Pages

22/05/2010

One More Tale from the Scrapbook

Many many years ago, when I was a true blooded constable and believed what they told me, I loved my job. This is one of the reasons why.

A restaurant owner from a neighbouring borough had closed his business and driven home. His name was Mike. He lived in a house overlooking a park area. As he locked his car, he heard what sounded like muffled screams coming from the park area. He paused, looked at his house, then thought he should investigate.

This decision would save a life.

He went into the park, and saw what appeared to be a couple with the male lying on top of the female. He called out, asking if everything was okay. The man yelled that she was his girlfriend and told Mike to piss off. Mike still felt that something was not right. He noticed that the woman appeared to be struggling - it looked unusual. He asked again if everything was okay. The woman said, "Help me".

Mike moved forward as the attacker got off his victim. He saw that the man was muscular, tall and clearly his physical superior. He was also armed with a lump of wood. Mike stood his ground as the man again told him to fuck off and threatened to kill him. Mike stood his ground as the lump of wood was swung in his direction. The man then turned and ran through the park, away from Mike's house. Mike gave chase. He knew he could hardly recognise the man again, and wanted to get some indication of where he went. He lost sight of him shortly afterwards, and ran back to where the woman was. She had gone.

Mike went back to his house and called to police. We attended minutes later, and took a brief account. We drove straight to a hostel which overlooked the other side of the park. Staff there told us that a man fitting the vague description given my Mike had just run in. They told us his room number. With no time for niceties, we ran up and kicked his door in. He was there trying to climb out of the window. He resisted arrest, but we managed to handcuff and arrest him for rape. He was taken off to the police station by other officers, and we searched his room. I found a bus pass belonging to a white female behind his chest of drawers. This was very likely his victim, but at that time we did not know who or where she was.

As we got back to the station, we were informed that a woman had turned up at another police station with her father stating she had been raped. Her name matched that on the bus pass we had found in his room. We had the bastard. The feeling cannot be described.

It turned out that the victim was a middle class girl from a nice area nearby. She had been for a night out with friends, and ended up in a pub near to the park. There she had been charmed and chatted up by our rapist. He seemed cool, and she took more drinks from him than she probably should have done. He seemed nice, so she was happy to stay with him when her friends left. At closing time, she thanked him for his company, and gave him her phone number. She then left the pub to catch a bus home.

The rapist had other ideas. He obviously felt that he was entitled to more than a phone number. He followed her from the pub, and dragged her into the park where he brutally raped her. During the ordeal she was strangled. Medical evidence presented at the trial showed that she was close to death at the time Mike intervened.

The rapist pleaded 'not guilty' all the way through. The case went to the Old Bailey where he was found guilty and sentenced to eight years imprisonment.

Mike got a Borough Commander's Commendation for bravery. His restaurant was burgled the following week. The police have yet to bring anyone to justice for that.