Thief has bad day trapped between dog and top cop

| 20/08/2013

(CNS): A hapless shoplifter had a bad day on Friday morning after he found himself trapped between a trained security dog ready to attack and the police commissioner as he tried to flee the scene of a grab and dash at Kirk Freeport. The RCIPS confirmed that David Baines happened to be driving along Fort Street when he saw a man being chased by a security guard. The country’s top cop stopped his car and detained the suspect, who was later arrested for shoplifting. The suspect had stopped in his tracks with the dog and the security guard behind him at the traffic lights of Fort Street only to turn and see the police commissioner in front of him after a foot chase through downtown George Town.

The Security Centre’s employee was on duty with one of the firm’s dogs patrolling Kirk Freeport plaza on Cardinal Avenue when he was alerted to the theft and the chase began. A spokesperson from the security firm said their employee, Om Thapa, was alerted by staff at La Parfumerie II that a man just grabbed some goods from the store and fled.  Pointed in the direction of where the thief had run, Thapa chased after him with his dog. 

With the help of his colleague, Leonardo Solomon, who was also on duty in the area and who spotted the suspect as he ran behind Burger King, Thapa continued his pursuit of the culprit through the grounds of Elmslie Church, onto Harbour Drive and stopped when the suspect was cornered at the intersection of North Church and Fort Street. 

Face-to-face with the accused, The Security Centre guard and dog handler gave a verbal warning to the suspect that the dog, trained to high standards of obedience, agility and protection, would be released should the chase continue. The man stayed put and in an eerie coincidence, it was Police Commissioner David Baines' car stopped at the traffic light, which then took him into custody.

Stuart Bostock, President & CEO of The Security Centre Limited, said, “Unfortunately, we’re hearing from more and more local business owners that petty theft is on the rise,” he said. "Our guards are often deterrent enough, but they are also trained to intervene when it’s safe to do so and they have the skills required of reliable witnesses that can assist authorities in bringing criminals to justice. In this case, Mr Thapa’s background in the Nepalese Special Forces surely came into play. This is exactly the outcome we hope for in cases like this,” he added.

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  1. Porky Pig says:

    Commish:  Carry-on folks, nothing to see here, nothing to see here at all (while combing his hair and glistening his teeth in anticipation of a photo op)

  2. Blue Dog says:

    Pepper Steak for the Dog at Corner's Restaurant! Good job ToJo 

  3. Anonymous says:

    Good job by all concerned.

  4. Anonymous says:

    The real hero is so and so and so… What about the clerk or store employee who alerted the Security about the theft, if she wasn't alert and paying attention the thief would have gotten away with the goods, as they often do. So yes good job to all but the real person of the hour is the employee who was alert and brought it to the attention of the Security guard, I also understand that the she started to give chase then pass it on to the Security guard. Mr. Baines was just in the right place at the right time.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Too funny.

    Om Thapa and Leonardo Solomon did all the hard work and Baines swooped in at the end to make the arrest.

    Just like in the movies when the good guys do all the work and the FBI/Police show up when all the action is over and the bad guy has already been cornered and has given up.

     

     

  6. The lone haranguer rides again! says:

    Super chief !

  7. Anon.....(and on and on) says:

    The coment I am waiting for goes along the lines of:

    "The problem with the RCIPS top brass is they spend too much time in meetings deciding policy when they should be out on the streets catching criminals.  What?  Sorry, I mean the problem with the RCIPS top brass is they spend too much time on the streets catching criminals when they should be formulating the policies to keep us all safe."

    The RCIPS come in for a fair bit of critisism on these pages and "credit where credit's due" may be a hard concept for some of the "perpetual knockers" to swallow.

    • Rorschach says:

      Sorry, but the REAL comment should be, "the problem with the RCIPS top brass is they spend too much time neither catching criminals OR formulating policies to keep us safe.."  Credit where credit's due is not a hard concept..Let them start acting like a professional group and they will start being treated like one…and that starts from the TOP down…

  8. M for Anonymous says:

    WTG Thapa and Solomonfor doing an awesome job.

