>So seriously what do I do ? I've spoken to my station manager / TL who has mors exspirence with me and he said 'someone doesn't like you' and how he 'has no idea why they have done that they usually only take a swab' Your station manager should absolutely be the one dealing with this, not you. "Sucks to suck" is not at all an acceptable response. If he won't do something, I'd talk to whoever is next highest.

Absolutely agree I believe he has spoken to his higher ups about it and spoken to an off duty NILO who I also happen to know about it and hasn't gotten anything meaningful Edit: nilo (national interagency liason officer) so manage a major or higher incident and is a liason between the services so assumed he may habe a faint idea of what thd process is (obviously not with boots specifically but what if a police officer damages a ambulance sort of thing)

Sounds like you have nothing left to do then. It's out of your hands and your only job now is to ride your supe to make sure he's doing what he should be doing.

Yep agreed BUT MY BOOTS MAN BRAND SPANKING NEWWWWWWWWW

Oh I'd be furious, too. Your feelings there are 100% valid.

THANK YOU I've had ro go back to the default ambulance service issue ones and MY GOD I remember why I started buying my own Low cut with to much lace so you have to wrap it around the top of the boot always loose and moves around on your foot far to much and the steel toe wears visible so fast from standard use I will forever be using high cut boots with spike protection from underneath after a nasty expirence my college had that put him out of action for two months

What was that, your service issue boots are causing you foot, knee or lower back pain? You should probably see your GP about that as you don’t want to cause long term damage. They, or you, might suggest that a letter supporting alternative footwear be written to supply to your line manager for forwarding on to the relevant department to order you more suitable footwear. The trusts in this country only supplying us with the cheapest kit that only just scraps by as being fit for purpose whilst being ill-fitting and uncomfortable is a disgrace.

I don't blame the trusts I loved magnum boots but they changed there manufacturing and they have gone downhill No pain just genral discomfort from crappy bootz and lomg shifts

lol, I use my old Navy boots for EMS. If it helps, the way I tie them (and other people taught me this) was you do the typical cinch in the front (I don't know what it's called, where you wrap the laces around each other and pull), then wrap the laces all the way around the back and to the front again, square not, then tuck the excess in the top of the boot. Never have issues with it coming lose and it's also way faster than tying a typical knot

Yeah fair enough quick knots are good to learn (I think that's what you mean) Purely out of interest are they steel toe ? As in the uk they have to be full safety boots

Yes they are steel toe. They are affectionately called "bricks" though for a reason bc it's heavy as fuck and hurts my ankles after a while, but I just deal with it. We used to go running in them and that sucked. Probably need to get new boots.

I mean sounds like they have lasted you a while

Might it be possible for them to fork over the cost of whatever conforms to their standards? Then you'd be part way to paying for a new pair.

Dafuq? Why do the cops take your boots for forensics? What does that even mean? I’m imagining they put your info inside the boots so that if the rest of your body gets exploded in an IED, you can be identified via your boots. I’m gonna assume that’s not correct. Regardless, I don’t see why you shouldn’t be compensated. If you fucked up my expensive, brand new boots, then one way or another you’re gonna pay for them.

Sorry crappy pissed off writing. 1. The scene was absolutely a crime scene very clearly a murder and I would of contaminated the crime scene and possible had evidence on my boots 2. I wrote my info inside my boots as I've had this happen before but they took my boots and I got a phone call to pick them up the next day 3. YES seriously who the fuck did that to my boots and why and I desperately hope I'll be compensated and being given a pair of the crappy ambulance service standard boots doesn't count

Oooooh okay, that makes sense. Yeah I wouldn’t take no for an answer regarding compensation in this situation. I would gladly raise hell. Hell I would even go to a local news station to see if they wanted to run a story about how cops wholly unnecessarily destroyed the brand new boots of an underpaid EMS worker, and subsequently refused to compensate them. If that didn’t work, of course the only option left would be to firebomb police HQ. I hope at least one of these options works for you.

you raise some very good points and I do have some Irish relatives so I mite call in some favours And yes no matter what I will NOT be taking no for an answer, I've writen an email to my 'boss' about the whole situation but it's very unlikely he wants anything to do with it probably won't even read the email

I'd hold off with the fire bombing of the police HQ as most police stations get rather shooty in their fire bomb prevention methods

Nahhh, all the AFO's would be busy shooting terrified pitbulls or running over cows in ford rangers

They ran over a cow???????

