Tag Archives: police

Colmado Thieves Caught

Posted by on May 18, 2013 2 comments

I was just getting ready to go and make some lunch when all this yelling and police sirens came up into my abode from the street.

There were at least 6 motorbikes with police and at least 5 police vehicles speeding down the road. Every police person in the area was standing in the street along with all the money change guys and many of the neighbors. All yelling and making a ruckus.

It took a little bit for my camera to turn on but these are the pictures I got out my window.

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There was still lots of commotion so I decided to be a Dominican and go to the street with my neighbors and see what was happening because I could not see down Padre Billini to Calle las Damas from my balcony vantage point.

They said a thief was caught. I asked why did it take so many police to catch a ladrone. Then I got the story. Men (I did not get the answer as to how many men there were) robbed a Colmado, from what they said, in La Altagracia, but not really sure. The police caught them and brought them here. They were in a white truck and all the police were escorting them to the station at the Fortelaza Ozama. I still did not understand why they had to have so many police and then block off the street where they all were with the thieves and their truck.

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Then it was explained to me that these bad guys were very dangerous and had weapons. The police had the guys outside of the truck, not sure what they were doing to them, I did not really want to stand around and gape at them.

So here I am back at my puter sharing the action. On the spot reporting from the Dominican Gringa. Many of the neighbors are still on the corner looking down the street and discussing the event amongst themselves. Teli, my brave dog, is hiding under her favorite shelf in the bedroom.

Policeman Hurt in Motorbike Crash 8-27-2012

Posted by on August 27, 2012 No comments

I was cooking my lunch about 3:20PM when there was a dull crash sound outside in the street on the corner of Padre Billini and Isabel la Catolica. I did not go look at first but Teli came running into the kitchen. She stood at the door, looked at me, then turned and ran back to the living room. I decided I best follow.

I went to look out the window and there in the street was a young police man just laying there face down with all the money changer guys, the taxi guy, the parking guy, anther police man and a few people I did not recognize who ended up being the owners of the car the motorbike-riding helmet-less policeman crashed into.

The policeman was laying face down in the street. He was trying to get up it seemed. The guys there held his elbows and lifted him to his feet. He could not stand so they laid him back down face first. He didn’t seem to have any strength in his legs.

Police laying in the street

I was yelling in my head for noone to move the guy. It looked like he could have a back or neck injury. But here when there is a crash and someone is hurt they usually always just pick the person up and place them in the back of whatever vehicle is around and transport to the hospital.

This is what they did here. Four men, each holding an appendage, carried the guy, still face down to the waiting car. It was the car the motorbike riding policeman hit. The policeman was holding his head up but nothing else seemed to be moving.

Carrying the injured man to the waiting car

They put him in head first down on the back seat. Then they pushed and pulled to get him into the car. This entire time I was winching thinking about protecting his neck and back but they were only thinking about getting him into the car.

Pushing the injured man into the car

Then the drivers got into the car with people yelling out where the nearest hospital was. Someone should have gone with them to show them where the hospital was but noone did. The other police just stood there like he might have been a bit dazed holding his gun.
Where the red circle is is where I think the policeman on the bike hit the window head on. It is cracked.

Policeman loaded into the car with cracked side window and on way to hospital.

Then they picked up the bike with the other policeman looking on still a bit dazed and took it off the road. They were picking up pieces of it off the road. The policeman pushed it off to the station on the next street over.

Checking the bike

Then all the guys had to stand and discuss what happened. From what I picked up the policeman, again I saw NOT wearing a helmet, braked fast as he did not stop going through the intersection which is the normal thing here. He flew off the bike and went head first into the window of the car. The car was not going fast. The policeman riding in the back just went down with the bike and did not get hurt bad. The driving policeman ended up face first in the middle of the street. Things like this happen here often because noone stopps at street corners and people do not wear helmets.

I hope the man is OK. I feel so bad. There was no police taking a report. There was no ambulance. There was no back or neck board. I felt sick watching it all happen and still do not feel that great. I will try and find out how the young policeman is later today.

