Last Thursday at around 11 o?clock at night, a car with four people crashed against a pole on the highway near Réduit. Every single car that drove past stopped, presumably because the passengers were nosy but also to give a helping hand if ever one was needed. A friend of mine was amongst those people who proceeded to do the police?s job while policemen stood by and supervised civilians as they turned into rescuers.

It was civilians who called the police and the SAMU and again civilians who managed to get all but one of the passengers out of the car. The fourth person who was on the passenger seat in front couldn?t be moved because he was in such pain and his side of the car had been so badly damaged.

Then another civilian came on the scene. He came out of a car with diplomatic plates and was carrying a first aid kit. My friend who had by now taken over the rescue operation (she can be a little Hitler on a bad day), asked the stranger if he was a doctor. Paramedic, he replied.

This kind stranger got into the car through the boot and proceeded to bandage the injured person?s head and to hold the unfortunate passenger while waiting for help to arrive.

When real help did arrive - the fire brigade - they decided to saw the car into two, from top to bottom; it was the only way to retrieve the long-suffering passenger.

In the meantime, passers-by helped by calling the victim?s parents or helping them to the ambulance or even consoling and reassuring them. The paramedic stayed in the car to hold the unfortunate passenger?s head all the while.

The police, impassive, just stood there. When the rescue operation was over, the policemen woke up from their slumber and ordered that everybody leave the scene so that they could get on with their work.

What exactly this work consisted of, I do not know, seeing that there were no more witnesses on the scene. I don?t suppose they meant they would take a statement from the wrecked car but, according to my friend, they didn?t specify the nature of the work they were about to start doing.

On Friday, speaking at the fact-finding committee on the flooding in Mon-Gout, the acting commissioner of police said that policemen are not trained in disaster management. Shocking though such a statement might be, at least it has the merit of being candid.

So, no more lies. That?s good.

Disturbing but good.

Honesty?s good.

I am assuming Thursday?s incident must also be part of the "disasters" the acting CP was referring to. I wonder how much one can stretch that word to make it cover all the other areas where our police fall short of training.

What else can be termed as "disaster"?

The question is a valid one. After all, we need to know, don?t we, if we are required to step in whenever "disasters" occur.