Police’s 67 minutes make dreams come true
The police’s 67 Minutes for Mandela Day made dreams come true.
The police’s 67 Minutes for Mandela Day, made dreams come true on Saturday, 18 July 2015. The sounds of gunshots, sirens and a chopper in the quiet Brooklyn suburb in Pretoria were all for a good cause.
The Brooklyn and Garsfontein police opened their hearts when they received a dream request from the Reach for a Dream Foundation. The ‘dream children’ wanted a police demonstration for their Mandela Day. They are all fighting life-threatening illnesses.
Brigadier Kushie Nair, the newly appointed Station Commander for Brooklyn police station addressed the crowd in her opening speech. She said that her dream as the Station Commander for Brooklyn police station is to build safe neighbourhoods where everybody can feel safe. Her message to the children was: “Even our young heroes here today can stand up against crime. Do not find yourselves on the wrong side of the law. Help your parents by reminding them to lock all doors and to remove all valuable items from the car and to put it in the boot. You are the police’s eyes and ears and you can report crime to us.”
The events kicked off with a self-defense demonstration followed by the South African Police Service’s K9 display group from Roodeplaat. The crowd was awed when one of the dog’s spelled out the words “Slipper Day 2015” which is one of the Reach for a Dream’s projects.
The highlight for the day was the tactical response demonstration by the Brooklyn and Garsfontein police stations together with Hi-Risk Security and Netcare 911 Ambulance Services. A hi-jacking scene was staged and the children ‘phoned’ the 10111 emergency number. A look-out was given to the police who responded immediately with blue lights and sirens.
A chase ensued during which shots were fired and a police officer was hit and wounded. It was explained to the audience that the police are putting their lives in danger every day for the safety and security for all the people of South Africa.
Two suspects were arrested and emergency services were called out to treat the wounded police officer. A patrol dog and his handler were dropped off from a chopper right in the middle of the action. The handler used his dog to apprehend another suspect.
After all the suspects were arrested the audience gave the police, security and ambulance services a standing applaud for being the heroes of the day. For the police, the joy on the faces of the children, made this Mandela Day a memorable one.
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