By Jack
A true story of everyday life of a local police officer….
Dec. 2 – It was around 10 pm when the 9-1-1 call came in. A 13-year-old boy was on the phone. He frantically blurted out that his mother was lying on the floor and not breathing and she needed help.
Paramedics were dispatched was Officer Ken L. As is generally the case on such calls the police officer arrived first on the scene. The front door was open and the young boy and his little brother age 8 were standing on the porch in a state of panic. Officer L. could see the woman lying on the kitchen floor as he rushed inside. The 13-year-old said he found his mother down and unconscious. He didn’t know what was wrong with her.
Officer L. checked for vitals but found none. He immediately began CPR and about 3 minutes later the ambulance arrived and the EMTs took over. In the meantime, the boy’s father was just coming home from work. He arrived as his wife was being loaded onto the ambulance gurney. Officer L. had to restrain the shocked husband from interfering with the EMT’s, for which the man would later apologize. Flash forward to the hospital, for the next 30 minutes Officer L. found himself in the role of a grief counsellor speaking with the father and his two boys while they awaited the news, good or bad.
As of this moment, the patient’s condition is still critical.
The day before Officer L. was dispatched to a woman standing on the railroad tracks. The officer arrived and could see a train approaching from about a 1/4 mile away, traveling at about 45-50 mph. He knew he could reach her in time… if all went right. But, there was little margin for error.
The woman stood in the middle of the tracks facing the train. She was motionless, her gaze transfixed and seemingly unaware of Officer L presence until the moment when he grabbed her and pulled her from the tracks. Moments later the trained thundered by as the two walked towards the patrol car. The woman, aged about 50 was eventually transported to a mental health facility for an evaluation.
Along with these life or death type calls were the typical sort of calls, like fender benders, silent alarms that turn out to be a waste of time because most are unfounded, except when they’re not. There’s always the, he said-she said domestic disputes, shoplifting calls from the 7-11 and at least one or two thefts reports from a vehicle or garages, etc.
Tonight is another 10-hour shift, what it will be like nobody can say, only that Officer L. will be there.