  9. Shepherd says:

    Hey Baines,

    You finally got to see a properly trained dog!!!

    Well done to all!

    • Anonymous says:

      But the dog didn't do anything….it was Baines and the security guard

  10. Anonymous says:

    Not a big deal in this particular situation, it is  his job after all, no special skills or efforts were taken here.

    • MEM says:

      Yes, it might be this man's job, but how many guards actually do their jobs in these instances? It is a natural human reaction to protect one's own life when threatened so to take a stance and chase after a jewellry shop robber is worth a good mention and I hope other guards will be encouraged to do the same if faced with these situations!

    • Anonymous says:

      Taking about TOP COP, not the guards.

  11. Anonymous says:

    Great job Om. Nepalese Gurkas are highly respected as a security force. We're better off for your service. Well done.

     

  12. Anonymous says:

    And the award [suspence] … goes to the dog!  Sorry Baines 🙂

    • Anonymous says:

      i hope the dog gets a serving of baby back ribs, vacation at the beach for one month!

      • Anonymous says:

        jeeees.. forget the dog,,, I would love a bite of baby back ribs right now!

    • Anonymous says:

      Why the dog he didn't do anything, it was the guard running after him, the dog didn't stop the man…

  13. Porky Pig says:

    Thank you CNS for publishing the good/positive stories as well.  Having said that, much work remains to be done – one brick does not a castle make.  As for those cheerleading the Commish for an awesome job, let's remember a few basic facts:

    1.  It is his job to apprehend criminals.  I don't hear too many cheering the taxi driver who drives you safely from point A to point B or the butcher who successfully cuts your pork chop.  So excuse me if I'm being a bit cynical on this one, but the only reason we ought to cheer is that the RCIPS somehow did not screw this one up.

    2.  The real hero in this story is the security guard, the person who along with his dog did all the hard work, chasing down the suspect – the Commish just stepped in at the last minute.  Whether he was in the thief's way or not, had the thief not stopped, he probably would have been missing a left and a right buttock (courtesy of the security dog).  But I get the reason thatthe story was written in the way of "caught between a rock and a hard place".

     

     

    • Anonymous says:

      Porky Pig, I am with you on this one. Not worth of a story. The headline should be about shoplifting and security guards/dog.

    • Anonymous says:

      Would this have made the news if it was some local cop who, on his day off, stopped his/her personal vehicle and assisted in the chase? take it from me many local officers are doing a great job and it goes unnoticed by the upper management of the Service. only a "UK" officer would get the praise to reflect on their CV.

  14. Whodatis says:

    Now that is a story for the grandkids!

    Loving this one …

    Good job, Baines!

  15. Anonymous says:

    That's right, "Not today Bo-Bo!"

  16. Right ya so says:

    Thank you Mr Thapa and Mr Solomon! Perfec timing Mr Baines. 

  17. Anonymous says:

    Way to go Comissioner Baines!  Thank you for your help!

    • Anonymous says:

      And let us not forget the guards, they started the chase, Mr Baines was there to finish it. Way to go guys.

    • Anonymous says:

      um, it’s his job!

      • Anonymous says:

        Give credit where credit is due!

        • Anonymous says:

          Funny .. if he was another nationality he would be showered with awards, Cayman medals of honor, a statue in National heroes square, a school named after him a golden crown of peacock feathers.

          In fact, there would be that much bling worn on National Heroes day that he would interrupt with the radar at Owen Roberts and probably mugged by the cash for metal people!

  18. Anonymous says:

    Wow!

  19. Translatrix says:

    tek dat tief…

     

  20. William Wallace says:

    I would have paid to see this! I mean was the commissioner in uniform or was he just coming from the beach and full of sun tan oil…..lol! All in all good job Commish.

  21. Anonymous says:

    Great job