Ambulance VS. Police

hayroob · 06-15-2009, 05:39 PM

THis cop is a nut bag, but this ambulance supervisor is dumb for keeping it going.

standardman · 06-15-2009, 06:58 PM

Heh, I was about to post this in the news thread, that cop is way out of control. Here's an article on it from Boing Boing:

Oklahoma Highway Patrol finally releases video of trooper attack on paramedic

Quote:

It took a while for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol to release a video showing one of its troopers choking a paramedic who was taking an elderly patient to the hospital, and now that it's available on YouTube, you can understand why they tried to suppress it.

I'm in awe of the dignified and articulate ambulance supervisor who bravely stands up to the sickeningly hotheaded trooper who is furious that anyone would dare to "jump out and talk to a State Trooper like that."

Patricia Phillips, Oklahoma Crime Examiner, has been covering the story:

Quote:

An ambulance, with Maurice White acting as supervisor and paramedic, is taking an elderly woman, who had collapsed, to the hospital for treatment. Her worried family follows.

Trooper Daniel Martin, who was responding to a stolen car report, came up behind the ambulance on a two-lane country road. In Oklahoma, those shoulders are notoriously tricky for even a car to pull off onto. But there's another factor involved.

As the dash cam clearly shows, a car is on the right-hand shoulder, partially obstructing the highway. Just as the highway patrol pulls up behind the ambulance, the medical unit must swing out to avoid colliding with the parked car.

Let me repeat that, because it's important: if the ambulance's driver, Paul Franks, had immediately pulled over when the racing trooper came up behind him, he would have created an accident. It is impossible to safely pull over while slamming into another vehicle.

After the ambulance gets past the parked vehicle, Franks slows and safely pulls over for the trooper. As Martin zooms by--at a speed that I would call excessive for just a stolen car report--he uses the radio to reprimand the ambulance for not pulling over.

Later in the tape, it's shown that the sheriff's department is already on scene at the stolen car incident. Martin is released from any need to be at the scene.

Then he whips around, guns his car, and goes out hunting the ambulance. When he catches up with the ambulance, what happens next is a textbook case for bad judgment and abuse of power.

J.D. Tuccille of Civil Liberties Examiner says: "Consider this a test case. If you don't see a paramedic's life-saving responsibilities as at least as pressing as the law-enforcement duties of a police officer, there probably is no limit to the authority you're willing to grant any government employee with a badge."

Oklahoma Highway Patrol finally releases video of trooper attack on paramedic - Boing Boing

picard102 · 06-15-2009, 07:54 PM

Awesome.

DarkKnightJared · 06-15-2009, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hayroob

THis cop is a nut bag, but this ambulance supervisor is dumb for keeping it going.

Was the supervisor actually trying to "keep it going?" From what I saw on the tape, he kept trying to get away, so he can take whoever was in the abulance to the hospital.

From what I saw, the cop is completely in the wrong, and he should be fired at the very least.

FatFarley · 06-16-2009, 08:49 AM

Fucking dumb-ass Okies

JamIsNotGlue · 06-16-2009, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FatFarley

Fucking dumb-ass Okies

True dat

Zim · 06-18-2009, 08:40 AM

So if a cop has nobody to boss around, does he really exist?

Forbin · 06-18-2009, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zim

So if a cop has nobody to boss around, does he really exist?

It isn't all of them or even most but there certainly does seem to be a sizable minority of them that have forgotten that their job is to protect and serve and think of their job as just a position of authority.

I think that part of the problem is that whenever something like this makes the news, there's always people defending the cop no matter how out of line they got. It also seems to me that many Americans are fine with the way it is, they don't think of the Police as having a duty of care to the citizens and see them as enforcers.

At the risk of laboring the point, what do people think of this question. We can all agree that insulting a cop to their face is a stupid thing to do. Does that mean that a cop who has been insulted have a right to use more force than he otherwise would do in arresting the person?

slam_858 · 06-18-2009, 11:14 AM

This type of shit goes on all the time, all across the country. If only more of the news stations would investigate these claims, rather than help the Police Chiefs cover it up...
The only time these douchebags ever get caught is when there are lots of witnesses or a videotape to back it up

DarkKnightJared · 06-18-2009, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forbin

It isn't all of them or even most but there certainly does seem to be a sizable minority of them that have forgotten that their job is to protect and serve and think of their job as just a position of authority.

I think that part of the problem is that whenever something like this makes the news, there's always people defending the cop no matter how out of line they got. It also seems to me that many Americans are fine with the way it is, they don't think of the Police as having a duty of care to the citizens and see them as enforcers.

At the risk of laboring the point, what do people think of this question. We can all agree that insulting a cop to their face is a stupid thing to do. Does that mean that a cop who has been insulted have a right to use more force than he otherwise would do in arresting the person?

My question is--why should someone be arrested for insulting a cop? What if the person insulting the cop is someone around a dumbfuck officer like the one in the tape? If you see a cop trying to choke out an ambulance supervisor and you call the cop a dick, does he even have the right to arrest you, let alone beat you with a billy club while doing so?

I know you're more considering a guy just yelling at a cop walking the street like Keith mentioned a while back, but the inate problem with any authority figure is if you give them an inch, they'll worm and use that inch as much as possible to get your ass a mile away.

06-15-2009, 05:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
hayroob Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Detroitish Posts: 1,025	Ambulance VS. Police THis cop is a nut bag, but this ambulance supervisor is dumb for keeping it going.
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06-15-2009, 07:54 PM	#3 (permalink)
picard102 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Toronto, Ontario Posts: 2,949	Awesome.
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06-16-2009, 08:49 AM	#5 (permalink)
FatFarley Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: In a van down by the river Posts: 51	Fucking dumb-ass Okies
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06-18-2009, 08:40 AM	#7 (permalink)
Zim Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: we all live in a yellow submarine a yello... Posts: 203	So if a cop has nobody to boss around, does he really exist?
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06-18-2009, 11:14 AM	#9 (permalink)
slam_858 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: SW Virginia Posts: 123	This type of shit goes on all the time, all across the country. If only more of the news stations would investigate these claims, rather than help the Police Chiefs cover it up... The only time these douchebags ever get caught is when there are lots of witnesses or a videotape to back it up
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