"Being in the right place at the right time" is a cliche that certainly rings true in a real life drama that unfolded, where the story could have ended very differently.
Retired NYPD Officer Axel Dodson, who grew up in Central Islip, recounted during a recent interview with South Shore Press, how he and his older brother Kenny Dodson, also a retired NYPD officer, successfully apprehended a woman charged with attempting to commit arson on the childhood home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in December.
The Dodson brothers were wrapping up their vacation along the East Coast when they decided to take a detour to visit the Ebenezer Baptist Church and the nearby childhood home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., located in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park in Atlanta, Georgia. "We stopped by to take a few pictures of the grounds; it's an absolutely beautiful park that also holds the tombs of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King," Dodson noted. But after visiting the church, the Dodson brothers drove up to the childhood home of Dr. King, Jr., and stopped to take a few pictures. That's when Axel recalls, "Someone said, 'Guys! Come here!’ The guy told us a young woman was trying to burn Dr. King's childhood house down by pouring something that looked like gasoline around the porch," Dodson said.
That's when Dodson went into action. "I ran up to her and grabbed the lighter from her hand, and she started running down the block and across the street, so we hopped in our car, caught up with her and we saw she was running up a driveway and into a backyard; then as the woman was about to hop the fence, she turned around, threw her cell phone on the ground, and after that, she didn't put up much resistance," Dodson recounts. "I restrained her until police officers arrived, and I didn't let go of her until she was cuffed," Dodson explained.
Had the Dodson brothers not taken their unscheduled detour on their way back home to Suffolk County, the story may have ended up tragically with the loss of a dedicated Federal Landmark. Asked about his thoughts in the aftermath of the incident, Dodson, now a Bay Shore resident, said, "It's definitely special in a lot of ways. I'm a history buff, and have always had an appreciation for American History, and to be there and on historical ground and now I am part of that history. . ." Dodson was humbled as he recounted the whole experience which he says "all happened so fast."
Dodson continued to share that after a little research, he discovered some surreal correlations or 'connections' between his family and that of Dr. King: "I found that my brother Kenny was born one day before Dr. King's 'I Have a Dream' speech, and my mom graduated high school the same year as Dr. King's assassination in 1968."
The Dodson brothers were honored for their heroic actions by NYPD. Closer to home, Axel, a 1996 graduate of Central Islip High School, was honored by the Central Islip Board of Education when the District gave him a hometown hero's welcome for his heroic actions. Dodson was introduced to his hometown community with his respectable resume of credentials that include, but not limited to enlisting in the United States Marine Corps for six years after graduating high school. He subsequently signed up with the New York National Guard's elite fighting 69th Infantry Division and served a year on active duty in Iraq. Upon returning home from his Iraqi tour, Dodson rejoined the NYPD where he remained until his retirement in 2012.
So what's in store for Axel Dodson? He says he is perhaps contemplating authoring a book some time down the road. But immediately reflecting on the most recent string of events, Dodson reflected, "The whole thing was very symbolic. Martin Luther King, Jr. represented equality, justice and us getting along: and we had two black guys and two white guys working together in honor for his home."