Oklahoma cop pulls ambulance over; puts EMT in chokehold while patient lingers

[Bob Hubbard]

Nobody wants to tape a cop doing what he is supposed to be doing....

And many people dont seem to care to watch them when they do anyways.

I considered taking a shot of a US Border Patrol cop in his green n white SUV the other day. He was just hangin out, enjoying the sunny day. Would have made a hell of a nice shot. I decided I wasn't too interested in the potential confrontation, discussion, debate, and possible abuse, considering just how many BP cases I'm seeing as of late. Sorry, just don't trust them to act rational. I've got a better opinion of my local cops, and state patrol.

 

[Archangel M]

This is just my anecdotal..personal opinon..take with a grain of salt view.

Ive always thought that a "local cop"..i.e. Town, City etc. has a bit more vested interest in his/her behavior than some Fed, State or County agencies. Not that Troopers are any less professional as a whole than anybody else in LE, but when a cop constantly patrols the same area..meeting and seeing the same people day in and day out...well I think it results in a different dynamic from officers who work interstates and wide open areas where you may deal with a person never to meet them again.

I also think that many cops are distrustful of picture takers because more of them seem to be looking for pictures to belittle or "catch" cops "goofing off" than they are for innocent reasons. If that BP officer just "hanging out" on a nice sunny day had some web page griping about cops feature his photo...well that can sour ya after a while.

 

[Carol]

This is just my anecdotal..personal opinon..take with a grain of salt view.

Ive always thought that a "local cop"..i.e. Town, City etc. has a bit more vested interest in his/her behavior than some Fed, State or County agencies. Not that Troopers are any less professional as a whole than anybody else in LE, but when a cop constantly patrols the same area..meeting and seeing the same people day in and day out...well I think it results in a different dynamic from officers who work interstates and wide open areas where you may deal with a person never to meet them again.

That was how community policing began, yes? It wasn't with a desk in the corner of a shopping center, it was with officers walking the beat, getting to know an area, and being a part of that area.

 

[Tez3]

And we dont know what the end result of many of the situations discussed here recently....I just don't like the "This is solely an American phenomena" some of these threads take at times.

Thats true, there's certain groups I think in all countries that are anti police and jump on the inevitable incidents where bad policing has occurred and bad policing will occur of course as police officers are human with all the failings everyone has. The test of a country's police and justice system though is how the incident is treated. As far as I've seen in the States as well as here, the police officers involved in such incidents are usually disciplined if found guilty when all the facts have been presented.
The problem of course is whether all the facts have been presented! We have been given one side of the story here, we can't judge unless all sides have been heard, the police officer, the patient,witnesses etc and that will probably not happen as there's no investment for the media to actually be fair, more mileage in sensationalism.

Anyone who's job it is to take eye witness statements will tell you that ten people can witness an incident and you will get ten different versions, they don't lie they just see things differntly, add to that a wish to put police in a bad light, a media hungry for headlines and there you go.


And the percentage of bad policing to good policing? Very low I think!

 

[jarrod]

i wonder how that would have played out if they EMTs were white. i grew up in kansas, not everyone in the midwest is exactly enlightened when it comes to racial equality.

jf

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Oklahoma cops refuse to release dashcam video of chokehold incident

June 13th, 2009

Oklahoma State Police refuse to release the dashcam video that would prove whether or not a paramedic slammed the “door in a hostile manner” after being pulled over, leaving the officer no choice but to strangle him. Witnesses believe Officer Daniel Martin was showing off for his wife - who happened to be in the passenger seat of his squad car - when he pulled the ambulance over for failing to yield last month.

Martin claims the paramedics not only failed to yield for him but they also flipped him off. He also claims he was en route to an emergency at the time but it appears he was only picking up his wife.
The paramedics who were transporting a patient to the hospital, claim that Martin told them he was considering using deadly force against them.

