Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Paramedic Confrontation

[Dustdevil]

Yes, make is a hate crime. Just more ammo for anti-cop people who pull reasons out of their ass to bash on cops.

But that can be a good thing. The more people hate cops, the more the good cops will work at improving that image. No pain, no gain.

Cops have been getting away with too much for too long, and they know it. We only hear of a small fraction of the police misconduct that occurs, and it is still constant news. They know how untouchable they are. The only way to change that culture is to crack a few eggs. I'm okay with that.

Regardless, I do firmly believe that this incident was indeed racially motivated.

Edited May 29, 2009 by Dustdevil

[FireMedic65]

But that can be a good thing. The more people hate cops, the more the good cops will work at improving that image. No pain, no gain.

Cops have been getting away with too much for too long, and they know it. We only hear of a small fraction of the police misconduct that occurs, and it is still constant news. They know how untouchable they are. The only way to change that culture is to crack a few eggs. I'm okay with that.

Regardless, I do firmly believe that this incident was indeed racially motivated.

Good point. If they keep getting such a bad image, others will have to work hard to improve the image of their profession for sure. Those who screw off and do stupid crap like this donkey, will be handled swiftly by their peers most likely (Full Metal Jacket).

As for it being racially motivated, maybe. The cop sort of has that "look" to him. More than likely, little man syndrome who forgets he is a cop who is there to "enforce" the law and "uphold" it. His badge makes him no better than the medic he choke slammed up on the ambulance. Only difference his, the cop believes he can do what he want because he has a badge.

[Dustdevil]

If they keep getting such a bad image, others will have to work hard to improve the image of their profession for sure. Those who screw off and do stupid crap like this donkey, will be handled swiftly by their peers most likely (Full Metal Jacket).

Exactly. I don't like being painted with a broad brush any more than anyone else does. But law enforcement is not just a collective of individuals. It is a team. And it will take total teamwork to ever improve things. First, the entire team has to be motivated to do so.

Funny how the white EMT driver was supposedly the one he was after, yet he keys in on the black medic for his belligerence. And had it been a white patient and family pleading with him, I expect the officer would have been more understanding. And then this being an Native American tribal EMS agency only adds to the suspicion of prejudice.

Edited May 29, 2009 by Dustdevil

[FireMedic65]

It's sad really, how people these days are still prejudice just because of a persons skin color or religion and stereotype them. Sure, it's funny to crack jokes once in awhile. But, they are just that, jokes.

It's time to grow up people. This cop needs to be given the same treatment he gave that medic. Tough love bitches, apparently morals and ethics didn't work.

[Katiebug]

I don't see any evidence that this was racially motivated. The evidence I see shows abuse of power.

While prejudice shouldn't be ruled out, in the grand scheme of things it should make zero difference in the outcome of this. It doesn't matter what race of people this happened to. The outcome should be the same.

[tniuqs]

I don't see any evidence that this was racially motivated. The evidence I see shows abuse of power.

While prejudice shouldn't be ruled out, in the grand scheme of things it should make zero difference in the outcome of this. It doesn't matter what race of people this happened to. The outcome should be the same.

In theory anyway, as if racism does not exist (ok then).

On scene "Might makes Right" Yes, a clear abuse of power over words only!

Now if perchance an MD was in the back, I bet $$$$$ that the situation would be VERY different, the patient being discharged from ER has absolutely no bearing during that "snapshot" in time.

Its up to the Lawyers now to fight it out ... oh goody, BUT I certainly can't see a Head of OHP putting his neck on the line or getting a choke hold on HIS neck over this !

I can hear spanking noise (s) in the background ... can you ?

Heck this is all over the internet !

cheers

Edited May 29, 2009 by tniuqs

[ns50r]

Hello everyone

I'll be quick and to the point.

6 yrs of Juvenile Law Enforcement

4 years as a Nurse

10 years as a Bounty Hunter and Repoman

So I have seen both sides of this thing.

This is a classic example of abuse of authority. This guy got his little ego bruised and attempted to bully everyone into submission.

Let me say this With the above listed 20 years of experience I have dealt with tons of high stress situations where decisions had to be made on the fly. I also understand that under the "Color of Authority" an Officer must quickly take control and appear as the Alpha in any type of situation to prevent things from escalating. This situation has NOTHING TO DO WITH anything EXCEPT this Troopers ego. This is a horrible example of why people hate Cops and L.E.O.'s. This is a horrible public relations issue and I hope it causes the maximum amount of fallout for this Trooper and the State Hiway Patrol.

