KENNEWICK, Wash. – A local football coach had an unexpected encounter during a holiday shopping trip that led to an act of kindness and an unexpected loss.
Brett Hall, coach of the Junior Lions football team and a former college football player, was out with his wife when they encountered a young man yelling at an employee near JCPenney.
Rather than ignoring the situation, Hall intervened. “My wife and I kind of got in between him and the shop worker and said, ‘hey, no, don’t do that.'” Hall said. “And, that’s when he turned his attention towards me and went to push me and, you know, I just took him down to the ground.”
Once the young man was on the ground, he became remorseful. “Right when we got him to the ground, were holding him, he was immediately remorseful and appreciated us. We were there for a little bit, and we were able to ask him questions about his life and stuff. You know, he made some poor choices. That’s really what it boils down to,” Hall said.
During the chaos, someone walked off with Hall’s Christmas gifts. “I thought my wife was grabbing my bag,” Hall said. “But it was a lady who appeared to be helping, grabbed my bag and stood there and watched. And when the police finally showed up and got the guy handcuffed, I turned around and was looking for my bag and couldn’t find it.”
Despite the incident, Hall remains hopeful it was a misunderstanding. “We hope that it’s a misunderstanding. We think that she just didn’t realize, that’s what we’re hoping. And it’ll get sorted out,” Hall said.
Hall and his family are taking the situation in stride. “I’ve seen a lot of redemption stories just from kids making poor choices and turn in making better choices afterwards. We just hope they have a good Christmas and learn from it,” Hall said.
Kennewick Police say the investigation is ongoing.
