Rameil Pitamber and His Arresting Officer Form Mentor Relationship

Rameil Pitamber was a 17-year-old honor student when his father died. After his death, Pitamber attempted to rob a Little Caesar’s restaurant at gunpoint in Avon, Ind. He was arrested, convicted for armed robbery, and sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Pitamber was released early from prison on good behavior, but he knew that he did not want to repeat the mistakes of his past and he also knew that he would need a mentor if he wanted to succeed.

By a twist of fate, Pitamber ran into Deputy Police Chief Brian Nugent again, the officer who arrested him in the first place. Pitamber was working at Goodwill after his release when Nugent appeared there to drop off a box of donations.

That’s when Pitamber decided to ask Nugent to be his mentor. Pitamber wants to get into home improvement and real estate.

Nugent told CBS News that he told Pitamber that he’d be “happy to do it.” But there were rules: “we’re gonna touch base every month. We’re gonna go out for lunch. We’re gonna have conversations.”

Pitamber said that spending time with Nugent changed his mind about law enforcement.

“I hope that people can see, with everything that is going on, is all it takes is respect on both sides,” Harris said. “It’s more good kids out there than bad. It’s more good police out there than bad.”

With Nugent’s guidance, Pitamber now has a steady job doing heating and air. He’s also renovating his own home and going to school.

“He treated me with compassion and understanding, and he never treated me less than, not once. To this day, he still builds my worth and self-esteem,” Pitamber told CBS News. “With him in my corner, I can do anything.”

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