ANYONE WANT TO SHARE THEIR WORST EXPERIENCES?

[wannabedispatcher]

Some of the stories I have heard from my fiance' and other officers are unbelievable when it comes to crashes and experiences. Anyone care to share their worst crash or horrific experiences?

[Slim]

Most of the "bad" things that happen to me on duty I just brush over and put them somewhere I won't think about it again. But, something fresh in my memory is a parolee vomiting in my mouth last week while I was doing CPR on him. Yes I was using a pocket mask. I get the "willies" everytime I think about it again.

[wannabedispatcher]

ValleyDRE that is really gross! Yuck!

[G-Man]

Most of the "bad" things that happen to me on duty I just brush over and put them somewhere I won't think about it again. But, something fresh in my memory is a parolee vomiting in my mouth last week while I was doing CPR on him. Yes I was using a pocket mask. I get the "willies" everytime I think about it again.

and that is why god gave us the Bag Valve Mask.

[NOR CAL 5-0]

"and that is why god gave us the Bag Valve Mask. "
Amen to that G-Man!!!
I had a similar experience with a Carnival worker a few years back and was so glad I had a bag valve mask.

[FDandH]

Most disgusting? A brake check area on the beat has jersey walls along the outer edges and the walls are black from urine. Now imagine rolling into that place on a stop when it's 100+ degrees, the smell is awful.

[Nellie]

When I was a kid, we had this parade in town before the big rodeo every year called the "Kiddie Caper Parade." My mom wanted me to dress up as a football player and march in the parade. She found me this old plastic toy 49er football helmet, an adult pair of white thermal pants (complete with the slot in the front), baseball cleats, and my little league baseball shirt (complete with the sponsor on the front...Sambos). I had a big football I held in front of the crotch region to hide the slot. The entire parade, these kids in front of me were laughing at me. I felt like such an idiot.

[Mac]

Some of the stories I have heard from my fiance' and other officers are unbelievable when it comes to crashes and experiences. Anyone care to share their worst crash or horrific experiences?
I think you'll find that officers' true very worst experiences are often things they'd rather not bring back to the surface and discuss in public forums, as valleydre alluded to. Anybody who's spent a few years on the road has seen (and/or experienced) some truly disturbing things, and they're usually not exactly your fondest memories.

Beside the above, I'd really hate for some family member of somebody to stumble upon this forum by chance, recognize a story/incident as involving one of their loved ones, and then read some graphic, gory details that they really didn't need to hear.

[Tiredmotor]

Good point Mac, I will relate a near-crash experience I had though....funny the things that you can remember...

I was working my standard west county beat in my area, I-80 swing shift - some things never change. It was early spring, a cool, crisp day, on and off rain...more off than on and really more like showers than rain. We were still riding the fabulous KZ-1000P motorcycles, very basic, very slow, handled great at slow speed, bad at high speed and poor braking (as compared to these newfangled whiz-bang bikes) It was about 1600 or 1700, as a good motor I was trying my best for my tags and what better than carpool? It was still getting dark rather early and I needed to take shelter at my local Starbucks by nightfall.

I was parked on the shoulder of E/B watching traffic go by...the ground was damp..kinda cloudy and misty. At this location there are 5 lanes, the #1 lane is the carpool lane...the roadway slopes downward between the two exits where I was parked. Traffic, as usual here, backs up in the #2 and #3, maybe 10-15 mph. The #4 lane moves slightly faster and the #5 becomes an exit lane. I've often wondered why traffic slows so much here but it does and has for as long as I can remember...nothing remarkable about the area just a sweeping left turn after the slight downhill. Traffic, as expected, clips along pretty good in the #1 lane anywhere from 40 to 65 mph. I often think those folks are nuts going 65 when I car at any moment can pull out from the #2 going 10 mph.....trust me it happens....a lot.

Well it was then that I saw it...the Holy Grail of carpool tags....mana from heaven........a 3-axle bobtail in the #1. Not only an "out-of-lane" violation but it appeared to be a solo occupant as he went by my location. It doesn't get any better than that my friends......I began my pull-out. Well trained Motor graduate that I am I executed a proper pullout and began my approach...first entering the #5 lane.

About this time, lets call the driver of the tractor...Mr. X, Mr. X sees me...he looks at me and sees me....and immediately realizes his shortcomings. He begins his quick lane change into the #2 lane. I'm slowly making my way into the #4 lane. It really is hard for me to explain how fast this all occurred...but it WAS FAST. Faster than you probably are imagining it happening right now. Remember I said the condition of the #2 lane?...backed up?.....10-15 mph?.....yea well Mr. X realizes the same now and panics...he slams on his brakes.

Now...what happens to a bobtail tractor that was going down hill...on a wet roadway...at 60 mph....making an abrupt lane change...and then slams on the brakes?????? Anyone...Anyone...right...it got sideways....completely sideways and directly in front of a simple motor cop that was changing lanes from the #3 to the #2. While, indeed, this all happened fast I remember this detail because it was in slow motion...I "applied" my brakes and flipped on my emergency lights. I was so close to the third axle I could see the rocks stuck in the tread as it slowly rotated - a result of Mr. X locking up his brakes. It was surreal.......and with that it basically ended. He regained control got the rig going E/B again..I moved right behind him (lights and siren) and we moved to the shoulder. With literally hundreds of cars in the area we were unscathed.

I approached, wobbly, climbed up the passenger side, wobbly, and looked at Mr. X. He looked at me....there were no words spoken...he gave me the info...and I retreated to my bike for the appropriate enforcement action. I had a tough time writing that ticket...I was shaking like a leaf.

As chance would have it I caught Mr. X again, not in a bobtail though, but in the carpool lane. Some people never learn.

[5-0]

one rainy night in winter, i stopped for a stalled veh on the right shoulder. it was an elderly lady, ( waiting for one of those nationwide auto service tows which their call center is in illinois and they call a local tow to send for service type thing), she has been there for 2 hours now and i was about to go 10-10.so i decided to just replaced here tire, has jack and good spare...good to go. as i was in the process of replacing it, the car slid backwards, as the dirt shoulder was saturated with water. i fractured my right ankle. i did not know it then but finished the job and drove back to the office (hurting) and told the sgt. sgt took me to hospt and got attended to. was on light duty for awhile. what did i get? certainly not a pat in the back, "A CENSURABLE FORM 2", my capt says...state time lost+officer injured= automatic form2, few weeks later the citizen sent a thank you card to the office. i posted it on the board by the mens locker room and a copy of my form 2 to warn the other officers. and yup, i got censured again! those who remember this, feel free to chime in. i think for the longest time no officer would replace flats. this was way before fsp.
ps. by the way, i've been involved in two shootings and came out ok.....still here, i've been trapped in a pv with my graveyard partner for close to an hour hit by a deuce,(thank you jaws) my partner retired with nerve damage.i lost a lot a blood but i'm still here.

[5-0]

Holy Cr@p Tiredmotor, i would have gone 10-15. but i prolly could not because i would have to go back to the office and change my britches. man, that gave me some goose bumps trying to picture that incident....i can just hear dispatch...attn all units, we have a motor down......mar1 your stauts...10-8,code4......mary2 your status.....,mary2........mary 2..........this is s-4,what was his last 20 please.......and then all the 911 calls come in. whew! not a good site. ihope tihs NEVER happens.