Oklahoma Highway Patrolman fights with and threatens to arrests Paramedic

[shaun3000]

And the paramedic was in his ambulance, with a patient in the back, on the way to the hospital:

http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0509/626636.html
[quote]An Emergency Medical Technician who was involved in a scuffle with an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper is speaking out about the incident.

Maurice White, Jr. is a critical care paramedic with the Creek Nation EMS. He was nearly arrested after the confrontation, which was captured by the cell phone of Kenyada Davis.

Paul Franks was the driver of the ambulance, which was transporting a patient to a hospital in Prague.
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White says he saw the trooper approaching from behind at a high rate of speed with lights activated, but he did not hear a siren. He says Franks had a car in front of him that his attention was focused on and hadn't seen the trooper before he was within a few feet of the ambulance.

"I called out to my partner and told him to pull to the side because there was a State Trooper behind us," White says.

White says as the trooper passed them, he made radio contact, telling Franks "you should consider checking your rearview mirrors".

White says a few blocks after this incident, another trooper entered the road at a high rate of speed, cutting in front of a car driven by a family member of the patient. White says he then saw another trooper approaching from the rear.

"As my partner was pulling onto the shoulder, the cruiser came alongside our unit and gestured for my driver to pull over," White says. "When the officer came to a complete stop behind the ambulance, I noticed a woman in the front seat. Based on the officer's erratic driving behavior, I thought that the woman in the front seat of the cruiser was in need of immediate medical attention; hence I exited the rear of the ambulance in order to assess the situation."

White says the officer was in a rage when he approached them and yelled "get your a-- back here! I am giving you a ticket for failure to yield." White says he told the trooper they had a patient in the ambulance and that they were on their way to the hospital.

"He ignored my statement, became even more belligerent, and demanded my partner come to his patrol car so he could write him a ticket," White says. "I calmly told the officer that we were transporting a patient and we could continue this at the hospital."

White says the trooper then approached him and shouted "you are under arrest for obstructing a police officer" and grabbed his arm to handcuff him. A brief struggle followed, at which point the trooper grabbed White by the throat. The cell phone captured this incident on video.

White says the trooper later told him they could continue on to the hospital, but that he would be under arrest once they got there. White was never arrested, but says troopers told him he should be prepared to turn himself in if a warrant was issued.

[FinkPish]

I would love for these idiot good ol' boys to be fired, but I predict paid leave and "anger management" courses. Fucking cops.

[OldDude]

So, I don't think the ambulance was "lights and siren", but if they were, which emergency vehicle has ultimate right of way?

Advice to cop: Don't get shot. You'll be stopping at every cop car on the way to the hospital.

[superdeluxe]

This guy gives honest cops a bad name.

[covenant]

From this cop's experience...Troopers are dicks.

[Dr Mabuse]

Many cops are on a personal power trip, this is yet another example.

Fucking Okie rednecks with a gun and a badge, just like Reggie Hammond impersonated.

[KillerCannibal]

This way out of line. Stopping a fucking EMT? Are you serious? Maybe that cop should imagine it were his mother back there, then see how he feels. Way to give cops doing a good job a bad name, assholes.

[SunMonkey]

I hope the trooper is fired.

[Giantrobo]

Wow, I don't know what to say...

[mrpayroll]

Originally Posted by OldDude

So, I don't think the ambulance was "lights and siren", but if they were, which emergency vehicle has ultimate right of way?

Advice to cop: Don't get shot. You'll be stopping at every cop car on the way to the hospital.

http://www.snopes.com/autos/law/fourway.asp

Okay, so if the mail truck doesn't have the right of way, then who does? "Street Smart" also provided an answer to this question from a California DMV spokesman:

Once the mail truck is safely to the side of the road, the question becomes trickier. Madison speculated that dispatchers would solve the situation before it arose. If they did not, he said it would make sense for the police car to go first and then the firetruck. The ambulance would go last, he said, because if "five seconds makes a difference, you probably aren't going to save the guy anyway."

I actually don't agree with this. I believe an ambulance should have the right of way, followed by the firetruck and then the police car.

Chris

[FlickMan]

Originally Posted by superdeluxe

This guy gives honest cops a bad name.

