Role Models

A lot gets said in the papers about rold models; how footballers and movie stars should be more positive role models because youngsters look up to them.

I mentioned in another post about how my mate got assaulted at a job the other day. I thought I'd go into a bit more detail about the job. I have to be careful because the case is "sub judice" which means it's not gone to Court yet. So I won't be mentioning their true names.

At about 5am a security guard from the train station phoned Police on 999 reporting a male trying to break into a car in their car park. He was apparently banging the windows of the car with a brick. A number of officers responded to the shout. The station where I work doesn't cover this train station, but I initially called up for the job because everyone was so busy. However, within seconds, about five or six other officers responded, all of whom were much closer. So I cancelled and went back to writing up the previous incidents.

My mate (we'll call him "Harry") was the first officer at scene. As he pulled into the car park the thief (we'll call him Scumbag) saw the Police vehicle and ran off, vaulting a fence and entering some wasteland that is still owned by the rail companies but doesn't get used for anything. Harry updated that he had a "runner" and gave chase, himself vaulting over the fence.

At this point I changed my mind and started to make to the job. We were hearing updates from Harry but, because he was running, his transmission was broken and it was hard to tell exactly what he was saying. When I was still nearly a mile away Harry pressed his emergency button on his radio, calling for assistance.

Again, he tried to explain where he was but was unable to make it clear. I now know that the reason for this was because he had caught Scumbag, but that the thief wasn't complying. Whilst trying to keep us updated, Harry was also having to deal with a male, much larger than him, who was trying to do him some serious damage.

Within minutes there were about a dozen or so bobbies within a couple of hundred metres of Harry, but none of us could see him. We could occasionally hear his voice but he was in really deep undergrowth. He managed a quick update saying he was near a car park. During the update, in the background, we could hear Scumbag thrashing and screaming. Then Harry gave another update: "I need a first aid kit. My head's bleeding quite badly." Scumbag was still screaming insults in the background. We were calling to each other frantically, desperate to help our colleage and friend.

Eventually, we found Harry. He was being lead away from his prisoner, his face, head and body covered in his own blood. During the scuffle his glasses had been knocked from his face and this, with the blood, meant he could hardly see.

He later told us what had happened. On the far side of the wasteground, he had cornered Scumbag who couldn't climb over the barbed wire fence. Scumbag turned on Harry who drew his Asp, the Police issue baton. Scumbag made a lunge for Harry, who struck him twice on the arm. This caused Scumbag to fall to the ground and become temporarily subdued. Because of this, Harry attempted to handcuff him. However, with one hand cuffed, Scumbag got his second wind and again lunged for Harry. This caused them both to fall over and for Harry to drop his baton. With them rolling around on the floor, Scumbag grabbed the asp and struck Harry twice on the head with it.

But Harry, though dazed and seriously injured, refused to let go of his prisoner. Even though he was starting to get weak, couldn't see and felt dizzy and groggy, he would not let him escape again. I've just got off the phone to Harry and asked him why he did this. And Harry replied "He'd committed a crime. He'd have had to kill me for me to let go of him."

So what's this got to do with Role Models? Well, I just think that we could do a lot worse than Harry. He typifies the Police officer who's willing to risk themself in order to keep other people and their property safe. He's paid to do a job and he does it to the best of his ability. And, if we believe all the press about Police sickness records, I suppose he'll take the opportunity to have a month or two off in front of the telly?

Actually, no. He's back to work on Thursday. His GP's warned him not to leave the station to deal with any incidents. The GP obviously doesn't know Harry too well.