A Really Good Kid
Bucks County Courier Times
Ed-Op
(Wed, Sep/08/2004)

Bo Fisher was a terrific student and a standout athlete. But he also was a regular teen given to making mistakes.

Seventeen-year-old Bo Fisher was a good kid, a really good kid. In fact, he was a parent’s dream.

A member of the National Honor Society, the Richboro teen was a finalist for a National Merit Scholarship, scoring 1,500 out of a possible 1,600 on the SAT.

But Bo was an athlete in addition to being a scholar. As a sophomore, he played for the Council Rock High School-North football team, the 2002 division champ. He also played on the Council Rock Lacrosse Club. A 6-foot-2-inch, 220-pound iron man, he was to play both offense and defense for this year’s Council Rock-South football squad.

More than that, as captain of his lacrosse team and co-captain of this year’s football team, Bo also was a leader.

And he was a musician; he played trumpet in both the jazz and concert bands.

Finally, Bo was a patriot. Deeply moved by the terrorist attacks on our nation, Bo dreamed of becoming a Navy SEAL. He was getting ready to apply to the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Military Academy.

He will attend neither.

In addition to being a good and special kid in so many ways, Bo also was a regular teen. His judgment could be flawed, his thinking immature. He took risks. And made mistakes.

Tragically, he lost his life as a result.

Sea Isle City police say they came across Bo and a few other kids – not unlike hundreds of others no doubt – drinking beer on the beach. They ran and hid. Bo eventually gave up. But police say he bolted when an officer told him his parents would be called.

Moments later, the pursuing officer was among a crowd hunched over Bo’s body. He had been struck – twice – as he darted out in traffic. Bo was pronounced dead at the scene.

It is a testament to Bo that 300 people showed up for an impromptu candlelight vigil a day after his shocking death. Those who know him theorized that Bo ran so as not to jeopardize his chances of getting into one of the military academies. If so, it says more about his character than his decision to run suggests.

No doubt, some will hold the police responsible for Bo’s death. And it is understandable that the question will be raised: Was the alleged crime serious enough to warrant a foot chase? But if Bo and his friends were doing what police said they were doing, they were violating the law. And police were right to step in.

The outcome was awful and tragic and heartbreaking – but accidental. And if there is any more to it than that, the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office will say so.

Meanwhile, we join Bo’s family and friends in mourning the loss of a really good kid.