On The Job Pics

[KingFish]

Since some people requested some digital photos of stuff that happens on the job, here it is. I have amassed quite a collection over the past several years and most all of them have a good story behind them. I won't post pics of extremely violent crimes, dead people, etc. or anything too controversial. You can get your fill there at ogrish or some other site like that. Some are funny, some have a lesson behind them, some are serious. Take them for what they're worth.

KingFish

[KingFish]

The first set of pictures happened about two weeks ago while I was working the graveyard weekend shift. I had a ride-along that is also a digital camera fan and had just purchased a Sony Cybershot. The two pictures are of what happened when a guy had argued with his girlfriend about driving home drunk instead of staying the night at her apartment. He took off down the road from her apartment while she was still inside the vehicle. He made it about three blocks before he veered off the road and struck a utility pole with many electrical wires on it. The pole snapped, bringing the hot wires down directly onto the car. It caught the trunk on fire at first but spread to the rest of the car very quickly. Luckily someone saw him hit the pole and drug him from the vehicle as he was unconscious. I don't know how he didn't get electrocuted in the process. The female passenger was fine but the intoxicated driver had many internal injuries and was listed in critical condition that night in the hospital. While we were attending to him a transformer blew right next to us and the lines were shorting to the ground causing brilliant white flashes of light that turned the 4am darkness into noon daylight for about five seconds at a time. Another reason not to drink and drive. He was a little over twice the legal limit for intoxication.

KingFish

[csimon]

whoa ...they were lucky!

[KingFish]

Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention that the hospital staff recognized him from the last time he got into a wreck because of his drinking and driving. He had to have a metal plate put into his hip from last time he wrecked a car while intoxicated. He's his own worst enemy. He was lucky twice.

KingFish

[Straight_Man]

I don't know how he didn't get electrocuted in the process.

KingFish

Kingfish, he was dang lucky the wires did not ground or erath to pavement. Rubber tires saved his life, and fact thta they did not get blown. One rim touching pavement, he would have been electricuted. One wire with insulation off that was hot, grounding car, ditto. In this case rubber tires being intact insulated the juice from flowing through him.

One of the safest places in a simple electrical hazard situation where there is not also a fire, is inside car. To get out, you LEAP, and never grab car while touching ground-- one or the other, not both. I trained in fire rescue for while, and that is what a good old fireman with 25 plus years hands-on commanding a fire company or battaslion and 20 years of being nationally rated fire fighting trainer taught me (he was actually a semi-retired trainer who trained and certified fire cert trainers). I got the training free, I was a volunteer. Might save my life one day using that simple fact-- to get electrocuted, your body has to be a route to ground better or as good as what is there before you put yourself in the position you began with.

He was DANG lucky-- and I would make a bet the rescuer had rubber soled shoes on.

John D.

[KingFish]

I'm glad I wasn't there looking at the lines over the car. That would have been a very tough decision with a short time to think of it. High power electric lines and me do NOT get along, especially after seeing them short to the ground. I still don't see how that guy didn't get electrocuted. There were a bunch of lines draped over that car and it was quite dark to even see them unless the lines were shorting to the ground lighting up the area. The bad thing about it is that the guy will probably heal up only to do it again a third time.

KingFish

[MrBill]

The bad thing about it is that the guy will probably heal up only to do it again a third time.
It probably won't stop his drinking and driving. :(

A broken neck and wearing a halo for months didn't stop my brother. A wreck on March 17, 1995 did though....it killed him. :sad2: His blood alcohol was .26!

Let this be a lesson to anyone who drinks. PLEASE DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!

[KingFish]

I'm really sorry to hear that Mr. Bill. I do hope some people did glean a little from that too. My experiences have shown, unfortunately, that most people don't stop this type of behavior despite their injuries.

KingFish

[Dexter]

Folks, although this originated out of the Digital Camera example thread, I am going to move this to the Pub, because it is less about the media, and more about the story behind the images.

Dexter...

[KingFish]

While most of you were nursing your hangovers on new years night (not new years eve when you were getting the hangover in the first place), we dealt with this fine upstanding individual who had just beat his wife. After fighting him for a good solid four minutes we finally got him cuffed and was bringing him back to a unit. He was still trying to break free after being handcuffed and decided to head butt the rear window of a unit he was about to be placed. No, he wasn't thrown through the window. He has along history of domestic violence and with fighting the police. He was arrested the night before for the same thing yet a judge decided to set him free with no bail/bond. Taken with the trusty ol' Fuji FinePix 3800. Resized down.

KingFish

[madmat]

Maybe next time you guys can just hobble him just to make sure that don't happen again.

[KingFish]

Maybe next time you guys can just hobble him just to make sure that don't happen again.

He was hobbled but this happened before we hobbled him. We aren't allowed to hogtie so he's able to move his head.

KingFish

[robby]

What does "hobble" mean?

[KingFish]

Fancy device using seatbelt straps and velcro on one side that wraps around the ankles to keep the feet together. It's used to restrict the leg movement of violent prisoners.

KingFish

[robby]

OK, now I see how this happened b4 you were able to hobble him. Still disgusting to me how some people can be so oblivious to how their actions affect others. Then again, this guy didn't see anything wrong with hitting his wife, so I shouldn't be surprised that he wouldn't care about others on the road.

[KingFish]

One thing I wasn't clear about is that he head butted the window from the outside right before we were able to get him inside the car. From his attitude that night, he wants a future showdown with officers. We had to restrain him extensively even while he was in the hospital being treated.

KingFish

[madmat]

A true hobble should connect the feet to the wrists with a lenth of cord or chain keeping the prisoner slightly bent to prevent hopping or jumping. Some people are too idiotic to get along in life.

