A teacher who was brutally attacked and carjacked in a Milwaukee County park had a simple message to police Thursday night: thank you.
"My family and I wanted to personally thank you," said Maurice Lea, the son of the victim.
The family wrote a letter to the sheriff's deputy that came to their aid.
"Currently, our society is quick to criticize law enforcement and neglect verbalizing our appreciation," said the victim, Lewis Lea. "I, too have been critical in my response."
"Your professionalism and concern made a difficult situation easier to handle," said son Lewis O. Lea.
Lewis Lea fell asleep in his car on May 17 waiting for his son's soccer practice to end. That is when someone came up and opened his car door. Lea jumped out, assuming something had gone wrong on the soccer field and they were coming to tell him.
"They crawled through the car and hit me directly in the back of the head," said Lea.
That knocked Lea to the ground. Four teens beat him up in the parking lot of the Washington Park Ecology Center.
"Then one of the perpetrators that stole the car stomped my head while I was on the ground," said Lea.
He was knocked out and almost run over by his own car. Someone found Lea wandering near the soccer field, bloody and confused.
They called the sheriff's office for help. Lewis said the deputy stayed with his family even after his shift ended and comforted his young son while he was taken to the hospital.
"We understand that you are in a career that is sometimes thankless," said Lewis O. Lea.
"My family and I want you to know your efforts made a difference. Thank you," said Maurice Lea.
