tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28500185445978479972024-03-05T05:43:51.032-08:00True life Dutch Police storiesTrue life police stories from a Dutch copUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850018544597847997.post-14951249375832950582017-02-10T00:52:00.000-08:002017-02-10T00:52:06.021-08:00The man with the sword<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6AHwn5eG6oAp_LkArd43WfS5hv2lLw9FMfPmrpzSHgxA25pPmRKlD86jlIdb9x91qu6s7Old-Tw8WdOtn6U2yAXbQIHanjoaG1YPSOqdJa9LfRvwxAHJmbc53h89avsDiXnQ2hu_LIgxi/s1600/zwaard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6AHwn5eG6oAp_LkArd43WfS5hv2lLw9FMfPmrpzSHgxA25pPmRKlD86jlIdb9x91qu6s7Old-Tw8WdOtn6U2yAXbQIHanjoaG1YPSOqdJa9LfRvwxAHJmbc53h89avsDiXnQ2hu_LIgxi/s320/zwaard.jpg" width="314" /></a></div>
<div class="Kop2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Today I’m in service with my convivial
colleague Kees. We weren’t much together, so I was looking forward to it.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6666827819146042088"></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Within an hour after departure from the police station we got the
notification of an armed man threatening the staff of the RET in an underground
station. According to our information, he would be carrying a knife, probably
more than one.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When we arrived at the station, we both took our baton with us and hurried
to get upstairs. There was a coloured man with dark sunglasses sitting with his
back against a glass wall. In both fists he vastly kept some sort of wedge of
steal or awl. Next to him there was a backpack carrying an umbrella in a trash
bag. That was wat we thought for that moment anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I ordered him to drop the weapons and to show his hands, but that he
refused. As a reaction, I hit his hands with my baton, which had no effect. I
took my pepper spray and spurted into his face. Because of the sunglasses, I
could not see whether there was any effect.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Suddenly the suspect arose, turned around and quickly took the ‘umbrella’.
He turned to us and pulled out towards Kees. The umbrella turned out to be a
wooden sword. He tried to hit Kees on his head, but he could field the strike
with his arm. This resulted in a hefty wound. We used our baton and once more
our pepper spray to turn down the suspect.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What was happening during our struggle to disarm the man cannot be
described with any words. Because the underground had been stopped by the RET,
all the passengers were heaping together. I think there were approximately
hundred people on the platform. Many of them had not seen that the suspect was
trying to strike down somebody of the RET or one of us, and neither that the
suspect with a wooden sword almost cut of the lower arm of Kees. What they had
seen was all the force we used towards the suspect.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Next, the suspect was being supported by the crowd to defend himself, and
we were getting accused of being assaulters and killers. It was truly
frightening. Fortunately, there were many colleagues of the RET present at the
station keeping away the crowd so that we could master the suspect. Otherwise
we could probably have been lynched by the angry mass. We had no way to get out
and could not get anywhere. Kees and I had already intended to get away via the
rail to the next station if the crowd broke through the line of staff of the
RET.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There have been a few moments in my career, and in the career of Kees, that
I have felt afraid. This is one of them. For a moment we experienced being in
some anarchistic, lawless country in which only counts the law of the fittest,
instead of being in the relatively safe Netherlands. What we did not know was
that the emergency room of the police had been looking with us. They had
quickly sent colleagues towards us. It was a moment of great relief when we
heard the colleagues coming upstairs and delivering us from our precarious
situation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Actually, the assistance was present after three minutes already, but in my
experience it was like eternity. Kees had quite a bruise in his arm, but was
not lastingly injured. We drove back to the police station. ‘We got of well,
Kees’, I said unto him. Kees was visibly affected by the incident, normally he
is quite talkative, but than remarkably quiet.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The suspect was later on not judged, but was held not accountable for the
incident. In court his story was neither here nor there, and besides he
offended the judge and the public prosecutor several times by interrupting
them. In his bag were still knifes and he was convinced to injure us one time.
Our reality was not the reality of the spectators. Unfortunately, this is
mostly hard to explain.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">translated by Quintijn Aman</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850018544597847997.post-58517652677712487462016-12-02T09:26:00.002-08:002016-12-02T09:28:23.547-08:00CPR during Sinterklaas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrBOwAcOxNUZbMCLx6TzLgPH5Id_lqXTQ5md6bbg0xiOh1Sx5N-IszDiOmOwlCET8BpVXcd6VRgjsA0i7JFuoYrUpeoUxbcVyCIFmNFn9HMn5Pg5EO6wCQrkACicdtCpVae6DEHrc4sIBB/s1600/Sinterklaas_2007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrBOwAcOxNUZbMCLx6TzLgPH5Id_lqXTQ5md6bbg0xiOh1Sx5N-IszDiOmOwlCET8BpVXcd6VRgjsA0i7JFuoYrUpeoUxbcVyCIFmNFn9HMn5Pg5EO6wCQrkACicdtCpVae6DEHrc4sIBB/s200/Sinterklaas_2007.jpg" width="136" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was a quiet sundaymorning
5th December 2010. Due to illness someone has to go from Zuidplein to
Rozenburg. John, a cousin of mine, is on duty that day and it is nice to do a
shift with him. I volunteer and a minute later I am on my way to Rozenburg.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The town looks deserted when I
drive into town. In front of the precinct we check our patrolcar. Then Wouter
from the Higway Patrol calls that is he coming over for coffee. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">After some cups
we get a call from dispatch. An emergency. A woman has called that her husband
is sitting dead in his chair. Despite the cold weather and slippery roads the
three of us arrive in minutes at the location.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In a chair in the livingroom a
man sits motionless with a purple face. No sign of life what so ever. I grab
the man by his arms and put him on the floor and John connects the AED device
onto the man. In all the hectic we break the coffetable, pieces are everywhere.
Wouter starts CPR. It was already hot in the room, but now with the front door
open the small gasheater kicks really in. In no time the small livingroom is
hot like a furnace. I turn of the heater. The sound of the television is also
at peak level. I can’t find the remote, so I unplug the electricity cord. I
also have trouble to calm down the woman. She is totally out of control and
steps over husband to catch the cat who fled into the kitchen. I tell her to
stay in the hallway. She is obviusly in shock, because it’s like I am talking
to a brick wall. Then I force her to sit in a chair in the corner of the room.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the meanwhile John and Wouter
are still busy with CPR and the AED device does its job. The device suggests to
shock. That’s a good sign. After 5 minutes two ambulances and a firetruck
arrive. The firemen take care of the woman. The paramedics take over from John
and Wouter and put the man into the ambulance. I call the son of the couple,
who lives in the neighbourhood. After his arrival I explain the situation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Back in the livingroom I hear
the man has a pulse again but he has to be rushed to the hospital. The room is
one big mess. Stuff laying everywhere, including the used medical things. As
much as possible we clean the room with help of the son. The woman can go with
her husband in the second ambulance and together with the firemen we escort her
to the ambulance. By the way she ask me to give a ticket to a wrongly parked
car in front of their garage. Because that started everyhting. She tells me her
husband was so mad about this he got his heart attack. I tell her I will do
that and wishes her all the best. After the ambulances and the firetruck left I
walk toward the car and I start writing a ticket. The owner sees me and comes
over. I tell him what happened and that he is going to be fined. Ashamed he
accepts the ticket and without saying a word he removes his car. A couple of weeks
later I inform with the son who are things going with his father. His father
has made a total recovery. What a present !</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On 28th February 2011, twelve
weeks later, we are visiting the couple. It’s a pleasant reunion. We don’t
recognize the man, so healthy in comparison when we first saw him. We get
coffee and cake. He tells us how he is feeling and how gratefull he is. His
wife also tells her story, including the broken table. We laughed and received
the compliments with gratitude. The hollow tablefoot serves now as a plantstand
and some of the marble pieces are placed in a bottle as a bittersweet souvenir.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Their son also comes by to
thank us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">These are the moments which
make you proud being a policeman.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">See article: <a href="http://www.rotterdam.nl/tekst">http://www.rotterdam.nl/tekst</a>:
demanheeftweereenhartslag</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Translated by Paul Bosman</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Next story at dec 16</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850018544597847997.post-63449028612311425062015-09-02T22:41:00.000-07:002015-09-04T08:44:32.186-07:00Famous soccer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjszSazwZta23bBpDfM39bDXKNa9pPulDWUd9mdjgDUmNIVqJcD9_6_vujTpnc5vM90bq8UQNhw3rHho0HdP6ROvlz6FHC-aGhyphenhyphenV51qB4AEHrjVHZfd43m8KyjGTM6irGHVgkO6tpSi39l9/s1600/politiebal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjszSazwZta23bBpDfM39bDXKNa9pPulDWUd9mdjgDUmNIVqJcD9_6_vujTpnc5vM90bq8UQNhw3rHho0HdP6ROvlz6FHC-aGhyphenhyphenV51qB4AEHrjVHZfd43m8KyjGTM6irGHVgkO6tpSi39l9/s200/politiebal.jpg" /></a></div>
<span class="null"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the highway I see a luxury sports car; he drives with a higher speed than is allowed in the direction of Dordrecht. I drive behind him, the distance between the car and me is constant and the clock speed is 96 mph (155 km/u). After adjustment is it 88 mph (142 km/u). On the highway is 62 mph allowed (100 km/u). In other words, he drove 28 mph too fast (42 km/u). Guess what, that's not allowed in the Netherlands.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
</span><br />