They certainly did a poor calf escaped a farm and stood in the middle of the road in a small town 5 police vehcile including armed response turned up and the cow 'posed a threat to the public' (IT WAS STANING THERE) so they ran it over with a ford ranger Also bare in mind we have specialist animal capture company's like RSPCA thay work alongside police They had the option of tranqualizing it

That definitely sounds like something a cop would do “Animal control said they’ll be here in 5-“ “WE DON’T HAVE THAT KIND OF TIME. SHOOT IT, SHOOT IT NOW.”

Or in this case RAMMMMMM THAT COWWWWWWWW

OP is in the UK. Good luck finding a free AFO

In the US the lead cop, or whatever his official on scene title is, will give you a business card to the Risk Management Office. On the website you create a claim, just like insurance and request reimbursement for damages done by the cops. Is there a mechanism like that in UK? I am not EMS, just a normal citizen. Sorry I cannot help you with the politics but I hope you get reimbursed! Source: my own broken door

For general claims yes on the government website but my submission was rejected and it would take me to small claims court and the forensic officer would have to exsplain his reasoning And 'lead cop' isn't really a thing in the uk there are diffrent ranks but a bronze commander from the police isn't going to come out unless there suspect is still on scene and I'm actually the highest authority on scene because I'm a bronze paramedic so technically I'm the scene manager but then it's only partially medical and partly a police matter

>And 'lead cop' isn't really a thing in the uk Yeah, there is. It's whatever cop is in charge of this case. There's someone who has primary report for it.

Yeah of course, sorry I was thinking higher up scene control rather than policeing. How would I go about finding out who that is or was on scene the police where just quardening off and did a basic search of the house but by that time I was heading off

Could it have been a fuck you for walking through our crime scene? This guys.fucked it up so we fucked up his boots.

I was first on scene to a stabbing, I checked scene was safe and entered. Obviously pronounced DOA and walked outside to wait for the police and secure the scene The police were also responding to a stabbing so didn't know it was a crime scene until I let them know on arrival (could of updated via control but I could see there lights so decided it would be quicker to tell them in person)

Would *have*. 

>Dafuq? Why do the cops take your boots for forensics? I was wondering the same thing. I've worked in the hood for 10 years. I've been to countless crime scenes. The cops have never taken any uniform items from me.

Have a link for the DADS trousers? Anything that lasts 20 years I want a pair of. Sorry I don’t have any advice

NOPE can't even find a picture online, already gone through all of ebay and the auction sites. So pissed as they had 2 generations of blood stains on them. I got very lucky they didn't ask for the jacket I was wearing as again was an old ambulance service high vis that they do not make anymore from special wear who when I contacted about having it repaired they said they didn't even recognise the patern used THAT OLD

You know that hi-vis becomes less hi-vis over time and with washing? It might not be safe to wear if you actually want to be hi-vis.

I had noticed that a while ago so I've started replacing the main reflective tape strips looks alot newer aswell, but very valid point. I tend to only wear it if I want a very thin and light waterproof and odds are if I'm at an rtc ill chuck a coat on and use my new ambulance service issue high vis as it fits over my coat But 90% of the time by the time I'm on scene unless I'm doing critical care paramedic work on a car rather than full size ambulance the police have already quardened off the section of road completely and we do park in very specific way to deflect vehicles if they crash into us

Write to the Force solicitor. You can find their details on the Law Society ‘find a solicitor’. Enter the name of the force, click ‘organisation’ and it will give you a list of their lawyers and contact details. Also their website will have them on. Just send a polite email with photos, containing all the relevant details and ask for his/her assistance. State clearly what you want to happen (ie I’d like £250 please for new boots), and ask for a response within 7 days. Willing to bet even if they don’t technically have to pay (and I’ve no idea if they do), they’ll organise an ex-gratia payment, because there is a huge keenness on inter-agency working. If they do have to pay, and perhaps have a process for a claim, the lawyer will tell you.

That is very smart and I'm going to start the uk equivalent to this process right away thank you

That is UK-or at least England and Wales anyway!

OH! Sorry so used to everyone being American

Nah, if I was American I’d be telling you to lawyer up and sue their asses! (Americans, I jest, I promise). Force solicitors are usually sound, if often times a bit resigned along the lines of ‘oh god, what have they screwed up now’. Good luck!

