A year later, homeowners decry North Rapid's unsafe reputation - KOTA Territory News

A year later, homeowners decry North Rapid's unsafe reputation

In the immediate aftermath of last year's shoot-out that left Rapid City Police officers Ryan McCandless and Nick Armstrong dead, some questioned just how safe North Rapid neighborhoods were.

A year later, people in the area say they're a little more cautious because of the tragedy, but they don't understand the community's reputation for being dangerous.

Leo Herman lives on Anamosa Street, just across the street from where the shooting occurred.

He returned from a quick trip to the store to find his street taped off and paramedics trying to revive the fallen officers just steps from his home.
 
"It's a pretty cold feeling," he said. "Pretty scary, ... you know, I live right here, my parents live right here."
 
When more details came out, Herman realized he had gone to school with the accused shooter, 22-year-old Daniel Tiger.
 
"He never was the kind of guy that I would have thought [would have] been capable to do the things he did."
 
It's that sense of randomness that has neighbors -- and law enforcement -- defending the safety of the community.
 
"North Rapid is not a crime-ridden, criminal-infested neighborhood," said Rapid City Police Chief Steve Allender.
 
But he admits there is a greater call volume from North Rapid than from other areas of the city.
 
"Typically in North Rapid," said Allender, "we have more police units working in that neighborhood than any other."
 
Since the shooting, he said, officers have used more of their discretionary time investigating suspicious activities in the area, slightly reducing the number of calls from people who live there.
 
"More proactive presence, reduced calls from the citizens for help," he said.
 
Neighbors report a similar increase in police visibility. Combine that with more vigilance from community members -- "Just kind of look out for each other," as homeowner Linda Linder put it -- and North Rapid residents say they're no less comfortable with where they live.
 
"I've never felt any real issues here at all," Linder said.
 
That's not to say people aren't taking more precautions, but they insist it could have happened anywhere.
 
"Knowing what can happen and what did happen just right over there," Herman said, "you know, it's way too close to home."

Chief Allender also said the Police Department will be deploying a second street crimes unit in North Rapid behind the Civic Center starting in the fall, not as a show of force, but to bring community policing to people's doorsteps.