Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Paramedic Confrontation

[RatPack]

All comments are made with just the information provided.

To sue you would have to prove that the delay caused the patient harm. Did it? I didnt see anything about their condition, or outcome.

Im assuming the reservation is not going to want to get into a legal battle with the state troopers so they will probably SUGGEST that this paramedic not take any action.

When we have issues with the police or fire department (nothing to this extent) we all have to meet and promise to play nice in the sandbox.

As far as the trooper goes, we dont know if the driver flipped him off, does it matter his behavior was unacceptable. He needs a timeout. Will he get it? Doubt it.

The only one I see here breaking any law is the trooper. Assault and battery of an EMS provider is a criminal act, at least in my area and is taken very seriously.

I applaud the paramedic for upholding his professional behavior. From what I can tell from the video he never was violent, he stated to allow him to finish his duties and he would turn himself in, what more can you ask for?

This could have been a lot worse for everyone involved if this medic didnt maintain the professional behavior he did even in the presence of such immature action on the part of the police department. My guess, he never hears a thing from any DA.

[Just Plain Ruff]

I've watched both the videos and the quality of the sound and the choppiness of the video is very hard to really follow. There were many more dynamics going on there that we don't see. We don't hear the discussion between the white trooper and the white driver and we have no idea what was said.

We also don't see the initial incident that caused the officer to accuse the medic of assaulting the officer.

Plus, I hate to say this but this medic actually could be accused of abandoning his patient because he left the patient alone and once the officers placed him under arrest and he was no longer in control of the patient then he could theoretically be accused of abandonment.

I don't want to see that happen but this theoretically could happen.

The officers were wrong to not continue this at the hospital though.

[JPINFV]

We also don't see the initial incident that caused the officer to accuse the medic of assaulting the officer.

You know, pending dash cam footage I highly doubt that any assault occurred. You simply are not going to assault an officer and either stay standing, or not be arrested. In the end, and after consulting the DA while at the hospital, the medic wasn't arrested. I think that says a who hell of a lot about this case.

[Arctickat]

All comments are made with just the information provided.

To sue you would have to prove that the delay caused the patient harm. Did it? I didnt see anything about their condition, or outcome

The information provided does indicate that the woman was treated and released from the hospital. It's located at the end of the video news report.

[Beagle189]

I happen to know the paramedic (socially) from years past.(Haven't seen him in a few years), And I happen to know a few OHP officers.(None in this incident though).

Paramedic White has always appeared to be a capable Paramedic and a calm person to me.

I believe the OHP to be an excellent police agency.

Its hard for me to believe that Paramedic White would have assaulted the Officer. And knowing the OHP, if a true assault or attempt at force occurred, they handle it quickly and control it.

SO- What occurred appears to be out of emotion and lack of the emotional detachment that we all must have as emergency service workers to work compentently on scene.

It'll be interesting to see the final outcome of this.

[joesph]

The 3 minute video is on youtube as well as a link to the paramedic's statement. Between those two pieces of information The law enforcement officers were totally at fault and disciplinary action should follow. There may be refuting evidence out there but it is not available yet.

[Ghettomedic351]

Well I have personally worked with Maurice White and he is far from an aggressive individual. I think the fact that a person is given some authority,a badge and a gun does not make them right every time. If they were going to such an important call then why did the have time to stop and hash this out with the crew of this ambulance.The officers in question would have been better off calling a supervisor of the ambulance company and expressing their concern rather than a full blown confrontation.

[planedude86]

There was a thread a year two or so years ago in which EMS providers related their experiences of being detained by police. A Northern California EMT talked about how he was pulled over while going Code 3 transporting a stroke patient. He was detained because the CHP officer wanted to "see if there really was a patient in the back." I don't need to tell you all how time = brain in ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke.

Another EMT spoke of being lit up while on a critical care transport. The physician on board instructed the driver not to stop. At the ED, the police officer began his tirade; however, the physician countered with a threat of "interfering with an EMT" charges. With some doctors' connections, these charges could likely be realized. I'm not going to dig up local records to find the few, if any, records of cops being charged with interfering. Nevertheless, we have an obligation to our patients. The police can be dealt with later.

From an anecdotal standpoint, police have interfered with my patient care on some occasions. Usually this has occurred with suspects requiring treatment. And no, your DUI training does not qualify you to override my decisions regarding a patient's impaired consciousness. And no, I'm not going to withhold D50 because you think they're faking hypoglycemia.

I take issue with an earlier poster's assertion that this incident has turned EMS forums into cop-bashing havens. This incident is certainly not the first of its kind that has been publicized. In my experience, when EMS providers see problems within their ranks, they work to fix the problems. A review of the numerous coverups over the years in law enforcement illuminates a sliver of the institutionalized mentality of the "thin blue line." Saying "there are bad apples in every profession" doesn't cut it. When one of paramedic colleagues was found to be working without a license, he faced severe consequences. If all transpired as described, what will happen to the trooper in this video? Likely nothing. The discourse on these forums about this incident reminds us that similar events may happen to any of us in the field.

I say all this not to antagonize LEOs, but rather to emphasize that LEO/FF/EMT serve the public. Our first priority is not to serve ourselves or other public safety personnel. We serve the public.

[Dustdevil]

Hopefully, both the medic, the patient's family, and the Creek Nation will all make a racial issue out of this so Civil Rights violations can be invoked and federal authorities involved. I would like to see this become as nasty as possible for the officers involved. They were completely out of line on every level. The OHP director would be insane to make any attempt whatsoever to stand behind these officers, so I agree that we will see the dash cam very soon.

I also pity any OHP officers who drive through the Creek Nation in the future. Tribal police are not likely to be on board with the concept of professional courtesy anymore.

The moment I first heard this, I immediately theorised that the officer had flown up behind the ambulance at such an outrageously inappropriate speed -- and then rode his bumper so closely -- that the EMT never saw him. Sure enough, that's what happened.

[FireMedic65]

Yes, make is a hate crime. Just more ammo for anti-cop people who pull reasons out of their ass to bash on cops. Yes, this cop is surely a great example of why cops get bashed. There are, however, countless cops out there who do excellent jobs and their work goes unheard of. Last thing we need is to bring race into it. But, I suppose you can't avoid bad media, since the news trolls live for it like a fat kid does cake. Not to mention the public eats it up, like that fat kid does his cake.