Worried about causing an issue that could effect my Carear if I piss of the local police force I do medical training for them on the side

I train mine too, but they know I’ll call foul when they F up. A nice email to the force solicitor won’t cause issues, they’re used to damage being done to innocent folk’s property and belongings and used to sorting it out

We call them out all the time there not always helpful on scene and but I always listen if the job is leaning into there territory

They are funny buggers. I’m one of those lawyers who wants the ambo logs and sometimes a statement when you guys have been called to a suspected NAI to a child. The police are our most important partner after health in those cases, but sometimes we have to get orders against them to play nice.

It's just an odd situation, I feel the AFO who was first on scene is in the wrong but the boots definitely feels like a forensics fuck up if they made it that far

Given that the United States doesn't have solicitors (actually we do, but not many), this inherently a UK answer anyhow. XD And police in the US would never have anything so helpful to others as a "force solicitor." The closest thing they have would be a crusty, burnt-out old sergeant answering phones telling you to go fuck yourself, what are you going to do about it?

I might drop a note to Haix and see if they have any suggestions, describing what happened to your boots.  They make an amazing product. 

Yeah I've dropped them a very long email with a picture explaining the entire situation and the current outcome so we will see what they get back to me with most likely 'the police destroying your boots while forensically searching for a murders dna isn't included in our warranty'

New fear unlocked: having my boots confiscated on shift.

tell me about it Do you not have a locker at the station with full spare uniform and a bag in your truck with spare uniform?

Well, our base manager has about a million spare shirts, pants, jackets, etc. available but not boots. I'm in a high call volume area, so we don't consistently work the same truck every shift.

Ohh okay, we are on diffrent vehicles every shift also. We just have a duffle bag with spare kit I belive it's mandatory in my trust

Spare boots too? Damn.

Got full spare kit in the car or truck I'm working on at all times then a set in my locker at station also

Good luck dude. In the US you’d never see any compensation

Lovely, out of interest ever heard of uniform being taken in the US?

Nope

I was a dual role LEO/Medic back in the day and I never requested someone’s uniform for evidence.

Fair enough, diffrent policy's and regulations

I can’t imagine how a run of the mill stabbing would come down to being solved or not solved by the paramedic’s fucking boots. I feel like we’re WAY more likely to be traipsing though crime scenes in this side of the pond, and in 21 years I’ve never heard or read about an EMT or paramedic’s being seized as evidence.

It's quite common in the uk I've been swabbed while sat on the tail gate of a police landrover discovery and another they done usually take boots but if there clearly contaminated they will Also agree about my boots solving the crime lmao

I have been on many crime scenes. Quite a few of them high-profile crime scenes.  No one has ever asked me for my boots.  Assuming you were not the suspect of a curb-stomping, there is absolutely nothing on your boots that isn’t on 100 other surfaces on that crime scene. That’s just lazy policing. 

You could argue it’s the opposite of lazy policing, like the extreme opposite end of the spectrum x100, to the point of being asinine. There comes a point where you’re harming your own case by being so thorough that it just drowns the investigation in bullshit you have to sift through but that has an infinitesimal chance of being useful, and that’s pretty well past it. Same reason the ER doesn’t automatically run every single invented lab test on every single patient.

Your not wrong at all, they could of done it to mess with the case and have it writen off in a way by bombarding it with hassle and crappy evidence

Can’t comment on why your boots got ruined, but in the UK the police don’t do the forensic analysis themselves so it isn’t really any more effort for them. They would’ve sent your boots off to a private company to carry out the analysis who then send them the results and return your boots to you. For this reason also your boots getting damaged is likely nothing to do with the police, it would’ve been whatever company your local force uses for forensics, so if you chase it up with the force they’ll likely be able to get compensation from that company (as the company definitely won’t want to lose that contract as it’s guaranteed work and good money).