The words honest and cops used together are fast becoming oxymorons

[damn_skippy]

That was odd. Usually emt work together with the police depending on the situation. The EMT will need them for protection depending on the situation and the cops need the EMT to stabilize the patients/suspect for transport. This is a very weird incident but this cop seems like a fucking douchbag and needs to be brought down to earth. To pull over an ambulance with a patient in transport is completely uncalled for.

[mrpayroll]

Originally Posted by FlickMan

The words honest and cops used together are fast becoming oxymorons

I don't know if the word honest is correct. It seems that many cops are letting their power go to their heads. Instead of using a proactive approach to solving a problem, they use their overwhelming power to deal with a situtation.

Look at the videos with the cops kicking, beating the perps, when they already have the situation in hand. Their adrenalin and bad choices cause that.

Though, if I were a cop in a crime ridden neighborhood, I would probably be very deliberate in dealing with a situation with my overwhelming power. That is why it is good that I am not a cop!

I don't envy the abuse that they have to take from many of the citizens (watching Cops) and sometimes wonder why some cops are too passive when dealing with trouble.

Chris

[Rockmjd23]

which was transporting a patient to a hospital in Prague.

Well he was pretty far away!

[Theitman]

Originally Posted by damn_skippy

That was odd. Usually emt work together with the police depending on the situation. The EMT will need them for protection depending on the situation and the cops need the EMT to stabilize the patients/suspect for transport. This is a very weird incident but this cop seems like a fucking douchbag and needs to be brought down to earth. To pull over an ambulance with a patient in transport is completely uncalled for.

The EMT was working for the Creek Nation, a semi-autonomous Indian tribe within the state, while the cop was Oklahoma Highway Patrol. My guess is that the cop got ticked seeing an ambulance not pull over, especially one from the Nation and not from some city or town. There is quite a bit of animosity between the Nation and state officials, including OHP.

[DeltaSigChi4]

Step 1: Fire pig.

Step 2: Charge with assault.

Step 3: Place under protective solitary once convicted, so not raped.

E

[D.Pham00]

WTF is wrong with that cop? the trooper should heed his own advice.

[CaptainMarvel]

Yep, pretty stupid. That shows a significant lack of judgment, in case I'm missing something not told in the story.

[shaun3000]

I have to say, I laughed when the cops were screaming at the then unseen EMT in the back of the ambulance and then this freaking HUGE, ripped black dude jumps out. I imagine the cops were thinking, "Oops..." Well, I take that back, as they proceeded to put him in a choke hold. And the one is wearing Oakley M-frames and not playing some kind of sport; that screams douche.

[Ranger]

Originally Posted by mrpayroll

http://www.snopes.com/autos/law/fourway.asp



I actually don't agree with this. I believe an ambulance should have the right of way, followed by the firetruck and then the police car.

Chris

It's just following along the first emergency rule which is make sure the situation is safe e.g.:
1) cops go first to shoot madman.
2) firefighters drag out madman from house fire.
3) emt take madman to hospital.

[Hokeyboy]

Originally Posted by superdeluxe

This guy gives honest cops a bad name.

If I see either of 'em tonight, I'll buy 'em a round.

[Hokeyboy]

Originally Posted by DeltaSigChi4

Step 1: Fire pig.

Step 2: Charge with assault.

Step 3: Place under protective solitary once convicted, so not raped.

E

Don't even bother with Step 3. Let the little piggie roast.

[bdshort]

I hope some disciplinary action is taken against the officers. There probably would have been some severe consequences had they actually arrested the medic, since they basically would have been taking away a critical care provider away from his patient. I don't really understand why they were going after him anyway, instead of the driver. If they're so jacked up about it, send a ticket to the ambulance company and deal with it later. Based on what I saw in the video and the medic's comments, it seemed like he dealt with the situation as best he could, but he still probably doesn't get paid enough to deal with crap like this... unfortunately, private ambulance service pay is usually pretty shitty.

[DVD Polizei]

This guy gives bad cops a bad name.

[DVD Polizei]

Originally Posted by FlickMan

The words honest and cops used together are fast becoming oxymorons

If you're world only consisted of YouTube videos of cops...then I'd agree with you. Fortunately, there are thousands of cops nationwide who are not on YouTube who do a rather extraordinary job. And don't get thanked for it other than a pat on the back from their peers.