I was going to have this posted right after the accident but nooo… As I was uploading the pictures the electricity went out for the second time today so I ad to wait to post this breaking news for an hour after the fact when the electric came back on. I think they are working on fixing the stuff after the Hurricane Isaac past us by.

Walk About Pictures 1st Week in July

Posted by on July 10, 2012 2 comments

I took some nice pictures this week that I just have to share somewhere.

These 2 pictures were taken in a small alleyway in Colonial Zone. I love the art.

It looks like these may be new police recruits. I am not really sure but the park was full on nice looking young men all in white shirts.

This tree is in front of the Church and Convent of Las Mercedes in Zona Coloniallove life. I love the poles lovingly holding up the branches that provide welcome shade for so many.

We had a bit of rain off and on. This is a neighborhood boy, Jimmy, waiting for the rain to stop so he and his friends could continue their game of ball in the Parque Rosado.

Teli, The Dominican Dog, posing with the gargoyle statues in front of the oldest cathedral in the Americas, Cathedral Santa Maria. These statues are lined up along side of the immense building. The thing that really struck me was that Teli has some Greyhound in her. In Spanish Greyhound is Galgo. It is very close sounding to Gargoyle, which is what i thought people were saying when Teli first came to live with me. I did not understand that they were talking the bread of dog not the nasty monster type creatures.

I tried to get her to sit on the pedestal there to pose but she would not do it. I will keep trying.

It was a great week! I wrote this and stuck it onto a picture takes in the central mountains of Dominican Republic.

Fixing Up the Zone – My Opinion

Posted by on April 13, 2011 No comments

I read in the newspaper yesterday and today about how they are going to do all sorts of improvements in the Colonial Zone. (read the Colonial Zone News for information about these new ideas) This is mostly a good thing as, in my opinion, we do need more police on duty in the streets. They have many now but they usually stop foot duty around 9PM then it is only police in cars, trucks and motorcycles. I don’t understand why they do not have police in the streets, standing around at night, when the most criminal stuff happens. But then I do not understand many things here in DR and in the entire world for that matter.

The security cameras are also a good thing except for those humans doing things that they do not want others to see like picking up the opposite sex when they have a spouse at home. This could be interesting, especially if these camera are made public for anyone to view. I would for sure tune in to see who is doing what in the street.

They are saying that they are going to put all the utility lines underground. I think this happened on another street here and they forgot where they put the lines and had to tear up the street a second time to find them, but then I could be wrong about this. the only problem that I have about underground lines is what will the tourists take pictures of? At least 10 tourists each day here on Calle Isabel la Católica take pictures of the crazy electric and phone lines. I know when I was a tourist many years ago I took pictures of these wild wires in the streets. Will this make the Zone less interesting to those humans that are wowed by the uniqueness of the place?

I do think they need to make the horse cart drivers feed their horses. This to me is a terrible thing to see these skinny, rib-sticking-out horses pulling carts. They also need to make sure that all the roads and parks have lights that work for more security.

I also am for the business being open late night like they used to be. So many businesses have suffered because of the curfew they placed on them. And the museums and such open until maybe 8 or 9PM would be a good thing also as long as there is security around.

These are my opinions.

Barahona Road Trip Tour

Posted by on February 2, 2011 1 comment

>I got an email from John that he wanted to visit Barahona after he read my trip report (Barahona trip). I was happy to return and share my discoveries as I had such a good time there the first time I went. The only thing I wasn’t sure about was that he and his daughter Kelsey wanted to rent a car and drive there. I am not really good on the roads here as I never had the guts to drive in this country but this is what they wanted so I went along for the ride as their guide. First I did tell them that I did not know the roads as I always use public transportation but they were up for the adventure and what an adventure it turned out to be for us all.

They were staying their first night in Boca Chica and I took a taxi early Saturday morning to meet up with them. We got along great and they were up for the adventure so we were off in the rental car after a good breakfast.

