Detective loves thrill of the chase at work

Being dragged along the road by a moving vehicle with an intoxicated driver at the wheel is one of the hazards of the job for Daniel Cochrane.

As a child, it was the roar and freedom of a motorbike which attracted the Detective First Class Constable to the police force but now, as an adult, the appeal is the thrill of the chase.

“When I was a kid I always wanted to be a police officer... I originally wanted to be a motorbike police officer, because I love riding motorbikes, but as I got older I sort of found out that they were more related to traffic and that it was not really my cup of tea,” he said.

“I more wanted to be a detective. I liked the idea of investigating.

“It is the intrigue of figuring out who it (the offender) is, and you might know who it is but then you have got to gather the evidence, hunt the evidence to prove it.

“It is kind of like the thrill of the chase and that is what drove me to be a detective, I love trying to figure it out and find that elusive bit of evidence.”

The 29-year-old said despite police work not being as glamorous as it was portrayed in film, the job had thrown him into some tense situations.

“I did a traffic stop and the person driving was intoxicated,” he said.

“Myself and my partner turned our back for a second and he started the car and tried to drive off, I lunged for the keys and got caught between the door and the car and I was dragged down the road a bit and I had to let go and tumble down the road.”

“That was a catch-your-breath-for-a-second moment — a little bit like a movie — but you tend to hurt a bit more than what they do in the movies.”

Growing up in Kwinana, Det. First Class Const. Cochrane said he got up to his fair share of mischief, but it had helped him learn right from wrong.

“I was never arrested or anything like that, but I was definitely no angel, I certainly did things that I know now could possibly land me in trouble with the law, but that is also what makes you a good police officer, as long as you grow up,” he said.

To make his way to where he is today, Det. First Class Const. Cochrane said he took the long route, working as a security guard and transit guard before enrolling in the police academy.

By 22 he was dressed in blue, as a general duties officer, posted to Rockingham Railway Unit for six months, before heading to Fremantle and then two country postings.

He said he still had memories of the “rush” he felt on his first day on the beat, but his “highest highs” and “lowest lows” were during his time at Halls Creek, thousands of miles from family and friends.

“That was by far my biggest challenge,” he said.

Det. First Class Const. Cochrane said he hoped people understood police officers were a part of the community, like everybody else.

“We just wear a uniform and have a job to do,” he said.

In a profession that often deals with picking up the pieces of broken lives, Det. First Class Const. Cochrane said it was hard to contemplate some of the things he had seen in the world of drug abuse and crime.

He said he had taught himself to switch off from “police mode” at the end of a shift and value his time with family and friends away from work.