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Sports |
There are some good police officers
around
DESPITE all the adverse police
rumblings doing the rounds, there are some good police officers
out there.
We were in Goroka for Ramu Sugar’s seasonal recruitment tour for
2004.
Included in the tour group was a medical team and a police
officer, Senior Constable Kamat Koworot, who was attached to the
Gusap police station.
After two days of conducting our recruitment at the Yanepa
administration building’s Labour office, we ran out of some
medical supplies so we sought some from the Goroka Base Hospital.
Accompanied by Constable Koworot, I drove there and pulled in at
the hospital car park, next to another vehicle, which had pulled
in a few seconds earlier. We got out of our vehicle just as the
occupant of the other vehicle came out of his. He happened to be
the Madang provincial police commander Chief Inspector Nema
Mondial.
On realising who he was, Constable Koworot quickly stood at
attention and saluted the PPC, who was his overall boss. His boss
saluted him back before we could shake hands and chat. Mr Mondial
was also my brother in the Lord, and was in town to visit a sick
relative at the hospital.
Both men were in civilian clothes, in separate civilian vehicles
and a long way from their duty locations.
I felt kind of proud and a feeling of respect swept through me as
I saw what happened in front of me.
In another incident, a police officer was directing traffic at the
pedestrian crossing in front of Best Buy supermarket in Lae’s top
town during last Christmas busy period. It was a sight we haven’t
seen for a long time in Lae.
He would stop the pedestrians and waved the vehicles though, and
then did the reverse.
Although he didn’t have his long white hand gloves on, it was a
great sight. I was at the wheel of one of the vehicles in the long
queue, while he waved the pedestrian through. The wait did not
bother me at all, I was just happy and proud to see him there.
I used to see a lot of those when I was a kid growing up in the
late 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s.
Junior members or those in the lower ranks of the three
disciplined forces would stand at attention and salute their
seniors or those above them, when they passed by them in public
places like the market, shopping centres, etc. They used to be
well tucked, clean shaven, wore shiny boots or shoes and exposed
shiney, white teeth.
There would be a police officer directing traffic and pedestrians
alike at a busy pedestrian crossing. Sometimes a police officer(s)
would help the elderly or children, across busy town streets. They
would walk around in groups of two, three or four and remind the
people not to do unlawful things like throwing rubbish or
consuming alcohol in public places, control betelnut spittle, etc,
etc.
It now seems like there’s a law in place to allow people to
consume alcohol in public places.
It is very sad for some of us, to not see these policemen and
women doing those kind of things anymore.
It makes one wonder if discipline or the chores are now out-dated
or outlawed in the forces (especially police).
What is the problem? Can someone in the police hierarchy do
something to bring back those lawful chores to restore lost pride
in the force, so that us civilians can be proud of and respect
you?
Instead, we see and read about police brutality – all in the name
of the law.
Junior police officers bashing up senior offices or themselves for
that matter, discharging fire arms in public places, intoxicated
officers in full uniform carrying out lawful duties in the pretext
of upholding the law, chewing betelnut during official hours, etc.
Surely, there some Kamat Koworots out there within the three
disciplined forces.
Keep smiling because you have white teeth to show, salute because
you don’t have a bottle, a cigarette, lime or mustard in your
hands.
Riggo Nangan
10-Mile
Lae
 
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