2008
A story
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ok… so I will tell you this much about me, I’m a police officer. There I said it. It’s like coming out of the closet LOL. Any way I wanted to share with whoever reads this what happened at work on Tuesday. It’s a lot easier to share things here than to bother my family with stories of death and car chases all the time. It tends to frighten them.
I don’t care how tough you are, or in this case “how tough I think I am” sometimes you just can’t anticipate how you will handle something.
Ive been hit, kicked, spit on called every friggin name you can think of and in every conceivable language. You could say I’m conditioned to being abused while at work. I’m also used to walking into finding dead folks. It happens, it’s just a part of the job.
Well Tuesday morning at around 9am I was running some errands for the Detective Bureau when our dispatcher sent us to a motor vehicle accident. The caller on the phone (the person who was hit) said the guy must be drunk. He is trying to push her car out of the way with his car.
I was the first to arrive and I jumped out of my car and approched the little black car with a very large man inside( about 400lbs) . His car was still pressing on the SUV’s rear bumper and the engine was revving. When I walked up to the man I automatically asked him if he had been drinking. At closer glance I could see that his lips were blue and his breathing was aspirated and shallow. I looked at him and asked him if he had medical problems, or was a diabetic. He gasped out 3 times “please help me, I’m dying, Please help me” I called for the ambulance and told them to “step it up” (which if that is ever said on a police radio you better HAUL ASS!) I grabbed the mans wrist and tried to obtain a pulse but it was so weak I could barely detect it.
I told the man to calm his breathing and listen to my voice. I tried to get him to pay attention to something other than the fact that he was infact dying. I heard the medic’s sirens coming and when I turned to tell him everything was going to be ok, his eyes rolled up into his head and he quit breathing. He coded out right there. It took all 6 of us to pry him out of that tiny car and lift him onto the stretcher. it took about 8 of us to life the stretcher to the highest position and get him into the back of the ambulance.
I found out about 2 hours later that they brought him back briefly but could not get him stabilized. I know death is a huge part of life. I’ve gone through it more times than I care to count, but when you are utterly and completely helpless, and there is nothing you can do it’s a very lonely feeling. I couldn’t very well give him mouth to mouth because he was still gasping for air. I couldn’t do chest compressions and screw up the heart beat he still had, not to mention he was a big man in a small car and there was no way I could lift him out. (160 vs 400 dead weight)
Just thought I’d share. It’s a tough job, you never get the thanks you “need” to keep a healthy mind set in this job. You can never prepare yourself mentally for everything you’re going to see in 25+ years.
I promise to put up some exciting stories when they become available. No more of this sad shit.
You do one of the toughest jobs there is, and no one ever thanks you enough, or could thank you enough. I am so sorry you had to be there and feel helpless, but in a big way you did help, just because you WERE there, that man did not have to die all alone. Thank you for making us see our police force in a different light than is too often used on them. I wish you safety from harm and the strength to handle all the things you have to see every day.
GG