<span class="null"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span class="null"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When the merger of the two national highways, near Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, I ride alongside the said vehicle and I give the driver a sign to follow me. The man with a brown face and dark sunglasses looks at me and makes a gesture with his head "what do you want?" I point again that he must follow me, but he remains on the lane for driving straight ahead. That wasn't what I wanted, so I decided to gently reduce the speed to force him to follow me. Yes, that works and I see that he is gesturing with his arms; he has clearly no sense to talk with me. He is following me and I drove to the parking of a gas station. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before I got the chance to identify myself as police officer, he gets out his car and starts to nag against me that I must drive normally. I explain that I was very clear with my instructions that I gave him. I ask his driver license; he told me that he can't show his driver license. I told him that he got a fine for exceeding the speed limit and that I must see an identification document.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The arrogance dripping from his face off, it's clear that he wants nothing to do with a police officer. I ask his name, but apparently was this question a weird one, because he is amazes. "Do you know who I am?" was his answer. I told him that I have no idea who he is. Again he asks me if I really do not know who he is. His bad attitude irritates me, so I tell him that I will arrest him if he not tells who he is. He says, "I'm Mr. X from soccer club X, do not you know me?” My answer is; “My name is Piet Kats, do you know me?” He looks at me with a surprised face, but a few seconds later he yells angry that I try to be funny and suchlike.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I request via the radio to check the details of the driver. I tell my colleague also that Mr. X claims he is a famous soccer. My colleague on the police station asks if he really the 'the' Mr. X is, "It's possible, but I don't know him" was my answer. Mr. X shows again his bad attitude. However, this time has he two choices; the easy way or the hard way. He understands that he has no chance to win this game, so he decided to follow me to the police station. On the phone he yells to his girlfriend; "Bring my *** driver license to the police station!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What a jerk... I mean; how he treated his girlfriend is not normal in my opinion. But okay, an hour later the girlfriend came and I give Mr. X a fine. It’s sad, but some Dutch celebrities think they can do anything without consequences; they are in daily life probably rarely contradicted in their function, even not by a police officer. However, their biggest nightmare is when you do not recognize them.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">next blog 16/09</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850018544597847997.post-80597103256935032622014-11-21T07:59:00.000-08:002014-11-21T07:59:00.589-08:00Are they dead?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURhYVcRYh8ykcfqF7m3TExRiiyDajcw9V3sYEUNW8IeDpb2BnP3fmiRpc96szkGDGDxXdRToxXPYBueCi9PrxJeQlqneKuCdTp-7toUnsVbzNQBcEl89YAImy_ucBSUMUK3VqqsrY3v04/s1600/autondervrachtwagen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span lang="EN-GB">It was just
before Christmas, before supper, when a father and his daughter went out to
pick up a Christmas tree. They got in the car and drove to the point of sale on
the junction of “A” street with “B” way, where every year lots of Christmas
trees are being sold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They bought a
Christmas tree and drove back home.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At the
junction, the father evidently did not notice the red light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He drove, as it appeared later, through the
red light onto the junction, where a large truck approached from the left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The truck driver, who had green light, was
suddenly confronted with a car coming from the right which did not stop and
continued onto the junction.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The truck
driver applied his brakes with all his power, but because he carried a full
load, he could not avoid a collision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
smashed into the left side of the car and dragged it some 30 m along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The collision left the car in no more than a
scrap heap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The father appeared to be
trapped and the situation looked serious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The emergency services were the first to be called out and we as police
were the first to arrive on the scene. I noticed the driver was trapped and
seriously injured. However, what I saw afterwards was dreadful. I saw a
Christmas tree had been pushed into the car, and I saw a child’s arm sticking
out of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I called my colleague Henk on
observing the child’s arm. My colleague pushed his hand inside the wreckage and
called out it was indeed a “real child’s arm”. At that moment you still hope it
might have been a doll that was laying on the back seat, but unfortunately....</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the
meantime the first fire crew had arrived on the scene, and started freeing the
casualties. At such a time it is better for us to step back, even though you
feel the compelling need to assist with the release of the passengers. We did
indicate to the fire crew that we were sure there were two casualties involved,
one of them being a child.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span lang="EN-GB">What was
important to us at that time was to gather possible witnesses, and to cordon
off the scene of the accident as masses of people had gathered who insisted on
following the scene from close by. One has to remain professional at all times,
but at times like this you would want to throw them a punch because of their misplaced
remarks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Especially when you know a child
is involved who is trapped in the car and may no longer be alive, receiving
remarks like being authoritative and having nothing better to do than bully the
public. On such occasions, as a police
officer, you need to apply self-control, we are trained for this after all,
aren’t we??</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, we
had gathered more witnesses who had seen the car drive through a red light. We
had taken the lorry driver from the scene of the accident and taken him to the
Police Station Zuidplein.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was totally
shaken and it is much better not to leave someone at the accident scene in such
circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He confirmed he had
passed through a green light and only noticed the car approaching from the
right onto the junction at the last minute.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span lang="EN-GB">It was
evident there was no hope for the two passengers. Because the child, who
appeared to be a little girl, was so badly trapped and had died, it was decided
to full-lift the car and transport it to the Boezembocht Police Station to free
her from the wreckage on site there. The fire crew followed and were then able
to cut the little girl from the wreckage, undisturbed and without onlookers.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span lang="EN-GB">We were able
to identify the driver by his driver’s licence and vehicle registration, and by
cross checking further records, we established a woman and a young girl were
also registered at the same address.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
suspected this was the little girl that was in the car but you cannot be
totally certain at that time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>A visit
had to be paid to the address with utmost urgency, also to avoid the mother attending
the scene of the accident. My colleague Henk and I drove to the address of the
casualties.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is a
difficult task and hard moments when you are going to turn someone’s life
upside down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having arrived at the
address, I first glanced through the window and at that time I nearly lost all
courage to ring the doorbell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I
observed was very endearing on the one hand, but because of our arrival very
dramatic on the other hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw the
table had been laid for two, with also a child’s plate, laid out on a pretty
(Christmas) tablecloth and lit candles on the table. I saw a woman in the room
dancing around to the sound of music.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">And then you
have to ring the doorbell. A lot of questions run through your mind which will
be best to ask. The woman answered the door, and we asked if we could come in. She
frowned when she looked at us. We heard jolly Christmas music in the
background. She asked if something had happened and I again asked if we could
come inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is better on such
occasions, so as to avoid emotional scenes to the public eye, and to avoid
someone collapsing in the doorway.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The woman
soon realised something serious had occurred and asked if something had
happened t her husband and daughter. I asked if her husband and daughter had left
in a car, and the make and colour of the vehicle, as well as the clothes her
husband was wearing before he left. All details were verified.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I informed the woman that they had been
involved in a car crash and had sustained serious injuries, even though I knew
they were most likely to be dead. She obviously did not trust my facial
expression and asked outright: “Are they dead”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I then had to tell her and she burst out in tears and sat down on the
couch, head held in her hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
moment felt like an hour and you just do not know where to put yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henk sat down next to the woman and put his
hand on her shoulder Silence is the best way, until she started to ask
questions on what she had to do next.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
asked her if she had close relatives nearby that we could notify, as we did not
want to leave her on her own. After the relatives had arrived, we left. It felt
as if we were led to the slaughter, when we headed back to the station. We felt
like shit to put it mildly. I will never forget the look on Henk’s face.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-GB"></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Having
arrived home that evening, I just sat on the couch for hours with a beer, and
was unable to go to sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything
was going around in my head........what a dreadful day this had been.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>*</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850018544597847997.post-43729668228934838102014-11-06T10:30:00.001-08:002014-11-06T10:37:18.872-08:00Airbags, life saving or dangerous?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6RKr5usyGTzMj3nWgOoUthDuTg3zkP11ixmaJWbeUitv-t4s82hQ9uv3vZvqfMEAOGdkz562Z5AKRd9OqOg4kQk6tA4FeLuih6woEXkjl5EyFa81rGHAu9RJLb6v8QLmt4_JQf6ZZ6p8/s1600/airbag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6RKr5usyGTzMj3nWgOoUthDuTg3zkP11ixmaJWbeUitv-t4s82hQ9uv3vZvqfMEAOGdkz562Z5AKRd9OqOg4kQk6tA4FeLuih6woEXkjl5EyFa81rGHAu9RJLb6v8QLmt4_JQf6ZZ6p8/s1600/airbag.jpg" height="200" width="179" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span lang="EN-GB">There are not
many cars left out on the road which are not equipped with airbags.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Airbags are a great invention which can
prevent serious injuries to casualties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However an activated airbag can be extremely dangerous, when passengers
are not sitting correctly in their passenger seats.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is when
