This past Sunday evening (11th March 2019) saw a shocking and what some would describe as a cowardly attack on a officer from the Hathian Police Department, virtually right outside the doors of the station. In what seemed to be an otherwise normal stop and search, Officer Bart Olbers was out on patrol with a specially trained police dog from HPD’s K-9 Unit. He stopped the young woman next to the entrance to HPD and almost immediately the specially trained dog from HPD’s K-9 Unit’s reaction raised the suspicion that the woman was in possession of an illegal substance and the officer indicted the standard HPD Stop and Search procedure.
The woman was subsequently placed under arrest and handcuffed behind her back for possession with probable intent to supply, the narcotics being held in the woman’s handbag. It was just as the officer was making the arrest that a taxi came screeching down the road towards the officer forcing him, his suspect and the K-9 Unit to move out of the way of the speeding vehicle as it veered left aiming directly for the entrance to HPD smashing into the glass entrance to the building.
The driver remained in the vehicle at the time while the passenger left the vehicle and approached the officer in an attempt to assist the female suspect who had been placed under arrest. The passenger would then draw a gun on the officer and point it in his face threatening the officer unless he released the female detainee. The officer managed to fight off his attacker but what happened next was a truly cowardly and despicable act even for Hathian.
During the fight, the officer had managed to use the Krav Maga techniques he had learned in self defense against his attacker, and in the process broke the right wrist of the passenger, who the officer described as being a very tall blonde haired man. It was while the officer was trying to restrain the handcuffed suspect who was still trying to escape custody and fight off the passenger, that the driver of the taxi stepped from the vehicle and in what can only be described as a heinous and reprehensible act shot the officer twice at close range in the back from a position behind the vehicle giving the officer no chance to defend himself or find adequate cover. The female suspect was still handcuffed as she managed to snatch back her hand bag containing the suspected narcotics and both her and the passenger who had instigated the attack on the officer fled to the waiting vehicle, the woman dropping the bag inside the car before getting inside and all three of them fled the scene in the taxi which had previously crashed into HPD.
Officer Olbers was wearing a bullet resistant vest which prevented the bullet fully penetrating the officer’s body, however he did suffer blunt force trauma to his back and was sent to Hathian General Hospital for treatment. While the vest is made to prevent penetration blunt force trauma is still an issue and so it was fortunate that HPD Officers generally wear a stab vest or some form of protection while on duty. An investigation is on-going and HPD are requesting that if anyone has information about either of the three suspects or the vehicle involved they can contact HPD in strict confidentiality on Hathian 555-0911.
When asked if it was possible that the three may have been working together the press officer from HPD said it is believed the three may have been working together, but that they were keeping an open mind on the matter and would be continue their investigation with a view to making arrests in the very near future.
