Caring cop - Woman constable impresses as she offers aid to stricken woman
Published:Friday | August 4, 2017 | 12:00 AMPaul Clarke
The best of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) was on show last Friday as Woman Constable Shanika Holness responded to an unusual situation with a level of professionalism that spoke volumes of the training she received as a rookie fresh out of training school.
Holness was seen sitting in the dirt, exposed to the blazing heat from the sun while giving assistance to a woman, who was seen seemingly disoriented and lying face down near the waterfront off the Michael Manley Boulevard in east Kingston.
Holness arrived on the scene with her patrol partner after a radio dispatch was sent to the Kingston East police by two traffic cops, who told The Sunday Gleaner that they were making their way from the nearby Bull Bay area of St Andrew before being stopped and told of the state of the woman by a man who spotted her lying motionless.
"She was in dire straits. She was not responding to our queries but we placed a call to the Kingston East Police Divisional Headquarters requesting some help, as we did not have any clue about her identity," one of the traffic cops told our news team.
"We are not sure what her mental state was and why she has refused assistance to be taken to a hospital, but we were making sure she was taken care of," added the traffic cop.
Approximately 20 minutes later a police radio car drove up, from which alighted Holness and her male patrol partner.
DETERMINED TO HELP
They immediately began questioning the now agitated woman, who refused to answer, but Holness was not giving up.
Holness made herself comfortable in the dirt next to the woman, wiping her face, trying to get her to talk and generally offering her comfort, while her colleague went to fetch a bottle of liquid from the squad car.
"Leave me alone please in Jesus name. Leave me alone," the woman cried, as if in severe pain.
However, Holness and her partner were determined to help the woman, eventually calling for further assistance from a nearby hospital.
"This is what real police work is about," declared a civilian who watched the entire proceedings.
"Is not every police corrupt and bad, some a dem really good and caring," he added as the woman, who is still unidentified, was eventually taken away for medical examinations.