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Traveler makes catch of his lifeBy KATHRYN WEXLER & SUE CARLTON © St. Petersburg Times, published August 24, 2000 Mike Hurley, a Hillsborough sheriff's detective and Tampa native, likes to joke that he has seen his brother Gordy play baseball, and the guy couldn't catch a cold. But he has to admit that his brother, a former Hillsborough detective who now works for the FBI, had pretty good hands last April. That day, Special Agent Gordon H. Hurley Jr., a hostage negotiator from the FBI's Atlanta Division, had just flown to Washington, D.C., for the annual conference. He was inside Ronald Reagan Airport, killing time while waiting for a ride, when he heard a woman scream. "Michael, no!" Hurley went running. He saw a young mother he had noticed on the plane, the one with the active, dark-haired toddler. In an instant, he saw what she was looking at in horror. Her little boy apparently had grabbed the moving handrail of an escalator from the outside. It had quickly carried him up, dangling him on the outside of the escalator more than 20 feet in the air. And as the child reached the top, where the handrail started to curve, he could keep his grip no longer. He fell. Below was a terrazzo floor and some sharp-edged steel furniture. And there was Hurley, whoarrived just in time to catch him. Michael Meyers, 3, survived without a scratch, delivered into the arms of his sobbing, grateful mother. And Hurley was left to wonder about fate, about why he didn't dawdle at baggage claim or stop at a restroom, how he happened to be there at just the right moment. "Because God put me in the right place, I was able to catch him," said Hurley, 42. "He was lucky and I was lucky." CLOSED CALL: When it comes to politicians, the Tampa Police Department rolls out the red carpet, allowing them to campaign on city time. Candidates for Hillsborough state attorney can give their pitch at every roll call, when attendance is taken and cops are briefed on lurking criminals. The police union had endorsed former State Attorney Harry Lee Coe, who committed suicide last month. The Police Benevolent Association hasn't backed anyone else yet. Republican State Attorney candidates Bill Jennings and Mark Ober have jumped at the chance to visit the Police Department. "It took me a week to do every roll call," Ober said. But when a reporter asked to observe, the answer was a resounding no. "The bottom line is, all candidates are welcome to make a five-minute presentation, and we're not going to have the media covering it, giving one candidate an advantage over the others," said police spokesman Joe Durkin. Police Chief Bennie Holder ignored numerous requests to explain the policy. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Officehas a different take. Some five years ago, Sheriff Cal Henderson put an end to candidates campaigning on county time. "We didn't want it to appear like there was any particular support for one candidate or another," said Sgt. Rod Reder, spokesman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. What's more, he said, "In roll calls, we're trying to get information about crimes out and get going." SWITCH SHOOTER: As the official courthouse photojournalist for WFLA-TV Ch. 8, Calvin Green has picked up certain skills. Among them: How to walk backward down a courthouse ramp, shoulder a camera, and toss questions at someone being led away in handcuffs without tripping. How to tell visiting national news organizations covering a trial in Tampa, who expect to be treated like royalty, that they won't be. How to work a camera in utter silence in the courtroom of a judge who will tolerate nary a creak, click or sigh from news people. (Also, how to quietly pass notes to fellow reporters regarding said judge.) But all of that's over. Green, 46, is turning in his trademark shorts and baseball cap after 21 years in local news. Come October, he goes to work for the very people he used to cover. Green will be a court operations consultant, helping to set up the public TV program of town hall meetings and informative shows about guardians ad litem and other court-related services. (Hillsborough court officials also are working on technology for live Internet broadcasts of high-interest trials.) "I think it's time for a change," Green said. - Kathryn Wexler can be reached at (813)226-3383 or wexler@sptimes.com. Sue Carlton can be reached at (813) 226-3346 or carlton@sptimes.com.
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