Pinelands police celebrated the career of Warrant Officer Frederick Troost who retired after long service with the police.
They held a surprise retirement party at a Howard Centre pizzeria on Tuesday, attended by his colleagues, Pinelands Community Police Forum and his wife, Irma.
Warrant Officer Troost, 58, worked for 40 years in the police service. He said it felt like “yesterday” when he started as an 18-year-old rookie.
“Once I finished my training in Pretoria, I was asked which three police stations I would like to work at, and I said Athlone police, Mowbray police and Rondebosch police, and they decided to send me to Pinelands police,” he said.
Warrant Officer Troost said he had experienced all the highs and lows of being a police officer. He has been shot at, stabbed, hit by a vehicle and has ended up in hospital many times in his career.
“I enjoyed what I did, I would never have done it for so long if I didn’t enjoy it,” he said.
Irma, his wife of 32 years, said she was relieved he had finally retired as he would have more time for himself. “He was a real people’s person and he only had the nicest things to say about his colleagues,” she said.
Station commander Lieutenant Colonel Anton van der Berg said Warrant Officer Troost had spent a lot of time at the Pinelands headquarters and had even acted like its handyman.
“If we needed anything fixed, Frederick was there to fix it,” he said.
Sergeant Samantha Rangasamy, who did basic field training under Warrant Officer Troost, said: “I have come a long way with him, I know him since I started, and I learnt a lot from him.”
Warrant Officer Troost has camping, fishing and hiking planned for his retirement. He said he would like to travel again when it was possible.
