Towman to the Rescue..Introducing James Alexander..

7/31/2019 Towman to the Rescue..Introducing James Alexander..

1/3

Newsletter Spring 2012

Greetings,

I would like to introduce the newest member to the East Coast family, James Alexander. JamesAlexander is our resident towing expert. He has spent over 10 years on the road as a towingprofessional. Rather than just give you the usual newsletter introduction, we have a specialtreat. I asked James to talk to me about some of the hazards he faced when he was a fulltimetowman. The first story talks about how dangerous being a towing professional can be. It is areal blessing to have someone who knows what it is like out there from a tower'sperspective...so read on.Michael SaksEditor of [email protected]

IN TH IS IS S U E

Sticking Together

About The Author

Sticking Together

By James Alexander

Edited by Michael Saks

The public often forgets that at the end of the day towmen often go out of their way to serve the public. Weprovide a necessary service to governments and citizens by getting people out of trouble or moving vehicles forvarious reasons. Sometimes our job requires us to go above and beyond the normal when others are in trouble.Such is the case with one my most memorable tow experiences.My name is James Alexander and for years I was a towman with a company located in Chesapeake, VA. Mostof my work was very predictable and safe. It involved helping stranded motorists, towing i llegally parked cars,

and of course aiding the police when they needed something towed.Thus was the case one sunny afternoon in May of 2008 when I received a call from the Chesapeake Police Department. All they said was that

the car to be towed was involved in a drug related traffic stop near a Chesapeake interstate exit ramp. This being the calm suburbs, I grabbedmy keys, my logbook, and fired up my rollback. As I got to the scene, nothing seemed out of the ordinary or unusual. It was still day light so I gotout of the rollback to began hooking up the car. So far so good.As I loaded, a Chesapeake police officer approached me and told me to wait a few minutes. The wait was necessary, so a K-9 officer couldshow up and do a search of the vehicle with one of the dogs, all standard procedure for drug stops. Sure enough, the K-9 patrol showed up andwent to work sniffing out the car.Surprisingly, no drugs were found in the car. The responding officer then noticed the driver acting in a peculiar manner. He walked over andasked him if there was something wrong. The officer noticed there was a white substance in his mouth, As this was happening three otherofficers arrived on the scene.A melee broke out as the three officers and the responding officer had to fight with the guy to surrender a gram size bag of crack-cocaine.Eventually they got the suspect to spit out the drugs. I have to be honest with you, I really wasn't expecting this. As I was sitting in the rollback, myjaw looked as if it were about to fall off. I was expecting the usual "hook n book" and a quiet ride to the impound lot which was only a half mileaway. The whole scene looked like it could be on Cops with officers struggling and the German shepherd barking like it had gone mad. After a

few minutes, everything looked under control, and I was given the wave to hook up the car.The assisting officers then left the scene and I attached the winch to the front of the vehicle. Most of the officers were gone now as I was loadingit onto the bed. The suspect was sitting in the back of a police car and it seemed like normalcy had returned. After I loaded the car I proceededto my impound lot.About a few hundred feet from the original scene, I noticed the responding officer's police car stopped with its lights on, not too far from theoriginal location of the tow. You could tell he had pulled over in a big hurry since his police cruiser was impeding traffic.As I passed by I noticed the prisoner's legs had busted out the back window and were flailing wildly. The officer was struggling to get the manback under control as the jabs of the suspect drove the officer back. It happened multiple times as the officer repeatedly tried to shove thesuspect back in the police car. With the way this call was going, this kind of scene was par for course. I had already abandoned any thought ofthis being a normal day. On top of that, I noticed that none of the drivers passing by were stopping to help the officer.Why should they? This was the person that they depend on to protect them. The public sees this very difficult circumstance as part of the job of

man To The Rescue..Introducing James Alexander... https://ui.constantcontact.com/visualeditor/visual_editor_preview.

6/7/2012 1


2/3

those that guard them. I did not feel this way.I could identify with the officer and the risks he was taking to help the public. The average person has no concept of what towers, police or otherservice professionals go through in their daily job. All the public cares about is that we are there to help them when they need it. They love thebenefit of what we provide but are not always the most supportive.This being the case, I pulled the rollback over and got out of the truck. I honestly had no idea how I could help a police officer struggling with whatappeared to be a dangerous felon. Regardless, I would try.Standing near the officer, I yelled to him asking what I could do. He looked like he was wrestling an alligator as the suspects legs continued toflail. The officer informed me that he needed me to use my radio to call for help because his radio had been busted off in the struggle with the

suspect. He yelled

"Call the Chesapeake Police Emergency line and tell them that an officer needsassistance and give them the location."

I shot back and did what he said. From the rear view window of the cab I could still see the officer struggling. I didn't have a weapon and didn'treally have any experience arresting people, especially violent people. Still I wanted to try and help the officer. I grabbed my belt off my waist andran out to help the officer. With the officer holding the legs, I wrapped the belt around the perpetrator's calves and tightened i t. As I was doingthis, a horde of police cars showed up to help. I was relieved, and grateful that neither of us were hurt. The officer thanked me and I got back inmy truck heading toward the impound lot. My shirt was untucked. My hair was ruffled. I knew I was going to get asked some questions when I gotback, but it was worth it.Unless you are in a job where danger is an everyday possibility, it is hard to understand why you would feel compelled to get out of your vehicleand help a police officer in a dangerous situation. As a towman you often feel on your own and feel very unappreciated. I can identify with otherswho serve society and probably feel the same way I do. I received a call from the responding officer around 12:30 am thanking me again and

telling me he was going to recommend me for a citizens recognition award. I told him it wasn't necessary and I knew he would do the same forme.-James AlexanderResident TowmanEast Coast Truck and Trailer

James Alexander is a resident of Portsmouth, Va. He has over 10 years of towing experience. He is a familyman of 3 and has been married for over 12 years. He is an avid hunter and poker player.Welcome James Alexander!

East Coast Truck & Trailer Sales wants to be your premier dealer for truck and trailer sales, parts and service. We sell a variety of parts from tiedown bars, chains & clusters, strap technology, chrome, dollies, safety gear, and more. Please call us anytime at 1-866-849-2178.Sincerely,Michael Saks, Internet Commerce ManagerEast Coast Truck and Trailer [email protected]


6/7/2012 1

Towman to the Rescue..Introducing James Alexander..

Documents

Transcript of Towman to the Rescue..Introducing James Alexander..