Not sure where to put this, so I decided that since this happened back some twenty-five years ago, Days Gone By, may be the best place for it. After having read some of the things about cops being aggressive when pulling over drivers and shooting people in the streets, I thought maybe a little human interest story may allow everyone to lighten up a bit. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not stating for a fact that no cop ever did anything that they shouldn't have, or maybe could have handled a situation differently, but, well, there is another side to police officers that not everyone sees or reads about, so here goes. (Read it if you like or just close it.)
It was in October of 1987 that I had just left the barracks to drive to my patrol area. The call came in at 11:25 p.m. The dispatcher radioed that there was a woman in her car in a ditch laying on her side and was in need of assistance and I was to respond Code 2, which is lights and siren, if necessary. I was imagining in my mind what I would find when I got there. I thought that I would find a lady in her car, which would be laying in a ditch. I was the first on the scene before the ambulance and fire truck. When I got there, I saw a lady outside of her car, laying on her side in a ditch and beginning to give birth. The first thing in my mind was, "Where is that damned ambulance?" OK, so I tell myself don't panic and remember your training. I wanted to call my Mother or wife, but there was no time for that. I did deliver my one and only baby that night. The Mom and Dad came into the station about a month later. They said that they did not send in the birth certificate yet because they wanted to give the child, a boy, his middle name using one of my names. I told them that although I really appreciated that, I had an idea that maybe they would go for. We had a fellow officer killed in the line of duty about 2 months prior. Would you honor him with his name, which was David Michael .......? The couple thought about it and said "yes", we will name him Justin Michael............. (All names are fictitious.) (The call to 911 was made by a passing motorist who went to a nearby home and made the call. No cell phones back then or not everyone had one.)
By the way, on that night and after the delivery, I asked the EMT's where the Hell where you guys? They said they were at the hospital and took an elderly lady in that had a stroke, but unfortunately, she had died on the way in. I think there's moral or whatever you call it to this part of the story. Something like, when one life ends, another begins.
The lady's husband was an o-t-r truck driver and he was scheduled to be home on the day of the delivery, but she was 3, 4 or 5 days early. Babies, you just never know.
It was in October of 1987 that I had just left the barracks to drive to my patrol area. The call came in at 11:25 p.m. The dispatcher radioed that there was a woman in her car in a ditch laying on her side and was in need of assistance and I was to respond Code 2, which is lights and siren, if necessary. I was imagining in my mind what I would find when I got there. I thought that I would find a lady in her car, which would be laying in a ditch. I was the first on the scene before the ambulance and fire truck. When I got there, I saw a lady outside of her car, laying on her side in a ditch and beginning to give birth. The first thing in my mind was, "Where is that damned ambulance?" OK, so I tell myself don't panic and remember your training. I wanted to call my Mother or wife, but there was no time for that. I did deliver my one and only baby that night. The Mom and Dad came into the station about a month later. They said that they did not send in the birth certificate yet because they wanted to give the child, a boy, his middle name using one of my names. I told them that although I really appreciated that, I had an idea that maybe they would go for. We had a fellow officer killed in the line of duty about 2 months prior. Would you honor him with his name, which was David Michael .......? The couple thought about it and said "yes", we will name him Justin Michael............. (All names are fictitious.) (The call to 911 was made by a passing motorist who went to a nearby home and made the call. No cell phones back then or not everyone had one.)
By the way, on that night and after the delivery, I asked the EMT's where the Hell where you guys? They said they were at the hospital and took an elderly lady in that had a stroke, but unfortunately, she had died on the way in. I think there's moral or whatever you call it to this part of the story. Something like, when one life ends, another begins.
The lady's husband was an o-t-r truck driver and he was scheduled to be home on the day of the delivery, but she was 3, 4 or 5 days early. Babies, you just never know.