More

Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper cites gesture in report on scuffle
Details emerge in Okfuskee County ambulance incident


BY MANNY GAMALLO - Tulsa World
Published: June 2, 2009




A perceived obscene finger gesture apparently sparked a May 24 confrontation and scuffle between a state trooper and paramedic in Okfuskee County.
Advertisement


The Oklahoma Highway Patrol on Monday released reports from two troopers involved in the incident with Creek Nation paramedics who were taking a woman to the hospital in Prague. Reports also were filed by paramedics Maurice White Jr. and his partner, Paul Franks, who was driving the ambulance.
A trooper, Daniel Martin, said he was heading to Paden to aid the Okfuskee County sheriff’s office on a stolen-vehicle call.
Martin said he had his emergency lights and siren on when he encountered the ambulance in front of him, which failed to yield to his cruiser until contacted by radio. The ambulance was not running lights and siren.
Once on the scene of the stolen-car report in Paden, Martin said he saw the ambulance pass and observed Franks extend his left hand out the window with his middle finger raised.
Martin said he later chased the ambulance until it pulled over. Once he got out of his cruiser, he said he was trying to talk to Franks when he saw White get out of the ambulance and slammed the "door in a hostile manner.”

http://newsok.com/oklahoma-highway-patrol-trooper-cites-gesture-in-report-on-scuffle/article/3374472

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Video is now available. Looks bad for the cop.
http://www.examiner.com/x-6121-Okla...releases-video-of-trooper-attack-on-paramedic

Let me walk it down for you. 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.

 

[Sukerkin]

I can't really say anything beyond what we've touched on before in similar threads about poor judgement and misuse of authority .

 

[Carol]

The DA has said that no charges will be filed against the LEO or the paramedic.

However, the internal investigation appears to be ongoing.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Oklahoma EMT sues lying cop

 

[celtic_crippler]

Oklahoma EMT sues lying cop

Definatley justified from what I've seen.

I heard this morning that the officer was attending anger management classes...LOL. Shouldn't that be part of thier basic training?

Anyway, choking someone is not a valid apprehension technique the last time I checked.

I'm with the EMT on this one...I just hate that it's tax payer dollars that will be paid out in the long run. Yeah, I know most cops have liability policies through the department...but who pays for that?

 

[Bob Hubbard]

As a sidebar, before I left on my road trip I had the pleasure of sharing a bank line with 1 of Buffalo's finest. Nice gal. So I asked her, "who has the right of way?". She didn't know but said she'd check with her superior, but she assumed it was the ambulance. Most of the folks I've talked to locally think it's the medical emergency ranks higher than the police call. But none were 100% certain. I'd be very interested in knowing an actual verifiable rule.

 

[jks9199]

Bob, I don't think you'll find an actual rule. They're both "emergency vehicles operating under emergency conditions." I suppose you could argue that the follow the normal right of way rules between themselves... but it's just not likely to be a situation that comes up very often! My personal opinion would be to determine based on circumstances. If I know rescue is responding to stage at the scene I'm headed to... I'll probably go first, and they'll probably let me. If I think they're probably transporting a patient... they win.

Worst case... a cruiser can generally pass around an ambulance! Much better pickup, and more likely to drive faster anyway!

 

[5-0 Kenpo]

Definatley justified from what I've seen.

I heard this morning that the officer was attending anger management classes...LOL. Shouldn't that be part of thier basic training?

Anyway, choking someone is not a valid apprehension technique the last time I checked.

I'm with the EMT on this one...I just hate that it's tax payer dollars that will be paid out in the long run. Yeah, I know most cops have liability policies through the department...but who pays for that?

Choking, no. Carotid Restraint which would result in the unconciousness of a suspect, yes.

And the tax payers won't necessarily pay. The department will not be held liable if they can show that what the officer did is grossly outside of his policy and the training that he received.

 

[kaizasosei]

If they be all speeding with lights on, how come they have the time to engage in such stupidity? Man, what did he say he was a 'State Trooper'-seemed to me to be a dumb and embarassing man with a serious power complex-how come such ******* act all tough all the time? I bet even their kids know that they are *********** losers-probably get his *** handed to him by his kid one day. Man, once she hits 13, she'll probably bust his head in with a maglite.

