Ubiñas: Former drug addict thanks cops who arrested him

IN 1999, DOUGLAS KRATZ was a $200-a-day heroin addict. Nothing mattered but his next fix. That's all he was thinking about when he and an acquaintance were arrested by two SEPTA cops one October night.

Officers Eric Cohn and Steven Zambon were on patrol around the North Broad railroad station shortly after 9 p.m. Oct. 18 when they spotted Kratz and a woman on the outbound platform with drug paraphernalia, according to a transit police report. They later discovered a needle and seven small bags of heroin known on the streets as "Al Pacino."

Kratz doesn't remember many of the details. But he remembers clearly how the officers treated him.

"I was emaciated, filthy and covered in tattoos. I stole, I cheated, I did drugs. I was not a good person," Kratz recalled. "I'd been slapped around before by Philly cops, so I didn't have too high regard for them sometimes. But to have two cops not look down their noses at you, to have them treat you decent when you're at your lowest, made an impression and a difference."

He was arrested, but by what Kratz credits to "divine intervention," he didn't suffer the brutal withdrawals that had sent him chasing the drug every few hours. And, except for a brief addiction to prescription pills after a car accident in 2002, Kratz said he has remained clean.

It has been a long road. But Kratz now lives in Florida and has his own condo and general-contracting business. He's recently reconnected with his children and cares for his elderly mother, who lives with him.

"I was actually relieved the night I was arrested, scared but relieved," Kratz said. "That night changed my life. I'm someone who can be responsible now, who can be counted on. And it all goes back to that night."

It's a story Kratz has shared often in recovery rooms, but until recently had never relayed to the two men he credits for helping put him on the road to recovery.

"I'd been thinking about reaching out to them for years, but in these days of turmoil, with the police always getting a bad rap, I thought it was time they heard something positive," Kratz said.

On Jan. 2, he sat down at his computer and sent an email to SEPTA's customer-service division.

"I'm writing to thank [two] of your officers . . . I owe them my life," he wrote.

The occasional compliment filters through the usual gripe-filled emails to customer service. But never one quite like this, said SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel.

He forwarded the note, with some words of his own, to the officers and their superiors. Cohn is now a Philadelphia police officer in the 39th District and Zambon is a Haverford police sergeant.

"I am sure that when you captured a drug addict [at] North Broad Railroad Station on an October night 15 years ago you never expected your actions to have a lasting effect on anyone," wrote Nestel. "This is why we become cops. Your actions that day changed a person's life. Congratulations!"

Zambon and Cohn said they made a lot of narcotics arrests on their beat in 1999, and had lots of conversations with drug addicts about getting clean.

"I remember feeling really bad for these people who were clearly at the bottom of their lives," said Zambon, "and having a million conversations about how it wasn't too late to get help."

"You would encourage people," said Cohn, "hope they heard you, hope they were able to turn their lives around, but you hardly ever really knew for sure."

The officers were touched by Kratz's note, but both quickly steered the focus and credit back to him for kicking a habit that has destroyed the lives of others.

"Arresting was kind of the easy part," Cohn said. "Dealing with that addiction is the tough part. He [Kratz] did the work. He deserves the credit."

For his part, Kratz said there aren't enough words to thank the officers, except maybe for these:

"Thanks for saving my life."

Phone: 215-854-5943

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