When Arnaud Nimenya, Carsyn Wright, James Hielema, and Starlyn Rives-Perez, four teenagers from Calgary, Canada, were skateboarding at Chinook Mall in 2015, they noticed a distressed girl being carried by a man. The teenagers chose to trust their gut feelings because they sensed something wasn’t right. They later found the girl being handled inappropriately by the man in a stairwell. They bravely stepped in to help the girl and restrain the man until the police could get there.
The man was arrested and charged with misconduct as a result of the teens’ actions. They received recognition for their courage at the 2016 Calgary Police Chief’s Awards Gala. This tale serves as a potent illustration of following your gut and defending others.