The Belgian police said they were amazed at the number of qualified blind applicants for the six posts in the unit. Scoring high on a hearing test was a prerequisite, as was being at least 33 percent blind. Van Thielen said he had to turn away dozens of applicants whose sight was too good, including one "blind" man who shocked recruiters by driving to his interview.
Recruiting blind people posed other challenges. Van Thielen, a no-nonsense police veteran, had to deal with officers who feared that having blind colleagues would be a burden. Others felt awkward about how to behave in front of blind people and wondered if saying au revoir -- literally "see you again" -- would give offense.
To assuage their concerns, Van Thielen arranged for sensitivity training sessions with blind volunteers. The hints included this one: Don't leave computer cables trailing on the floor where blind officers can trip on them.
"At first when members of the police heard that blind people were coming to work here, they laughed and told me that we were a police force and not a charity," Van Thielen said. "But attitudes changed when the blind officers arrived and showed their determination to work hard and be useful."
It was not only attitudes that needed updating. In addition to installing elevators with voice-activated buttons at the police station, the force issued each blind officer a special computer equipped with a Braille keyboard and a system that translates images on the screen into sound.
As Van Loo transcribed a wiretap recording on a recent day, he wore earphones and passed his index finger over a long strip of Braille characters on the bottom of the keyboard. When he goes outside, he carries a compact police-issued global positioning system device with a voice that directs him to his destination, street by street.
A father of two, Van Loo attributed his success to having parents who taught him at an early age to be independent. He recalled that when he was a young child, his father, a film buff, took him to movies. His father also taught him to drive a car by hoisting him on his lap and guiding his hands on the steering wheel.
His ability to adapt, he said, was reinforced by attending a regular high school. He also attended a school for the blind, where he learned to maneuver with a cane and to read Russian in Braille. To relax, he skis, rides horses and plays the Arabic lute.
"My parents accepted my blindness, which also helped me to accept it," he said. "That they were not risk averse also helped."
Van Loo said he remained determined not to let his disability overwhelm him.
"Being blind isn't always very easy," he said. "I don't focus on it. I don't deny it. But it is rather tragic that a blind policeman is still viewed as an exception."
RSS