Wow, what a self-rightious abuse of power. Clearly a very disturbed person. Just glad for his sake that he ran into such intelligent and tollerant people that were able to handle his unjust and discriminative attitude. It seems like that in that officers mind, a leo is something above normal civilians. Very very wrong. Police must also understand that people do act up and are stupid sometimes, but that is not a reason to beat them or to engage on that level. Normal civilians also have conflicts and fights, and when they do, they don't have the ability to declare ablolute right to kick your *** and expect that you follow the orders of someone that can be described as an ******* or a dick, that's also scared ******** of himself among other hallucinations.

Oh well so it is, should follow my own advice and 'let it go', right










j

 

[arnisador]

Choking, no. Carotid Restraint

...is technically a strangle, not a choke. But a restraint? Isn't that just PR, because "strangling" a suspect sounds bad?

 

[Andrew Green]

The DA has said that no charges will be filed against the LEO or the paramedic.

However, the internal investigation appears to be ongoing.

I think this is what really annoys people.

Being a cop is a job, mostly filled by good people. But the bad ones seem to get away with it far too often, even when there is no doubt that they are in the wrong.

 

[5-0 Kenpo]

...is technically a strangle, not a choke. But a restraint? Isn't that just PR, because "strangling" a suspect sounds bad?

Not at all. On a basic level, a strangle is defined as cutting of the air supply. On a dictionary level, it is an attempt to kill the straglee. None of these is happening with a carotid restraint hold.

This type of hold is designed to temporarily lessen (not completely stop) the flow of oxygen to the brain to render someone temporarily unconscious by reducing the flow of oxygenated blood through the carotid arteries in the neck. When taught in law enforcement circles, there is great care to make sure that an officer does not begin to crush the windpipe, thereby causing death or possible permanent injury, by proper placement of the arm around the neck.

And, it's purpose is to restrain the individual from resisting, in this case by rendering them unconscious. When physically confronting someone, often the only other option would be to beat them into submission.

So there is no PR involved.

 

[Archangel M]

I think this is what really annoys people.

Being a cop is a job, mostly filled by good people. But the bad ones seem to get away with it far too often, even when there is no doubt that they are in the wrong.

Well..the DA had his chance and declined.

The problem is that the media writes "internal investigation" and leaves it at that giving the impression that the cop gets a slap on the wrist and is back to work. HERE cops get lengthly suspensions where they either have to burn up all their accumulated time to survive...get suspended with NO money or get fired. It's not in my depts interests to air our dirty laundry and nobody ever seems interested in calling to find out what the investigation resulted in.

That doesnt even include all te guys we discipline or fire for things that never even make it to the media.

Plenty of cops get what they deserve when they do wrong..what I see is a lot of "non-le" making assumptions based on "dirty-cop" television shows, movies and "cop-bashing" websites. There also seems to be this tendency for some people to think that any and all disciplinary issues with an officer should result in termination.

 

[jks9199]

Well..the DA had his chance and declined.

The problem is that the media writes "internal investigation" and leaves it at that giving the impression that the cop gets a slap on the wrist and is back to work. HERE cops get lengthly suspensions where they either have to burn up all their accumulated time to survive...get suspended with NO money or get fired. It's not in my depts interests to air our dirty laundry and nobody ever seems interested in calling to find out what the investigation resulted in.

That doesnt even include all te guys we discipline or fire for things that never even make it to the media.

Plenty of cops get what they deserve when they do wrong..what I see is a lot of "non-le" making assumptions based on "dirty-cop" television shows, movies and "cop-bashing" websites. There also seems to be this tendency for some people to think that any and all disciplinary issues with an officer should result in termination.

In my agency, if you're suspended -- you can't burn leave. You can't buy back your leave. You're suspended as a punishment. And it's generally served at the department's convenience, not yours, meaning they try to set it up so that you can't serve your suspension and stretch your weekend.

Suspended with pay during an investigation can be even worse... On a disciplinary suspension, you're kind of a free man. You're suspended; they can't make you work or call you in. But suspended with pay? They can actually make you accountable for your time, and even require you to come into the office to meet with the investigators at any reasonable time...

Something else about internal discipline is that it's not often publicly announced. You may not know that the guy who wasn't prosecuted was suspended for 30 days (could you lose a month of work?), nor do you know if he quit in return for admitting what he did and not being prosecuted...