Okla. 4th grade class witnesses burglary, help police nab suspects

OKLAHOMA CITY (WJBK) - A group of fourth graders at an Oklahoma elementary school were recognized not for their good grades -- but for helping police capture a couple of crooks.

The students were in the middle of class last week then they saw a burglary taking place across the street from their classroom window. Their two teachers immediately called 922.

"We were walking around the room monitoring and out the window, I have my blinds up, and out the window we saw people going into a house that ideally were not supposed to be there," says Ms. B.

With the help of their students, Ms. B and Ms. V were able to give the dispatcher a detailed description of the suspects' vehicle and tell them which way they went.

"I was helping my teacher describing how the truck and how the person were looking like," says student Marcos Pedroza.

Police say without them, the suspects would have almost certainly got away.

"I feel good that like we helped catch them and that all the stuff was returned," says student Laniah Walker.

"Just an outstanding job by the teacher and their students. The teachers did a great job of keeping control of the classroom in a chaotic moment and the students did a great job paying attention and providing us with important information," says Officer Travis Vernier with the Oklahoma City Police Department.

To show their appreciation, police and dispatch banded together Monday to give the students a look behind the scenes at the city's emergency response center. They also had the opportunity to meet the dispatcher who took their call and some of the responding officers. It's an experience their teachers say is not only educational, but inspiring.

"We had a couple of kids who literally thought the police were the ones who answered the phone and so this is a whole new experience for them and I think it's great for them to be able to see," says Ms. B.