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Saitama prefectural police said Monday that a 54-year-old police officer has been arrested after he assaulted two train station attendants.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 1 a.m. on Sept 27 at Shinrinkoen Station on the Tobu Tojo line. TBS reported that the officer, Koichi Uchida, punched a station attendant while on the platform. Another station attendant who heard the commotion came running over to intervene, but was also assaulted by Uchida who refused to calm down.
Neither station attendant was seriously hurt, police said.
According to police, Uchida was severely intoxicated at the time of the incident and had fallen asleep on the last train, when a station attendant came to wake him up. Uchida was enraged upon being awoken and began attacking the station attendant in a drunken fit, TBS reported.
Uchida was quoted by police as saying he didn't lay a hand on anyone.
© Japan Today
20 Comments
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Mirai Hayashi
Of course...he was drunk so how could possibly remember?
sillygirl
Drunk, the expected excuse in Japan. When are the people going to wake up to a SERIOUS alcohol problem in this country?
hereforever
But Sarge I was drunk so this one doesn't count. So, can I have my gun back?
SenseNotSoCommon
J cops + booze + Saitama?
Sensato
This is another reason there should be surveillance cameras on all subway/train cars.
Americanhonor
At 54 he was most likely sergeant minimum or detective. either way unfit to wear the badge he was sworn to uphold the law under
Magnus Roe
That is certainly not given. He could one of those eternally stuck in a rural koban. Agree he should relinquish the badge though, but doubt it'll happen.
shakuji
At least law enforcement isn't shooting people like Stateside. I don't think they carry concealed while off duty so ya never know....
smithinjapan
In Saitama, of course. What's with all these guys sworn to uphold the law who seem hell-bent on breaking it? The drunk excuse needs to end, once and for all. I'd love to see one of these guys get caught in an accident or assaulting someone overseas and seeing what happened when their excuse was, "Come on, guys... you know... it was after an enkai and all that, right? Shou ga nai, ne?"
Reckless: Actually, there are a number of drinking and driving reports caused annually by police officers are reported. They usually flee the vehicle, are found sometime later, and claim they don't know what happened.
tjkemp9311
Drunk. Totally a viable excuse, said no one ever.
DaDude
Go count the last 20 crime reports and tell me how many were in Saitama compared to other Prefectures. Yeah? Thought so....
wowyz
In Saitama, of course. What's with all these guys sworn to uphold the law who seem hell-bent on breaking it?
"it wont be long now"....
"Is their lead in the water supply in Saitama, serious inquiry"
more like cesium, strontium, and plutonium.
Brian Wheway
put on his work record that he's drunk etc, and if it happens again, a written warning, and then possible sacking. here in the UK some companies randomly test the staff for alcohol and drugs, can or do they do this in Japan.
Tamarama
Shinrinkoen is a quiet little train station in a nice rural corner of Saitama. Some fun facts for you:
It is 52.5km from Ikebukuro Station, and the fare is about 720 Yen on the Tobu Tojo Line.
The area is well known for Musashi Kyuryo National Government Park, or Shinrin Koen, which was Japan's first National Government park - so pronounced in 1974.
The old Kami no Michi Kaido, or the Nakasendo (can't remember which) runs through the park and is signposted and there for you to ogle. Very cool history.
Many of the families who currently reside in and around Namegawa Machi - where the station is, are decedents of noble families who lived inside Higashimatsuyama Castle, but were forced to flee down river after Toyotomi Hideyoshi took the castle in 1590. They took up rice farming, and some of those families are still there 425 years later. More cool history.
Several of these families subsequently supplied rice to the Emperor, due to the fine quality of their produce, and the fact that their Koshihikari was particularly fluffy and tasty.
You can see Mount Fuji quite clearly from there on a good day.sensei258
I'll bet dollars to donuts (pun intended), that nothing will happen to him, and maybe even the JR employees will apologize for the trouble.
keika1628
Shinrinkoen Saitama, beautiful quite place also well known for it's railway sidings ,large train repair , maintenance and spotlessly clean work shop. Drunks from any walk of life are not welcomed to hit honest hard working citizens . They should all be arrested and carted back to the crime ridden 23 wards of Tokyo
Tamarama
Hear hear!
Tohka
To protect and se... oh wait.
Fadamor
At a "Japanese Drinking Customs & Etiquette" panel this year, we were treated to a slide show. It included pictures of people passed out on subway floors and sidewalks and park benches. Along with these photos was the comment that this was socially acceptable because they were not endangering people by driving while drunk. Then came a slide of a drunk passed out on a subway floor who had removed all his clothing except for his briefs. The comment with this photo was that this was NOT socially acceptable, and the person looking through the subway car window and taking a photo with his cell phone of the drunk was ALSO committing a taboo. Then the presenter commented on how the person who took the photos for the presentation was therefore committing a taboo as well..
I don't know. I don't really think drunks should be getting credit for not driving when most of them don't have a car in the first place.