It's a tricky one, after speaking to an AFO buddy of mine he mentioned a very eX colleague of his who couldn't be bothered to deal with a case investigation so destroyed or rather 'disqualified' the evidence by "forgetting" it in his vehicle for too long and this inturn evoked an law making the evidence unusable I don't directly see the link but my police contact genuinely seems to think the damage was intentional and after looking at the picture I sent him reckons the boots may not of even been sent off to forensics due to the box they were returned in and not having any contact information for the forensics team which my ambulance crewmates box did This could also exsplain my trousers not being returned TO BE CLEAR This is a massive hunch an active AFO in the same region as the twat officers so take it all with a pinch of salt for some reason his is convinced this is what has happened

Out of interest where about are you based? And absolutely agree about the evidence being on other surfaces ALSO Yep your right I did forget to mention I'm the main suspect in this case caught curb stomping her on cctv gosh darn it my dam memory

It isn’t lazy policing at all. Your comment here shows how little you know about it. Imagine a crime scene with blood everywhere and almost everything contaminated. Now imagine you’ve got 12 sets of boot prints in the blood on the floor, but only had 9 responders. The cops absolutely want to know who those other 3 boots belong to, and the best way to do that is to seize the boots of everyone who responded - the cops there would also have to give their boots up so your idea of ‘MuH BiG BaD PoLiCe OfFiCeR’ doesn’t make sense as he’d also have to give up his own. Shoe print analysis can be incredibly advanced if they have a good print (such as one made by blood). Even if all 12 of the people on scene were wearing the exact same boots they would be able to tell a difference between all of them based off wear patterns on the sole amongst other things. By seizing everyone’s boots they can definitively say ‘well bootprint 1 belongs to paramedic x, bootprint 2 belongs to police officer y’ etc. Then they can see which prints don’t belong to any responders to identify who has done what at the scene and what and where the missing parties were going. It’s maybe not done in the US, I don’t know why, but seizing uniform including boots is semi common in Europe at the scenes of major crime. Remember as well we often get there before the cops. Imagine this scenario - we arrive first on scene, there’s a room full of people and absolute chaos with someone on the floor who has been stabbed. It’s a tiny hotel room, and as we enter the room three men brush past us and run off down the hallway. We obviously have to enter the room and perform patient care, but those three men (who could well be the attackers) have now covered us in their DNA and clothing fibres. The only way for the cops to get that DNA and fibres is to seize our clothing. It’s literally the opposite of ‘lazy policing’ as you put it, it’s the cops basically thinking of everything and covering off every alleyway to identify an offender and build a case against them. Hard for an offender to sit there in court and say ‘I was never there’ if the paramedics who responded are covered in his DNA and his footprint is the only one at the scene unaccounted for.

Taking an imprint of the boot print to compare it would take 5 minutes and involve 0% destruction of the offending footwear.

Just out of curiosity, are the cops giving up their own pants and boots?

I don't belive so, then again the police didn't have to stand in the blood and used the rear entrance to the house inorder to not contaminated any further

Yeah, there’s no way I’m taking off my boots and pants at a crime scene. They can fellate a cactus.

Agreed, unfortunately 'obstructing a police investigation' is a power the officer I was talking to would absolutely of pulled

Let him. Them lawyer up and point out the gender discrimination.

So SO much hassle especially when I have many buddy's in police Not to mention I'm already doing as much overtime as I can I just don't have the time to go to court it would be a long process for possible no good outcome

Then expect them to continue to treat you like worthless trash. They don’t respect you.

Agreed but its only certain people who do not respect ambulance staff this is an isolated incident for me with the police

Well, the police department isn’t backing you up on this, are they?

No I haven't had a message from the head of Thames valley police, but I have spoken to freinds in the TVP and they back me and agree its a ridiculous issue but a forensics issue NOT the front lines officers

You should be able to lodge a complaint with the Police via 101, you may be able to be compensated for the boots. I would assume they've needed to do some more intensive DNA recovery work given the zips, tongues and laces have been removed as part of their analysis.

That's a good shout, just an odd choice to do that to my boots when my crewmate followed me everywhere

That I have no idea on, I don't do wet forensics fortunately

Shame thanks for the input though

You obviously were not a cute as the girl who got hers back in premium condition.

I don't know I did try and flirt with the 6,7 AFO while I gave him a strip tease in the Ambo

Unfortunately, your senior management is correct. They are dicks, but they are correct. Still can’t get my head around 25 pounds for laces.

Have a search around for kevlar fire boot laces

Kevlar, ok that makes sense now.

Sorry should of been more specific in the post, bare in mind I also need 4 laces in total as haix have a zip system in the front

I used the same system, but cheap laces only.

That's fair, I do the odd bit of work with the HART teams and go to plenty of RTC's so want my boots to be as durable as physically possible

Police departments pay out for damaged or missing belongings all the time. Contact the department and make a claim

You let them have your boots? What the fuck. Don't do that. Tell them to go fuck themselves. Do you know how many crime scenes we walk through? Do you think that's normal? Man, they FUCKED you. Wait...whose wife did you fuck? That shit better have been worth it. Who am I kidding? It's ALWAYS worth it! 😂

This is very common practice in the UK, to the extent that I have colleagues who carry a cheap pair of sneakers in their bags to account for exactly this situation.

