The Heroic Thai Policeman

[tweet https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/435758974504153088]
There has been a lot of good images that have come out of the political conflict in Thailand. Many of them taken by brave cameramen and photojournalists. If you are like me, then you have probably been saddened by the turn of events and the news of Thais fighting and killing each other. However, out of all the pain and despair in recent weeks and months, comes this image of a hero among Thai people. This still from a video by @StephenBoitanoshows a Thai policeman who should be recognized for his bravery.

His name is Police Sargent Adul. Watch this video and you will clearly see that a grenade was fired at police lines and hit the shield of a colleague. Adul hardly hesitated. He got up and attempted to kick the grenade away. Seconds later the grenade exploded and he was hidden by a cloud of smoke.

[tweet https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/435752172672655360]

I first saw this video on a BBC World report by Jonathan Head. I had already heard claims by some that the policeman had dropped the grenade and blew himself up. This video clearly shows that this was not the case. As the video wasn’t available online at that time, I quickly put together these screen shots to show what really happened.

[tweet https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/435789786972827648]

Shortly afterwards, I spotted some Thais tweeting my screenshot, but they had changed my words to say that the images clearly showed that the policeman had dropped the grenade and blew himself up. Then I got a call from a friend to say that protest leader Suthep was up on stage showing my screen shots and saying that the policeman had blown himself up. This is the same man that said protesters are not armed.

[tweet https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/435779811399593985]

Fortunately, some Thais are honest and recognized the heroic act of this policeman in his valiant attempt to save his comrades.

[tweet https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/436073588597092352]

As to the man himself, @ittipat_Rw  tweeted last night that the policeman is in a safe condition and doctors say that he won’t lose his leg. That is really good news. I just hope that he now gets the recognition that he deserves.

[tweet https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/435938097037971456]

I know I was hoping for too much to have this image on the front page of The Nation and the Bangkok Post this morning. They did both have the exact same picture showing the aftermath of the explosion. But neither paper had it as the lead story.

[tweet https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/436037317665374208]

6 thoughts on “The Heroic Thai Policeman

  • February 24, 2014 at 1:05 am
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    Is there a fund / paypal account to help the Policeman out ,

    I hope he keeps his job but even in the West many lose their job after something like this because they cannot do the work anymore 🙁

    Reply
  • February 21, 2014 at 3:26 pm
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    A heroic thing to do yes, but would he still be seen in that light if he had managed to kick it away and it exploded near some bystanders or media crews? Looks from the angle that it could easily be about to be kicked towards the guy who took this video…

    Reply
  • February 20, 2014 at 12:39 am
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    A real hero. I hope he gets well soon and makes a good recovery.

    Such a nice change from the liars and crooks like Thaksin and Suthep.

    Reply
  • February 19, 2014 at 3:09 pm
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    I also will never buy another issue of the Bangkok Post or the Nation. I don’t even care about the protests particularly, I’m not one of those people who has taken sides, but this officer is clearly a hero and deserves to be lauded. These newspapers are so blatantly one-sided politically, I’m done with them.

    Reply
  • February 19, 2014 at 10:54 am
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    Thanks for your detailed report Richard. It is amazing how some folks will distort the truth; they must have learned it from Jay Carney and Obama: ‘If you like your liar, you can keep your liar.’

    Reply
  • February 19, 2014 at 8:51 am
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    Personally I will never buy either The Nation or BP ever again after this is over – if it ever is. Their coverage has been so one-sided, it’s laughable.

    Reply

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