Blind cop promoted on the spot

Dec 10, 2009 News

By Dale Andrews
After being shot in the head and going blind in both eyes, most people might have quitted being in a job that would again place their lives in jeopardy.
But in the case of Corporal Gregory Brusche, for the past seven years he has remained in the profession that almost cost him his life and despite his handicap, he continues to be useful to the Guyana Police Force.

Newly promoted Sergeant Gregory Brusche who is visually impaired makes a point to police Commissioner Henry Greene.

And for his commitment, he received an on-the-spot promotion from Police Commissioner of Police Henry Greene at the annual awards ceremony and luncheon for Division A, at the Brickdam Police Station compound yesterday.
The announcement was greeted with a resounding applause from the audience gathered to participate in the event.
The year was 2002, and it was during a brutal crime wave that had gripped Guyana that a lone gunman ambushed Detective Corporal Brusche on a bicycle a few metres from the Brickdam Police Station.
He was shot at point blank range and by some miracle he survived.
When many of his colleagues who were being targeted by criminal elements succumbed, Brusche’s life was spared, maybe for a special purpose, even though he lost sight in both of his eyes.
Following his recovery, he returned to work in the Brickdam office of the Criminal Investigation Department.
Though he is not able to perform the task that he loved–investigating crime–he still provides an invaluable service by receiving information through the telephone and passing it on to his colleagues.
“In the normal circumstances many of us would have decided that we don’t want this job anymore. Some of us would have said that this job got me where I am. But what is important is that Corporal Brusche, after he was shot, continued to work,” Police Commissioner Greene told the audience.
In addition to being promoted by the Commissioner, Brusche was also presented with a Commander’s award by Divisional Commander George Vyphuis.
But that was not all. Chairman of the Private Sector Commission, Captain Gerry Gouveia threw in his lot to reward the blind cop by offering him $50,000 cash.
According to Gouveia, no amount of money could compensate for the work of a policeman.
“When we put on our clothes and put our pens in our pockets to go to work, you strap yourselves with a gun and put your lives on the line.”
The PSC Chairman said that the organization has tremendous confidence in the leadership of the Guyana Police Force.
He was however cognizant of the fact that the force had experienced some embarrassing moments within the latter half of the year, with elements in the organization acting contrary to standard operating procedures.
These transgressions negate the contributions of ranks like the newly promoted Gregory Brusche.
“There are going to be some bad ones who make mistakes. I don’t think that people join the force to do bad things,” Gouveia said.
He told the police ranks, some of whom also received awards at yesterday ceremony, that there is life after they would have left the force.
“When you take off the uniform, you have to live in a society that you helped to create,” Gouveia said.
Retired Police Commissioner Floyd McDonald, who was at the helm of the force when Brusche was shot, also congratulated him for his commitment and his dedication to the organization.
According to one of Brusche’s colleagues, his presence in the office is a grim reminder of the challenges policemen face in the execution of their duties and serves to motivate them to work even harder to bring criminals to justice.