Same here but I usually work on a car so have a bag full of spare clothes and wellie boots

I’ve driven back to station in my socks on more than one occasion!

Absolutely brilliant, I've got a great story from my dad driving back from a job with no shoes and being flagged down by a passer by and he steps out with no shoes lmao

I don't know where your based but no very normal here in the UK, and for good reason to be fair. But yes I got royaly fucked over this time, it's happend before and I got them back the next day and one time they swabed my boots while I sat on the tailgate of there police car

No, it’s not a good reason. They can take photos and swabs. They aren’t confiscating other cops’ boots. They don’t need to take your property, much less destroy it.

I mean it's a decent reason I'm prepared and have full set of uniform in the truck at all times not specifically for this mors vomit and blood, but no they shouldn't of destroyed the boots and they unfortunately absolutely can confiscate property

You can't tell them to pound sand? I'd laugh in a talking traffic cones face if they asked for my boots.

And pants. They took his pants too

yes, YES THEY DID... I love how one of the pc's had to stand in the back of the ambulance while I took of my trousers to make sure I didn't 'tamper with evidence' AND they didn't even take my crewmates trousers because she was female and they only had male constable's so makes them taking my trousers when more ridiculous

Holy fuck, I’d have an attorney and burn the fucking system to the ground for gender discrimination. It would be all over the news. All the politicians would be aware that the cops treated you differently simply because you have a dick (I’m assuming you do). I’d go fucking scorched earth.

I had to check but I do have a dick, just not worth the hassle I work along side the police everyday and eith my over job I do there medical training it would cause a huge issue.

Eh, it would be worth it for me. They’re absolutel trash and will continue to treat you guys like trash as long as you allow it.

I see where your coming from but i do have a great respect for the police and they respect us but every now and then you get some twat who failed the military bar exam so became a pc

Then take this up with their boss. You were singled out and discriminated against for your gender and had your property destroyed. Escalate this. They’re not your friends. They fucked you and now you’re getting blown off and treated like the disposable trash they think you are. I repeat: they are not your friends and do not respect you.

>just not worth the hassle And that’s why you guys have no real civil rights and pledge allegiance to inbreds. You’ve let your overlords do whatever they want for a thousand years, and then bend over and ask for more.

Right okay thanks for your wonderful insight

Any time. Hopefully someday you’ll have a 4th of July-like day to celebrate.

I could of but the absolutely would of pulled 'obstructing a police investigation' I could tell from the officers face he was a prick the tone he took with me when he pulled up told me he couldn't give a single shit. He was also an AFO as it was a murder scene and suspect could still be armed and dangerous so I don't want to mess with him.

Sorry, bud. I hope they treat you better in the future. Be more careful whose wife you fuck from now on.

Great point, I'll limit my selection to onto PC's wives

I’ve been in lots of crime scenes. No one has asked for my clothes

I think it varies between police forces again like I've said before I've been to plenty where they haven't done anything once they've swabbed my boots on scene while as sat on the tail gate of a police car and another time they took them and I got them back the next day Edit: why does your name say 'misses io' under it ? Do you mean you miss them because you don't use them anymore or you miss the ENTIRE BONE

Bones are hard to find

Fair enough that's why I like how those peads nurses used to do it with a bloody BRADLE can't miss if you remove the entire bone

If your EMS agency is any good they should pay to replace your boots.

They already offered me the default ambulance boots thay cost £50 and are shite bit last a while so not the worst boots but not comparable and there low tops

I'd like to see a pair of these $63.50 boot laces. Are they made of mane hair from a unicorn?

£25 for a pair of kevlar fire-resistant laces is quite good

well there you go, Kevlar, I had no idea, thx.

