I suddenly found myself in the middle of a police operation

46-year-old Thomas Güntert from Zug assisted the Zug Police in pursuing a fleeing burglar.
 

Thomas Güntert hadn't expected this when he was driving home on the evening of 26th December. ‘I suddenly found myself in the middle of a police operation,’ says the 46-year-old from Zug, who works as Head of After-Sales at the Porsche Centre in Rotkreuz. ‘It was probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience.’

The Zug Police put it somewhat more formally in their letter of thanks, which Thomas Güntert posted on LinkedIn a few days ago: ‘You drove one of our police officers to the scene in your private vehicle, thereby making an important contribution to a successful intervention.’ In their daily work, the police rely on the co-operation of committed citizens.

Police officer missed the chase
The memorable evening began for Thomas Güntert on the Kolinplatz in the city of Zug: an unmarked police car had blocked the intersection, and, shortly afterwards, an Audi raced down the Ägeristrasse pursued by several police cars with flashing blue lights After witnessing this incident, Thomas Güntert drove up the Ägeristrasse – and saw a police officer rushing towards the old town on the pavement. ‘I immediately thought: this must have something to do with the chase.’

Thomas Güntert               Photo: zvg

Thomas Güntert stopped and asked if he could help. That was indeed the case: the police officer asked for a lift. As it turned out, there had been a break-in at a nearby flat. When the emergency services arrived on the scene, the burglar had fled in a car. While the emergency services had already given chase, the police officer in question was unable to reach the vehicles in time, and had been left behind.

‘At first, I thought I just had to take him back to the police station,’ recalls Thomas Güntert. But in fact, they went straight to the scene of the crime near Oberwil: the police had already stopped the fleeing burglar there, and Thomas Güntert dropped off the ‘straggler’. Communication in Thomas Güntert's Porsche was limited to the essentials: ‘I was totally stunned – and the police officer was completely focused on his mission.’

A pocket knife from the Zug Police
Looking back, Thomas Güntert says he didn't have time to think twice: he just felt that his help was needed. ‘Sometimes you just have to act, otherwise it's too late,’ he is convinced. The question of whether the man who got into his car was a real police officer didn't even cross his mind. Thomas Güntert says he feels safe in Zug, and supporting the emergency services is a matter of course for him.

The Zug Police saw it differently. Thomas Güntert says they thanked him for his efforts on the spot. A few days later, a letter of thanks arrived in his letterbox, stating that his ‘prudent, decisive and courageous actions’ deserved ‘special recognition’. The letter even included a ‘small gift’: a pocket knife with the Zug Police logo. ‘I wasn't expecting that at all. I was pleasantly surprised,’ he said.