we received a call out to an injury-accident on the motorway. Several cars were
involved. Having arrived at the scene of the accident we found two cars were
involved, one of them turned on its side with wreckage at the back which once
was a caravan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The contents of the
caravan were spread across various lanes of the motorway, causing total chaos. We found one casualty in the car that was turned on its side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a female, and I took care of her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her husband is standing by, looking helpless
and my colleague looked after him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> T</span>he
woman appears to have sustained serious injuries and required urgent medical
attention. I called out the ambulance
and fire brigade, explaining the urgency, and tried to keep the female
conscious. All airbags in the car had been activated. This should have been
favourable for the woman, who is still strapped in her seat belt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the woman’s foot is shattered and
burned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her leg is laying in a very
strange position, which is hard to understand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even the paramedics and the mobile crash team, who had landed their
helicopter in the middle of the motorway, could initially not understand. How
so much injury could have been sustained in such a relatively minor accident.
The paramedics asked my colleague to ask the man, in which position the woman
was travelling in her passenger seat , just prior to impact. Then it became
apparent that she had been sitting in a slouched position with her right foot
resting on the dashboard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the middle
of the bridge her husband suddenly had to break because of slowing traffic in
front.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It appeared later, the caravan
had such a heavy load which resulted in the man being unable to stop his
vehicle on time and smashed into the car in front. This explained the serious injury to the
woman. Because of the sudden breaking, the woman was not able to sit up
properly, as she was slouched and had her foot resting on the dashboard. The
dashboard airbag was active on impact. The woman’s foot became trapped between
the dashboard and the car roof, because of the inflated dashboard airbag.
Additionally the activated airbag generates a lot of heat which caused the
burns to the woman’s foot and leg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
also sustained a serious hip fracture, caused by her leg being wrenched
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was freed from the wreckage by
the fire crew and taken to hospital urgently. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Shortly
afterwards I was again reminded of the power of an airbag. In the village of
“X”, a driver smashed into the car in front.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His dog is sitting on the passenger seat and his head got smashed
between the dashboard and the front windscreen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The airbag got activated on impact and the dog’s head got stuck between
the airbag and car roof.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dog died on
impact.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span lang="EN-GB"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since having
witnessed these accidents I get the shivers when I see people “relaxing” their
feet on the dashboard, or even worse, when they travel with a child on their
lap. I tend to stop these cars which often results in a baffled look on their
faces and unable to understand why they have been stopped by police.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I point out the dangers of feet on
dashboard, or child on lap, you can see them shudder at the thought. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span lang="EN-GB"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am
convinced that readers of this blog will think about it twice before putting
their feet on the dashboard, or travelling with a child on their lap on the
front seat.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(translated by Irma Gasson, UK)</span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850018544597847997.post-7959210508868317272014-11-04T13:08:00.000-08:002014-11-05T12:30:07.382-08:00Cowboys they are!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDkAO0lX_w74sxJaDPp0zIGbEiLLLSFmTmyadhN74uZZ9AtcoUbidan9Ou0iFNhGzBfJpFgvBXYQ1o7exKzNYX2rp_3SHXIg7dcHRT_mhxFtdUCE8KXxrAJpOby3nw0De2zD_4LWL31btn/s1600/ernstig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDkAO0lX_w74sxJaDPp0zIGbEiLLLSFmTmyadhN74uZZ9AtcoUbidan9Ou0iFNhGzBfJpFgvBXYQ1o7exKzNYX2rp_3SHXIg7dcHRT_mhxFtdUCE8KXxrAJpOby3nw0De2zD_4LWL31btn/s1600/ernstig.jpg" height="144" width="200" /></a></div>
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The emergency
services’ profession needs to be in your blood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Emergency services staff chose to do this work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, action, stress, working under
pressure, clout and helpfulness, are the main criteria for the serving
officers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ideally, there should always
be a happy ending, but it often does not turn out that way.</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">One early
Thursday morning we received a call-out regarding an injury-accident in the
Rotterdam region. I will not reveal any details in order to protect the relatives’
privacy. The point of this story is the (in)credible reaction by the public. </span><br />
</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At the scene
of the accident the casualty was in a serious condition, in fact so critical
that it was decided not to free the casualty from the wreckage (who was still
able to communicate at this stage), but to call in the close relatives to
enable them to say their good-byes at the scene of the accident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The medical team were concerned that the
