The Wedding Reception.
Saturday 14:00 hours until 22:00 hours (duties permitting). Friday and Saturday evenings were always very busy on the division. Shoplifters on Saturday afternoons, and drunks with the associated disorder during the evening and night-time.
A local Social Club attached to one of the Breweries hired out its hall for a special occasion, a wedding reception. We received a call that all hell had let loose and there was fighting in the hall, tables broken, glasses smashed etc. So a few of us were despatched to calm the storm, asap.
We arrived and there was broken glass everywhere and upturned tables. Several of the men were bleeding and needed treatment so the ambulance was sent for.
I travelled in the ambulance with the groom’s brother (the best man) to the hospital to get a statement of events. But he was too intoxicated, and when we got to the hospital he was belligerent. He had been knocked across a table of beer glasses causing deep lacerations to and across his back. The nurse got his top clothes off with some difficulty. A doctor was going to have to examine the inside of the lacerations with his fingertips to be sure that there were no glass splinters, which were likely to pierce his lungs. The doctor pointed out that it was a tricky job on a sober person.
The hospital called the Station to ask for permission to retain myself and another Bobby to assist them. Permission was given.
Because the patient was intoxicated he could not be given any anaesthetics to ease the pain of the doctor’s probing fingers.
They laid the patient on the gurney face first with his arms through the bars. I took one arm and wrist and my colleague took the other. The doctor warned us that the gates of Hades were about to open, and my, how they did.
I admired that doctor, as gentle as he could be, but thorough. The patient screamed and struggled like a madman with the strength of ten. It seemed to go on for hours, but after 30 minutes it was done and then came the stitching up of the wounds, and there were many. All was done as quickly as possible so the patient could go home, be arrested, or whatever; they didn’t want him there. Personal details were obtained, and he was released to go home. It was decided to wait until the next day to get statements when all the parties were sober.
It was a good job that we had remained to help the staff out.
Oh! The fight!
Well, it was a wedding and when enough drink had been consumed the bridegroom’s brother, the best man, thought that he ought to do more for the bridegroom. The bride objected to him as he tried flirting, and so did the bridegroom. The errant brother on the gurney was getting rough justice, some that he would long remember. Do you think!
The following day it was all over. The club had the damages paid for and decided not to make a complaint. There were no complaints of assault from anyone.
My colleague and I earned a few cups of tea at the hospital if ever we had the time, and that evening we had a jolly good physical workout.
Lends a whole new meaning to, ‘May the Best Man Win,’ I’m Glad that it was the bridegroom!
Get Back Out On The Streets!
I was placed on a Unit Beat Vehicle driver test and passed, I was walking the beat at 14:00 hours and driving around it at 17:00 hours in a panda car. It was decided by the driving school that I should be put forward for what was known as a Conversion course. All gobbledygook at the time to me. The driving course took place over six weeks and consisted of driving around the country in various unmarked white cars at tremendous speeds. Carrying out high-speed pursuits and all sorts of training, on a skid pan, anti-terrorist driving, and I loved it all. Then came the day of the test and of course, the waiting for your turn behind the wheel. It all went well and I passed with flying colours.
The Inspector and the sergeants on the shift were not so impressed. “Why do you want to do all that, surely a UBV test was enough for you?” It turned out that they did not want me to leave the shift later on for Traffic, they felt that I was too useful. I only found out later.
The time came for my two-week attachment to the traffic division (see car above) and the one week was a night shift. We were driving around an area at about 1 in the morning when I saw a youth with a young girl and something didn’t look right to me. I asked the traffic officer to stop and I spoke to the youth. He had a long screwdriver concealed in his pocket. He was going equipped to steal a car and took his sister along too. The young lady obviously needed care and had been left in her brother’s charge. I arrested him and we took them to the local station, handed them to the CID and I made a statement before going back on patrol.
After my attachment was over, the Traffic Superintendent sent a message to my own divisional superintendent asking for me to receive a commendation for being sharp-eyed regarding the arrest.
My superintendent called me into his office, showed me the recommendation, tore it up and threw it in the waste paper bin.
He said to me; “This is everyday police work! Get back out on the streets!”
There’s nothing like encouragement!