We did fine driving and enjoying the view along the Malecon. The highway to Barahona was for the most part smooth. We only had a few close calls on the drive there. One when someone stopped in front of us for a conversation in the middle of the street, as is the norm here in DR, and dodging a few large holes in the street.

We stopped at a Colmado for a beer mid trip. John was amazed at how much rice a man had on his plate for his mid day meal. I explained that this was the normal serving here. I was explaining the culture and things along the way. As my usual talking non stop because I love sharing stuff about this country.

We got into Barahona and stopped at a restaurant. I called my friend Ruddi and he came by and said hello to us. Then we drove down the coast to San Rafael. We had no real destination in mind. The only thing that was sure is that we had to get some raw larimar for John to take home with him. Other than that the day was clear.

The road was winding and the scenery was beautiful. As we drove up to the San Rafael beach/ river area the scene was breathtaking. The bay was bright turquoise and the waves were white. We stopped to take it all in. Then we drove down the hill to where the river enters the sea and took a few pictures. We stopped at a roadside place where a lady was selling larimar and they bought their stash or the gem only found on our island. Then we decided we best start looking for a hotel to stay the night.
San Rafael Bay Baharona San Rafael River Baharona San Rafael Bay Baharona
The Bay and River at San Rafael (click images to enlarge)

On our way back to Barahona we were stopped at one of the many police check points. The guys had their big guns and made us open the trunk for them to have a look see. There was nothing for them to find so we went on our merry way on our quest for a hotel.

We stopped at so many places. All were full. I never left the city on a holiday. Now I know why. Without a reservation on holiday weekends it is almost impossible to find a place to rest the weary head. We stopped at a friend’s hotel and they called around for us to try and find a place vacant. A guy from the hotel took us to one place that had a vacancy but the music was so loud there we would have never slept so we decided to head back toward the capital and maybe find a place in Azua. This is when the real adventure began.

We followed a sigh that said Santo Domingo. The road did not look familiar but we kept going as I thought maybe it was a new highway. There were deep ditches on either side of the road that made me a bit nervous. It was dark by this time and driving at night in the country is not easy here. We almost went off the road once when they sugar train tracks were not marked. We just barely dodged a few car-eating potholes. We got onto some dirt road where people were all staring at us probably wondering what a car with 3 Gringos was doing when the road lead to nowhere. We had to turn around and go past the staring humans again as the road got so bad we knew we were a bit lost. All the time we were laughing and enjoying the situation. But as the night progressed we all got a bit more silent. I could not figure out why we had not come to the town of Azua yet.

Finally we saw someone to ask where the heck we were, after at least a 1-½ hour drive in the dark. He said we were on the wrong road and the only way to get to Santo Domingo we had to go back to Barahona. We stopped to get gas and asked a man there where we could find a hotel. He said his wife’s cousin had a hotel, the only hotel in the entire area. He said it was about 5 minutes away and we could follow him to get there. It was more like 20 minutes away but we followed him. What choice did we have at that hour of the night (it was maybe around 10PM?

We got to the hotel. Hotel Restaurant Deysi Hermanos (809-527-3951/ 3679). This is the only hotel in the entire area. It was in the town of Neiba. Not very far from Lago Enriquillo. We really went the wrong direction. Thank goodness they had rooms! YEA! We had a place to lay our heads and relax a bit. The guy took me to get some water and ice as there wasn’t anyplace within walking distance at night to get this stuff. We gave him a few hundred pesos for his help and retired to our rooms for the night.
morning Deysi Hermenos Hotel Balcony Neiba morning Deysi Hermenos Hotel Balcony Neiba park
View from the Deysi Hermenos Hotel Balcony(click images to enlarge)
morning Deysi Hermenos Hotel Balcony spider webs Neiba morning Deysi Hermenos Hotel Balcony dead doll Neiba
Spider webs – Dead baby doll in broken building (click images to enlarge)

In the morning we decided we would just head back to the capital as we didn’t know if we would have more get lose times. Remember, I told them ahead of time that I did not know the roads. They were not angry with me instead they were enjoying the adventure. On the trip back we passed a lot of sugar cane fields and workers. Things we passed the night before but never saw. The sugar cane train went slowly past. We had a few close calls on the road but that’s normal here. We stopped for a horse in the street and waited for him to get off the road to protect him form the crazy drivers speeding past without paying attention to it.