[KingFish]

A hobble that connects the feet to the wrists is hogtying and is prohibited by our policy manual unless exigent circumstances exist. Yes, some are too idiotic to get along in life. He indicated several times through this that he wanted a future showdown with the police. If he is released again he'll probably get it. He's not one to take chances with.

KingFish

A true hobble should connect the feet to the wrists with a lenth of cord or chain keeping the prisoner slightly bent to prevent hopping or jumping. Some people are too idiotic to get along in life.

[KingFish]

This wreck happened yesterday, March 11th, on one of our two big bridges that span the Calcasieu River. A vehicle was rearended quite violently, which sent that vehicle bouncing from one side of the concrete dividers to the outside guard rail several times before coming to a rest upside down. One thing that none of us like to see is a small child in a C-collar. Many different agencies responded to help as managing traffic becomes a real headache in a hurry on a large interstate bridge. I don't know of the status of any of the people involved but from what I observed none appeared to be life threatening.

KingFish

[KingFish]

Here is the second of three sets on this wreck.

KingFish

[KingFish]

Third of three sets.

KingFish

[QCH]

What's with the green bags? What was the other vehicle? What is this car? Lexus?

[csimon]

Where is that KingFish? I-10?

[KingFish]

I'm not sure about the green bags but they were everywhere. I remember almost busting my tail on them at one time too. They were part of something inside the vehicle because they were inside there all over too. If I remember correctly the vehicle was a Honda Accord. The vehicle that caused it continued down to the base of the bridge and pulled over to the side and were not viewable in any of the pics.

KingFish

[KingFish]

This was the I-210 (the loop) bridge. I took some scenic pictures while I was up there in which you can see the I-10 bridge in the background as well as some large downtown buildings. It was a nice pretty day yesterday too, perfect for taking pictures.

KingFish

[csimon]

Ah yes ...beautiful area back there ...too bad about the industrial stuff though!

Progressssss :zombie:

I rode my first jetski in the lake way back when the first jetski's came out ...whoever rented it to me kept telling me to stay out there to drum up business ...I was out there about 1 1/2 hours before I just came in ...I was some kinda tired. Only paid for 30 mins though ...best $25 I ever spent! :cheers:

[KingFish]

They still have that business there csimon. Don't drink the water there though!!! I dislike the plants too but they are an evil necessity I guess. Check out the digital camera example thread for more of the scenic pics taken at the same time.

KingFish

[KingFish]

Here are some more followup pictures of the drunk driver incident where the telephone pole was struck. The first set of pictures were taken by a ride-along with me that night. This second set of pics were taken by me after things had quieted down a bit and allowed for me to take them. They show the vehicle after the fire was put out.

KingFish

[bothered]

KingFish, I've just read this thread, forgive my ignorance but I gather you're a policeman. Respect. I have a brother in law who's a policeman in Stafford UK and I know some of the stuff he has to deal with. A very difficult job. Thank God you guys are out there to deal with the idiots.

[primesuspect]

I can't believe the headlight still works after the crash, electrocution, fire, and water.. :eek2:

[Jengo]

lol

[KingFish]

It's a Honda, whatcha expect. A Ford, Chevy, or Dodge headlight wouldn't have survived the first impact. ;D I wasn't about to reach in there to turn off the headlight. No thank you. Yes, bothered, you are correct, and, thanks. It's a very fun job but has its dark moments. Idiots=job security.

KingFish

[KingFish]

Motorcycle wreck from september 2000. He wasn't hurt too badly. I didn't investigate this one so I don't know how it happened.

KingFish

[KingFish]

Here's another pic of the aftermath of a motorcycle wreck. An officer was working a wreck on one of the interstates when a motorcycle rear-ended one of our units. The motorcycle rider was propelled over the hood of the unit. Luckily the officer was not in his unit at the time.

KingFish

[Rot Katze]

:(

Two of my brothers are cops.

[madmat]

How bad was the biker injured?

[KingFish]

These pics were taken after the unit had been towed back to the department. I never knew the status of the biker except that he was transported to the hospital and was expected to live. I never made it to the scene.

KingFish

[KingFish]

It's been a while as I've been busy but here's a car fire we drove up on earlier this month. The car ended up being reported as stolen from Houston. Nobody was around at the time although the trail was hot. What's up with these headlights? Did someone put indestructible headlights on the market all of a sudden and why can't I get them? These pics were from the early morning hours of April 6th this year.

KingFish

[Buddy J]

That looks just like my Tercel, minus the flames and burning and stuff.

[Geeky1]

What's up with the headlights is simple; The battery and the parts of the electrical system that power them were far enough away from the fire that they managed to survive. Still, it's kinda freaky... reminds me of Christine or something... :crazy: ;D

[KingFish]

That's two in a row that got captured on fire with the headlights on. What's the chances of that again? I'm really impressed with the ones that survived taking out the utility pole, fire, and the fire department draining lake charles by throwing copious amounts of water on the electrical fire. Now that's quality. They actually make something better than they used to.

KingFish

[MrBill]

What's up with the headlights is simple; The battery and the parts of the electrical system that power them were far enough away from the fire that they managed to survive. Still, it's kinda freaky... reminds me of Christine or something... :crazy: ;D
The switch that controls the headlights is in the drivers compartment. ;)

[Geeky1]

true, but if the headlights are on, the plastic in the switch will melt/vaporize, leaving the metal part of the switch mechanism stuck in the "on" position.

[KingFish]

I'm still surprised that with the amount of heat in the cabin that there wasn't a total electrical failure as the heat will surely melt the fusebox leaving plenty of contacts exposed to short out. Both of the cars shown are imports, I wonder how domestic cars would fare? Better yet, how about a Benz to put into our little evil torch-er test?

KingFish

[Geeky1]

Sure, if you want to buy one (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6329&item=2474285273&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW)