Faulkner
Member
Some of you may recall a previous report from the Faulkner Files entitled Woman under the umbrella, but if not the link to it is here:
Tales from the Faulkner Files: Woman under the umbrella
A few days after the domestic disturbance call I was attending a meeting facilitated by the county Office of Emergency Management at the courthouse and was sitting next to one of the managers from the EMS contractor that runs the ambulance service in several counties, including ours. I only know the guy in passing but I heard him speaking to another gentleman about them needing to recruit new folks to fill some anticipated open slots they had for EMT’s. I listened in on the conversation with interest because I was not familiar with the training requirements for EMT’s and the time it takes to become certified.
After the meeting I went to the manager and asked if I knew someone who might be interested in becoming an EMT, how could they apply? He handed me his card and said the company web site address was on the card and they could go there on-line and find the information they needed.
The next day while out on patrol I found my way to the area of the afore mentioned domestic disturbance, the home of Mrs. Koslowski. As I pulled into the driveway I checked out with dispatch that I was doing a welfare check and gave the address. I got out of my patrol car and walked up the steps onto the front porch and rang the doorbell. In short order the front door opened and Mrs. Koslowski stepped into view behind the screen door.
“Deputy Faulkner, what do I owe the pleasure of having you visit us again? I certainly hope we’ve not caused you any further trouble?”
I smiled and said, “good morning Mrs. Koslowski! No ma’am, but I was hoping to speak with your grandson in law.” I remembered from the report his name was David.
“Oh, David is not here, he has been out working a few days helping a brick layer. It’s just a short term opportunity for him to make a little money while he waits to hear back on some of his applications. Is he in some kind of trouble?”
“No ma’am”, I replied, “but I seem to recall during my last visit he had some medical training. I happened to learn yesterday that there is a shortage of EMT’s in our area and the local EMS provider is looking to recruit some people for EMT training. I just thought I’d stop by and drop this card off for David.”
Mrs. Koslowski put her hand to her chest and exclaimed, “Oh my, Deputy Faulkner that is so thoughtful.” She opened the screen door and accepted the card with her left hand and then reached out with her right hand to shake my hand. “Thank you, I will make sure he gets this straight away when he gets home. I truly appreciate your consideration.”
I shook her hand and replied, “yes ma’am. Sometimes all a person needs is an opportunity. Whether it’s this or something else, I hope he gets his opportunity.” When I returned to my patrol car I noticed that Mrs. Koslowski was still standing behind the screen door watching me leave. As I was backing out I looked back up and she gave me a wave. That was six months ago.
Moving forward to Monday of this week I was at the courthouse in preparation for a trial that I was anticipating having to testify in. I was in the main corridor outside the courtroom visiting with one of the deputy prosecutors and was halfway listening to my handheld radio on low volume so I could monitor any radio traffic on the sheriff’s radio net. There had been some activity just outside of town with a serious vehicle accident on the main highway coming into town. Since it is a US highway the state police had been called in to work the accident but a couple of deputies were there as well as the fire department.
About then one of the big double wooden doors to the courtroom opened up and a bailiff stepped halfway out the door and looked up and down the corridor Seeing me he said, “hey Faulkner, they just settled the case and the judge told me to tell you that you are free to go.”
Well, since I was getting cut loose earlier than I was anticipating, I figured I’d head home and change out of my class A uniform that I usually wear to court, have lunch with Mrs. Faulkner, then get back to work. Plus, on my way out of town I could stop by the vehicle accident that apparently they were still working and see if they needed any help. Ten minutes later as I was approaching the accident scene traffic was still backed way up in the direction I was coming from. I flipped on my blue lights and slipped into the middle turning lane to get closer to the scene and pulled up behind one of the fire trucks. I saw Deputy Collins directing traffic to an alternate side road to try and keep traffic moving as much as possible but away from the accident. I checked out with dispatch that I was on scene, then got out and walked up to Deputy Collins.
“Hey Faulkner,” he greeted me as I walked up. “It’s a bad one. Got a couple of kids hurt, I think one is still stuck in a car.”
“Who is in charge of the scene?” I asked.
“Trooper Roe, last I saw him he’s over by the ambulance.”
“Okay thanks. Watch your back,” I told him, “as soon as you’re not looking one of these vehicles will run over you.”
“Yes sir.”
I found Trooper Roe standing near the rear of the ambulance with a clipboard writing down information for his report. He looked up just long enough to see me as I walked up then went back to scribbling.
“Hey Faulkner, they told me you had court today,” he said.
“Yeah, they pled out so I got out early. How bad is it here?” I asked
“I got a couple of your guys helping with traffic, and one of the city officers is helping to. Road was slick and a dump truck rammed a SUV and another car. SUV had a couple of kids in it, 9 and 12 year old girls. Mother was taking them Christmas shopping. Mom is okay, 12 year old is in the ambulance with some cuts but the EMTs say she’ll be alright. 9 year old is trapped and hurt bad. Got an EMT with her trying to keep her from bleeding out and the fire department chief said the emergency squad almost has her out.” He gave a short, but concise report. Trooper Roe used to be one of my deputies before he went to the state police and is an exceptional LEO.
I looked over at where they were working on the tangled mess that used to be a SUV. They certainly didn’t need me over there in their business looking over their shoulder so I stood where I was next to Trooper Roe.
“Have you got the names? I’d like to see if I know any of them,” I asked. He flipped over the clipboard so I could take a look but I didn’t recognize any of them.
At that moment we heard a shout from the SUV, “we got her out, here we come,” as they carried her on a stretcher towards the ambulance. Trooper Roe and I made sure they had a clear path. After they got her loaded in the ambulance and the EMTs started working on her in preparation for transport the fire chief came over to Trooper Roe and I.
The fire chief and I go to church together and said with a grin, “hey Faulkner, you’re kind of dressed up to be out on a vehicle accident aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I guess so. How’s the little girl,” I asked.
The chief’s grin went away, “looks like she’ll make it but it was touch and go. She’d be gone already if it wasn’t for that EMT. He belly crawled over all that broken glass and got in there with her and got the bleeding stopped and covered her up while we worked to get her out. I mean he barely fit in there, plus the gas tank was leaking fuel under the vehicle. Fortunately we got that hosed away before any fire.”
At that moment, the back door of the ambulance opened and one of the two EMT’s stepped out.
“That’s him,” said the chief, “the one that crawled in with the trapped girl.”
He turned around and I could see he had the girls blood on his arms and shirt and his uniform was covered in grit and grim from crawling around on the ground to get inside the car. As he closed the back door to the ambulance he looked over at us, stopped his glance on me then walked over peeling off his nitrile glove and reached out to shake my hand with a big smile on his face. It was David, Mrs. Koslowski’s grandson in law.
As I reached out to return the handshake he said, “hello Deputy Faulkner, I’ve been wondering when I’d run into you again.”
“Hello David, I hear you did good work over there,” I said.
“Thank you,” he replied, “but I gotta go. We’ve got two little girls that we need to get to the ER.” As he turned and headed to the cab of the ambulance he said, “I hope we can catch up later.”
As the ambulance pulled away I noticed the fire chief and Trooper Roe staring at me. Finally the fire chief said, “you know that guy?”
“Yeah, kinda,” I said. “But it’s a long story.”
Tales from the Faulkner Files: Woman under the umbrella
A few days after the domestic disturbance call I was attending a meeting facilitated by the county Office of Emergency Management at the courthouse and was sitting next to one of the managers from the EMS contractor that runs the ambulance service in several counties, including ours. I only know the guy in passing but I heard him speaking to another gentleman about them needing to recruit new folks to fill some anticipated open slots they had for EMT’s. I listened in on the conversation with interest because I was not familiar with the training requirements for EMT’s and the time it takes to become certified.
After the meeting I went to the manager and asked if I knew someone who might be interested in becoming an EMT, how could they apply? He handed me his card and said the company web site address was on the card and they could go there on-line and find the information they needed.
The next day while out on patrol I found my way to the area of the afore mentioned domestic disturbance, the home of Mrs. Koslowski. As I pulled into the driveway I checked out with dispatch that I was doing a welfare check and gave the address. I got out of my patrol car and walked up the steps onto the front porch and rang the doorbell. In short order the front door opened and Mrs. Koslowski stepped into view behind the screen door.
“Deputy Faulkner, what do I owe the pleasure of having you visit us again? I certainly hope we’ve not caused you any further trouble?”
I smiled and said, “good morning Mrs. Koslowski! No ma’am, but I was hoping to speak with your grandson in law.” I remembered from the report his name was David.
“Oh, David is not here, he has been out working a few days helping a brick layer. It’s just a short term opportunity for him to make a little money while he waits to hear back on some of his applications. Is he in some kind of trouble?”
“No ma’am”, I replied, “but I seem to recall during my last visit he had some medical training. I happened to learn yesterday that there is a shortage of EMT’s in our area and the local EMS provider is looking to recruit some people for EMT training. I just thought I’d stop by and drop this card off for David.”
Mrs. Koslowski put her hand to her chest and exclaimed, “Oh my, Deputy Faulkner that is so thoughtful.” She opened the screen door and accepted the card with her left hand and then reached out with her right hand to shake my hand. “Thank you, I will make sure he gets this straight away when he gets home. I truly appreciate your consideration.”
I shook her hand and replied, “yes ma’am. Sometimes all a person needs is an opportunity. Whether it’s this or something else, I hope he gets his opportunity.” When I returned to my patrol car I noticed that Mrs. Koslowski was still standing behind the screen door watching me leave. As I was backing out I looked back up and she gave me a wave. That was six months ago.