Finally we got back to Barahona to start again for Santo Domingo. We turned around and followed the sign and ended up on the same road to Neiba! It was like we were in the Twilight Zone or in an episode of Children of the Corn (or maybe Children of the Sugar Cane) where you can never leave the town. There was a police checkpoint so we decided to ask for help there. I told the police our story and he had a great solution for us. We were in luck. A sergeant there needed to get to Santo Domingo and instead of him taking the bus he could ride with us and show us the way. What a deal, getting directions and a police escort. So he got in the back seat with Kelsey and we were on our way back.

The policeman was enamored with Kelsey, as were most of the Dominican men we encountered. He kept trying to talk to her but she knew no Spanish. She said his gun was sticking out of his pocket and one time it fell out on the seat. He saw that it came out when she was staring at it and put it back in his pocket.

Other than this the trip back was uneventful. We made one liquid refreshment stop. I would have never found the way back. There are no road signs worth speaking of. There might be one sign then the next turn there is none. So normally, without a sign, one would assume that you are to keep going straight. I learned not to assume anything here. Every fork and Y in the road you need to stop and ask if that is the way or you will end up in no mans land like we did. But the best way to travel in DR is with a PMA (Positive Mental Attitude). Take your time and enjoy the adventure. Laugh at your screw-ups and mark it up as one memorable vacation.

Well, we made it back to Colonial Zone. Then they checked into their hotel and we went on a little walking tour of the Zone. John did no have time to deliver the supplies he brought for the orphanage so he left them with me to deliver later. We walked a few hours in the Colonial Zone but we were all beat from the road trip so we returned to the hotel. We sat on the patio and recalled our adventure over a few cold Presidente beers then said our goodbyes.

John and Kelsey made it to return the car and to the airport with no problems. They made it back to their home with no problems. They also left with some great memories of a unique and incredible adventure in Dominican Republic. I had a great time showing them around and made some new friends in the process.

Police Watching Out for the President

Posted by on December 31, 2010 2 comments

>Yesterday when I left the office I walked to the little Colmado near to Parque Duarte in Colonial Zone for my Presidente beer. As I made the turn from Calle el Conde onto Duarte there was 4 of those scary looking police all in black with their bulletproof vests, skull caps and big guns standing near their motorcycles. I smiled and said hi as I was looking around making sure I wasn’t walking into some big drug bust or some serious problem. There was nothing I could see so I proceeded on to have my bien fria.

When I got near to the park there was 2 large police buses and police everywhere. There were guys in really nice suits with walki talkies (they are the official president protectors). There were more of those scary looking dressed in black police. Lots of National Police (Policia Nacional), Tourist Police, and others I don’t know who they were. I smiled and said hi to the group in front of the Colmado, went inside, got my beer and went back outside to see what was happening like any normal Dominican would do.

I asked the group of men what was happening. Some of them had very nice suits on, others had the normal uniform, some had their florescent vests on and others were in normal street clothes. They said President Leonel Fernández was in the church attending a wedding.

What amazed me is how many police and undercover people were there to watch over the President. There had to be at least 60 different people there. They were everywhere. The suit guy was trying to fix me up with all the police standing around talking. He was telling me to pick the one I wanted. I just laughed at him. We were all talking and all of a sudden they said they had to go. They all went to the area of the church.

I didn’t see the president leave but within minutes people were getting on their motorcycles and boarding the police buses. The suit guys got in black SUV’s, which they call Jepetas here in Dominican Republic. Within minutes they were all gone, leaving behind the normal police watch. I was just amazed at how many police were there to guard the President.