No worries

Swab and a sole print got a bit out of hand there.. maybe the swab showed some substance of interest, so they just went ham to see how much cum was, I mean substance was there 🤷🏻‍♂️

HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT also I did inform the officer that I am a member of the ambulance service and my boots are not regularly cleaned same with my crewmate so from just that shift there would be vomit blood from two people so very tricky but then again my colleagues boots that were not brand new and are NEVER CLEANED she just uses sharpie to colour in the bad bits would have way more to look at

Sharpie? Haha.. takes two minutes to get a shiny paint of boots. It’s gash they did that, I’ve not experienced it with my boots, we can get Haix boots along with magnums, you can get Solomon’s if your doctor is nice and you say your boots hurt your feet. Get a note off your doctor saying standard issue boots are giving you trouble and bill your trust for the boots 👌🏼 A fair few ppl do that in my trust

In my trust hiax boots (not the ones I bought a lower cut less protective pair) are only supplied by the trust for HART and HEMS ALSO the sharpie thing is absolutely brilliant not only does it cover the superglue but any spots the lesther has rubbed off AND really helps make laces look fresh

Huh? Why do police take your boots in the first place? Im assuming you were to the scene so itz not like youd be a suspect and, at most, yoir boots probably have some blood, which they can get from the body itself. Did they also take the boots from any officer on scene?

Your station manager will likely arrange for your boots, pants, that law enforcement official, and laces to be replaced, and will likely insists that those law enforcement official who did this get to pass the hat until such time as they raise the amount of money the station manager tells them to replace damaged goods of yours. The should have the money assembled in about 3 days, 1 day more of less. You can also get an Writ from the High Court for three times the amount of the damage as the damage was not in good faith. Seek legal counsel on this matter, and divulge why the police singled you out for this abuse, and that they did not destroy your partners gear, but they did destroy yours.

I get why you’re annoyed after spending good money on boots, but it’s also the reason I won’t spend my own money on uniform. SAS issue a couple of pairs of boots for this very reason and if your trust don’t I would be making a nuisance of myself until they square me away with more than one pair of whatever boots they supply.

I agree, its poop but guys who buy fancy shit always get upset when its damaged or lost and the company shrugs. They provide cheap shit for multiple reasons one being the ability to let it go.

Oh they hand out new uniform left right and center but the boots just aren't comparable and they never get the right sizing on anything no matter how much you insist on specific sizes it's just what they have in the store even if they've been in there 5 years And obviously I've got full spare uniform in my locker including boots for this very scenario and when my boots are filled with someone's claret Also I'd like to add Love SAS you guys seem to have everything figured out obviously with the usual policy issues but the standardisation from what I've seen looks great obviously being one big ambulance service I'm not 100% sure on your private policy but it makes alot of sense from a training point of veiw

I don’t see your boots getting replaced by the fuzz and I don’t see management coughing up either (and nor should they in my opinion, it’s not their fault despite it not being yours). Is there a reason you wear these boots over the service issue boots? If it’s a foot problem then get referred to your employers OH team and if appropriate they will send a recommendation that your employer provide you with x boots. If it’s a comfort thing (I get it, I buy my own boots) you’ll probably just have to suck up the cost for replacements. Speak to your station admin team, at my service you can buy your own boots and provided they meet the same safety ratings as the service issue boots the service will reimburse you a portion of the cost up to the amount they would have paid for your service issue boots - £40 to £50 usually but better than nothing.

If I'm getting reimbursement it would have to be from the police forget I'm ambulance service Pretend I'm a passer by and I called the police to the stabbing and they take my £250 shoes for investigation and destroy them Seems like they wouldn't just shred someone's property and no give them some sort of reimbursement

“Hey, give me your boots.” “No.”

“Hey, give me your boots.” “No.”

"You are currently under arrest for obstructing a police investigation"

Here in the US at least, we have the 4th amendment which protects us from "unreasonable searches and seizures". If it's evidence, then they should have no issue getting a warrant for it. They can keep me on scene for an hour if they want to wait (and deal with a livid chief after keeping us out of service for so long). Or they can do the boot print and swab right there and let me keep them in my possession.

"Sure. Get a search warrant for them. I'll turn them over then."

I'm not difficult, handing over my boots didn't effect me one bit I had my standard issue ambulance service boots in my spare clothes bag (mandatory in the uk) the only issue is what they did to the boots

Handing over your boots didn't affect you one bit? Including how you received them back?

At the time on scene no it didn't effect me as my previous exspirence with this I got my boots back the next day

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

Weirdly true

Police investigate crimes where you're at? Weird. Here they take statements and bounce.

You took that risk when you bought non standard issue boots

Not really i would expect reimbursement from my standard issues boots also. the price isn't relevant it what they have done and with no contact at all explaining the process

Not some, not most, ALL

Fuck the police.