Moving forward to Monday of this week I was at the courthouse in preparation for a trial that I was anticipating having to testify in. I was in the main corridor outside the courtroom visiting with one of the deputy prosecutors and was halfway listening to my handheld radio on low volume so I could monitor any radio traffic on the sheriff’s radio net. There had been some activity just outside of town with a serious vehicle accident on the main highway coming into town. Since it is a US highway the state police had been called in to work the accident but a couple of deputies were there as well as the fire department.
About then one of the big double wooden doors to the courtroom opened up and a bailiff stepped halfway out the door and looked up and down the corridor Seeing me he said, “hey Faulkner, they just settled the case and the judge told me to tell you that you are free to go.”
Well, since I was getting cut loose earlier than I was anticipating, I figured I’d head home and change out of my class A uniform that I usually wear to court, have lunch with Mrs. Faulkner, then get back to work. Plus, on my way out of town I could stop by the vehicle accident that apparently they were still working and see if they needed any help. Ten minutes later as I was approaching the accident scene traffic was still backed way up in the direction I was coming from. I flipped on my blue lights and slipped into the middle turning lane to get closer to the scene and pulled up behind one of the fire trucks. I saw Deputy Collins directing traffic to an alternate side road to try and keep traffic moving as much as possible but away from the accident. I checked out with dispatch that I was on scene, then got out and walked up to Deputy Collins.
“Hey Faulkner,” he greeted me as I walked up. “It’s a bad one. Got a couple of kids hurt, I think one is still stuck in a car.”
“Who is in charge of the scene?” I asked.
“Trooper Roe, last I saw him he’s over by the ambulance.”
“Okay thanks. Watch your back,” I told him, “as soon as you’re not looking one of these vehicles will run over you.”
“Yes sir.”
I found Trooper Roe standing near the rear of the ambulance with a clipboard writing down information for his report. He looked up just long enough to see me as I walked up then went back to scribbling.
“Hey Faulkner, they told me you had court today,” he said.
“Yeah, they pled out so I got out early. How bad is it here?” I asked
“I got a couple of your guys helping with traffic, and one of the city officers is helping to. Road was slick and a dump truck rammed a SUV and another car. SUV had a couple of kids in it, 9 and 12 year old girls. Mother was taking them Christmas shopping. Mom is okay, 12 year old is in the ambulance with some cuts but the EMTs say she’ll be alright. 9 year old is trapped and hurt bad. Got an EMT with her trying to keep her from bleeding out and the fire department chief said the emergency squad almost has her out.” He gave a short, but concise report. Trooper Roe used to be one of my deputies before he went to the state police and is an exceptional LEO.
I looked over at where they were working on the tangled mess that used to be a SUV. They certainly didn’t need me over there in their business looking over their shoulder so I stood where I was next to Trooper Roe.
“Have you got the names? I’d like to see if I know any of them,” I asked. He flipped over the clipboard so I could take a look but I didn’t recognize any of them.
At that moment we heard a shout from the SUV, “we got her out, here we come,” as they carried her on a stretcher towards the ambulance. Trooper Roe and I made sure they had a clear path. After they got her loaded in the ambulance and the EMTs started working on her in preparation for transport the fire chief came over to Trooper Roe and I.
The fire chief and I go to church together and said with a grin, “hey Faulkner, you’re kind of dressed up to be out on a vehicle accident aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I guess so. How’s the little girl,” I asked.
The chief’s grin went away, “looks like she’ll make it but it was touch and go. She’d be gone already if it wasn’t for that EMT. He belly crawled over all that broken glass and got in there with her and got the bleeding stopped and covered her up while we worked to get her out. I mean he barely fit in there, plus the gas tank was leaking fuel under the vehicle. Fortunately we got that hosed away before any fire.”
At that moment, the back door of the ambulance opened and one of the two EMT’s stepped out.
“That’s him,” said the chief, “the one that crawled in with the trapped girl.”
He turned around and I could see he had the girls blood on his arms and shirt and his uniform was covered in grit and grim from crawling around on the ground to get inside the car. As he closed the back door to the ambulance he looked over at us, stopped his glance on me then walked over peeling off his nitrile glove and reached out to shake my hand with a big smile on his face. It was David, Mrs. Koslowski’s grandson in law.
As I reached out to return the handshake he said, “hello Deputy Faulkner, I’ve been wondering when I’d run into you again.”
“Hello David, I hear you did good work over there,” I said.
“Thank you,” he replied, “but I gotta go. We’ve got two little girls that we need to get to the ER.” As he turned and headed to the cab of the ambulance he said, “I hope we can catch up later.”
As the ambulance pulled away I noticed the fire chief and Trooper Roe staring at me. Finally the fire chief said, “you know that guy?”
“Yeah, kinda,” I said. “But it’s a long story.”
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