If the old saying is true that every cloud does indeed have a silver lining, then it is also certainly true that the silver lining isn’t always in plain sight for all to see.

In the hours between late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, a dark cloud descended on Franklin as two people, one of them a minor, were viciously attacked and sexually assaulted. The Franklin Police Department, armed with good information and the determination to get a violent criminal off of the streets, made a quick arrest. Although at press time charges were still pending in one of the cases, it is believed that the same individual was responsible for both incidents. Because the FPD moved so swiftly, the alleged perpetrator was taken into custody later the same day.

But while grateful for a quick arrest, the family members of the victim who was beaten and hospitalized were equally thankful for the professionalism and compassion displayed by the law enforcement officials working the case. The public at large often judges the effectiveness of law enforcement by how quickly the police respond and make an arrest. But for the families, their silver lining was found in the reassurance that the police truly cared about the victims and bringing those responsible for their pain to justice.

While our hats are off to the Franklin Police Department for the professional way they went about getting this perpetrator behind bars, our sincere thanks also go out to them for the sincere and compassionate way in which they typically go about doing their jobs.