Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Wednesday, November 12, 2014

When Things Start Out Bad . . .

Our second son, he of the six foot eight inches in height, has been a pillar (pun totally intended) of the local city police force for most of a decade.
But, the experiences he has gathered over all of those years, serving as one of Edmonton's finest, still haven't been able to erase the experiences of his early days of training.
Case in point:
Each new officer must demonstrate his ability to continue to work under the most trying and difficult of circumstances.
Scenarios are crafted especially to create such a premise.
One of these is designed to demonstrate how well the new officer can function after being sprayed in the face with pepper spray.
The recruit stands to one side of the exercise yard and receives, directly in the face, a full dose of pepper spray.
That would be where a lessor man, ie. me, would just lay down and die.
But this is only the beginning.
Once sprayed, the officer, nearly blind and almost incapable of breathing, must call for backup and subdue and handcuff not one, but two suspects. Then finally, he may find his way to the sink at the far side of the yard to receive the blessed spray of water to clear eyes and air passages.
It is a gruelling, trying five minutes.
And ends with said recruits silent and contemplative as they sit blinking brilliantly reddened eyes, and breathing blessed pure air.
Fortunately for them, with the completion of this test, that particular day of training is over.
Family members are allowed to come and pick them up.
My son performed well.
He thinks.
Certainly he received a passing grade.
One can only assume what must happen if a recruit receives a failing grade . . .
Moving on . . .
As he sat there, blinking and sniffing, his new wife (of less than a month) arrived to take him home.
With much sympathetic cooing, she tucked him into a corner of the couch.
With a cool compress for his poor eyes.
And a warm, snuggly blanket.
Then she made him a batch of her famous cookies.
Remember where I said that his more recent experiences haven't erased those of his early training?
Well, I didn't say they were all bad.

14 comments:

  1. Good Lord.....they actually have to take a shot of pepper spray in the face? That's inhumane.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wouldn't have survived!
      They tell them they're training them for any eventuality. And there have been times when officers have been pepper-sprayed. Yikes! What those guys go through!

      Delete
  2. Wow - it's astounding that they have to receive the real thing. You'd need to be a dedicated recruit to do that. I don't think I could manage it, even with a sympathetic spouse and warm cookies waiting in the wings!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm with you! EPS training is supposed to be one of the best in the world. Certainly, it's the most thorough!

      Delete
  3. That's some serious training. I imagine at 6'8 he is quite respected in his profession!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I admire policemen and the work they do simply because I know damn well I couldn't possibly do it. And someone has to. But some of the training is often harsher than the actual job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so grateful they're out there because I'm the same as you! Their training here is based on what they very well may encounter out there. Yikes!

      Delete
  5. That's one lucky cop! Big supporters of LE here and send blessings to your son for his protection as he serves.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Carol! We're so grateful for him and others like him!

      Delete
  6. I just can't picture 6'8"curled up on the end of the couch! But cookies well deserved. Tough tough job for sure!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah. It would have to be a big couch! :) And thank you!

      Delete
  7. Ouch! I can't imagine how much that would hurt. I would have been second guessing my chosen profession - but at least that day he knew he picked the right wife!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow...I cannot even imagine! My eyes are burning just thinking about it.

    ReplyDelete

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