casualty would not survive after having been freed from the wreckage.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">As I was on
my motorbike and huge tail backs had formed, causing the roads to be blocked, I
was tasked with contacting the family in a village some 15 km distance from the
scene of the accident. I got to the address fairly quickly without too many
hold-ups, where colleagues of the emergency services were waiting for my
arrival, and who had meanwhile informed the relatives. Both parents were home
and it was agreed I would ride in front, if necessary using blues and two’s but
with suitable speed so as not to cause any danger to the traffic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was agreed that they would use their
hazard lights, so it would be clear to the public that their car was following
my police bike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fairly quickly we
approached the tail backs, and this is where I really had to work at the job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I tried to manoeuvre the car behind me
through the traffic, which for me on the bike was not too much of a challenge,
but for the car following me this was much more of a problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the provincial road we managed at first to
pass a large part of the tail back, but then were continually blocked by cars
who were trying to U-turn across the central line markings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several drivers, who were standing next to
their cars, threw dirty looks to the car driven by the parents, and used
language not to be repeated. We were hardly able to move.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One U-turn driver got out of his car and
insisted on expressing his opinion on the long queues and that the police were
not doing anything about it. I was not in the mood to enter into a discussion
with him and demanded he move his vehicle out of our way immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Initially he refused and demanded to know why
this particular vehicle was able to pass, and if by any chance the passengers
in the car were family of mine and I just wanted to give them a quick
pass-through. I felt very angry and several things went through my mind, would
I spray pepper spray in his eyes, push him aside, push his car into the grass
verge, and carry on? One would be quite capable of abuse in such circumstances
but I restrained myself and told him once more to move over, to enable the
relatives to get to the scene of the accident with utmost urgency. Purposely
slowly he walked back to his car, still moaning, saying “yeah, yeah,
whatever”!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were finally able to move
on, only to be confronted once again by an oncoming vehicle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not feel like going through the whole
thing again and continued – this being possible in this particular location –
across the verge onto the cycle path, with the car following.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately the cycle path was also very
busy. And again..there was no sympathy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You cannot imagine the commentary regarding the following car, that it
was not allowed on the cycle path, how dangerous it was, etc. etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As if I was not aware of this!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I then left my blues and two’s on continually
so as not to have to listen to any further comments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We finally arrived safely at the scene of the
accident, and the awful scene I then witnessed I will never forget.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The parents had to say good-bye to their
child, who was still communicating, but they knew it would be over soon after
release.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So many questions were fired at
the rescue team, to establish if there was absolutely no other way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As emergency services personnel you feel so
uneasy and defeated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fire crew
started their horrible task, the release from the wreckage. After having been
freed, the casualty was taken to hospital by ambulance and despite the urgent
transport and immediate care, we later learned that the casualty had passed
away. I stayed behind at the scene of the accident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fire brigade packed up their gear in
silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The medical team packed up
their stuff in silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A member of the
highway services collected his traffic cones in silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The man from the Waterworks stood there in
silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The recovery vehicle driver
started his work in silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone
had their own thoughts about the terrible job they had to do.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span lang="EN-GB"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB">We had done
our best but if I may speak on behalf of all the emergency services, we all
felt defeated on that day.</span><br />
</span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I only hope
those members of the public who made their comments will be sorry when they
learn the truth. The tough cowboys in their red fire truck, in their yellow
ambulance, and in their striped police vehicle overtaking with a lot of
commotion, were silenced. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<br />
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fortunately
there is a lot of support available from the BOT teams, The Services Support
Team, made up by colleagues, where you can get it off your chest, when
necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That day this was certainly
needed in my case. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<br />
</span><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
(translated by Irma Gasson, UK)</span>
</span><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1