Cops ‘went beyond the call of duty’

John Fraser popped out to get a new part for his water pump, yet he never made it home to his wife.

Instead it was two police constables tasked with informing his next of kin that would get the water flowing at the elderly couple’s home.

Their efforts were a small gesture to help a grieving woman who’d just been told her husband of 56 years had died.

‘‘I don’t think we would have got through it without them,’’ Fraser’s daughter Sara Shepherd said about the efforts of two Waikato constables.

‘‘They went above and beyond the call of duty.’’

It was last Tuesday, March 13, when Fraser and his wife woke to find the water wasn’t working at their Morrinsville home.

Fraser took the pump to be repaired and was in the process of putting it back together when he realised he needed an additional part. After picking it up in town, the 79-year-old headed home.

During the trip he suffered a suspected medical event behind the wheel. His car crashed through a fence at the northern end of Studholme St. Bystanders rushed to his aid. They attempted to resuscitate him until Constable Rachel Forgeson arrived and gave CPR.

Volunteer firefighters took over soon after. A defibrillator was on hand but despite efforts Fraser couldn’t be revived.

He died at the scene. Police then worked on tracking down the man’s next of kin.

Constables Alistair Ellesmere and John Keoghan went to the man’s home.

‘‘He was doing his best to look after his wife and this was an untimely and unfortunate situation,’’ Ellesmere said.

‘‘He would have been home in five minutes, had the pump replumbed and the water back on.’’

Telling someone their family member is dead is never an easy task, Ellesmere said.

‘‘It’s a hard thing to do, it’s emotionally draining, but if we don’t do it who is going to?

‘‘She’s got enough on her plate with her husband’s passing and we were fortunate to be able to help.’’

During the teary conversation the two constables discovered Fraser was in the process of fixing the broken pump.

They took a look and found the system in pieces.

Ellesmere decided to return to the crashed car and fetch the part while Keoghan stayed with the 75-year-old woman until her daughter arrived from Auckland.

He returned with the part and got to work.

Being a rural lad, he was familiar with the system and used his ‘‘basic plumbing skills’’ to put the motor back together.

‘‘I tried to establish what Jock had been trying to do and used my limited expertise so she was able to carry on the best she can.’’

The first thing Fraser’s wife did was make the constables a cup of coffee. ‘‘She was a wonderful lady, it was a terribly unfortunate situation.’’

In writing about the incident, Constable Jack Driver of Waikato police said ‘‘quite often we feel useless in dealing with a stranger’s grief but this was a small success in the scheme of things’’.

‘‘Fortunately Alistair has a number of handy skills and to John’s surprise managed to put the puzzle back together.

‘‘I think jobs like this are something to mention. There are a lot of good cops out there going the extra mile and often this gets lost amongst the bad stories.’’

‘‘There are a lot of good cops out there going the extra mile and often this gets lost amongst the bad stories.’’ Constable Jack Driver