and
raised in Ireland before moving to New Jersey, was the lead officer
when Zion wandered off again.
“Basically (Zion’s mother) told me he had gone to school that day.
When he arrived home, he was not his usual self,” said Hartnett, who
was able to eventually find the autistic teen.
But Hartnett help didn’t stop there.
Zion’s mother, Kimora Miller, told Hartnett her son did better
focusing at school, where he has access to technology the single
mother couldn’t afford to have at home.
That’s when Hartnett became motivated to go beyond his standard scope of duty.
“I asked her ‘What can we do for you to prevent this?’” Hartnett
said.
Zion Miller, 16, autistic and non-verbal, wandered away from home and was
found unharmed by Franklin Township Officer Richard Hartnett in Somerset. Zion’s mother, Kimora Miller, believes the teen left because of difficulty
communicating at home. Hartnett presented Zion with this tablet and
secured an app that helps him express himself more clearly.
His first stop was a local electronics store for a tablet computer. At
school, Zion uses an iPad. Hartnett was eventually able to get the
store’s owner to donate a $300 Samsung tablet.
While it was a generous donation, the Android computer meant
that the same app Zion used to let him “effectively communicate
with his teachers and counselors” on the iPad wouldn’t be compatible, Hartnett said.
He then turned to two police organizations to donate $300 to buy
the right app.
Kimora had the tablet by October, and had the app up and running in November, Hartnett said. He has since stopped by the
family’s house occasionally. Zion hasn’t had an incident since receiving the gift.
“I don’t think the tablet has left his hands since he got it,” Hartnett
said.
Hartnett said he always wanted to be a law enforcement officer to
help people. It’s in his nature since his parents in Ireland raised him
to care about other people, he said.
“You just try to do what is best for everybody else,” he offered.d
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NEW JERSEY COPS
■
DECEMBER 2015