I also hope his fellow officers don't make the mistake of standing up for him because he just made their job much harder!

[dlemt286]

This is just my 2 cents worth on this situation.... What about the whole DELAYING OF PT CARE, according to the story they were transporting on Heat Exhaustion....In the back ground you can here the PT screaming ...... getting all worked up, not a good thing considering the signal there was going in on.... Also, as it was mentioned previously all of us in the public service are bound to ONE main thing when responding to a call with "LIGHTS & SIRENS" we are to be responding with "DUE REGARD" for the safety of the public. So according to the Son and the Medic behind the wheel, there was a car on his right side making it unable to get over..... So are the Troopers saying that they should have ran a car off the road just so they could yield to the oncoming trooper. This is just my opinion but i agree that all parties acted very badly, and have opened BOTH departments for a possible law suit, from the family... And the obvious bad press as well, which just hurts all of us in the end run......

[VentMedic]

This is just my 2 cents worth on this situation.... What about the whole DELAYING OF PT CARE, according to the story they were transporting on Heat Exhaustion....In the back ground you can here the PT screaming ......

Yet the Paramedic admits in his statement to leaving the patient, exiting the ambulance to see what was going on with the trooper and the other person in the car. Once you have committed to a patient and are in transport, you do not leave your patient. Your partner may have a looksy and call for another truck if you approach an MVC or another patient. This Paramedic had already made the determination that his patient was well enough for him to step outside that truck to take care of another potential patient. That left no medical personnel in that truck with their patient.

But again, this is the part of the video we don't see. Could all the ground shots been a convenient way of editing by the family member?

This is just my opinion but i agree that all parties acted very badly, and have opened BOTH departments for a possible law suit, from the family... And the obvious bad press as well, which just hurts all of us in the end run......

Agree. There's enough bad judgement in this situation to go around and most of it was just due to some egos on both sides. No one person is completely free of fault.

There are more than enough bad apples in all professions and EMS definitely has its share as do LEOs. Anyone read the headlines this week for the bad apples in EMS? At least this LEO picked on someone closer to his age and 2x his size instead of a child on a playground.

Oklahoma Trooper: Paramedic Gave 'The Finger'

http://www.emsresponder.com/article/articl...p;siteSection=1

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- A perceived obscene finger gesture apparently sparked a May 24 confrontation and scuffle between a state trooper and paramedic in Okfuskee County.

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.

In his report, Trooper Daniel Martin, who is at the center of the confrontation, said he was heading west into 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.

Eventually, the ambulance pulled over, he said, and he contacted the paramedics over their EMS radio, telling them they should be more observant.

The ambulance was not running with its emergency lights or siren.

Up to this point, Martin's account mostly jibes with reports filed by paramedics Maurice White Jr. and his partner, Paul Franks, who was driving the ambulance.

However, the paramedics reported they never heard the trooper's siren.

In his report, White said Franks threw up his hands in surprise when they received the radio call from Martin, urging them to check their rear-view mirrors.

White said he thinks the trooper might have mistaken Franks' hands in the air as an obscene finger gesture.

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.

"I took the gesture as a sign of defiance to (the) failure to yield earlier, and that they (ambulance) did not believe they had a responsibility to adhere to the rules of the road in regards to my emergency vehicle," Martin said.

Seeing that the stolen-car call was under control, Martin said, he chased the ambulance until it pulled over.

Once he got out of his cruiser, he was trying to talk to Franks when he saw White get out of the ambulance and slam the "door in a hostile manner."

Martin said White kept getting between them, despite repeatedly being told by Martin to back off.

The trooper told Franks he was going to be cited for failure to yield, adding that "I did not appreciate his hand gesture."

White said the trooper bolted out of his car in a huff and yelled at Franks, "What do you mean flipping me off?"

White said he tried to explain to the trooper that they were taking a woman to the hospital and asked if they could continue the matter once they got there.

But White said the trooper would have none of it and insisted on giving Franks a ticket then.

However, Martin said White kept getting in his way, and he finally tried to arrest him for obstructing an officer. That sparked the first of two scuffles as Martin said he tried to arrest White but the paramedic threw up his arms to resist.

A number of relatives of the patient had followed the ambulance and were in the street.

Fearing possible violence, Martin said he backed away from White and then went to his cruiser to radio Trooper Bryan Iker for help.

The trooper said only when White got back into the ambulance was he able to speak with Franks. Martin said Franks assured him he did not give the trooper the finger gesture and apologized for not yielding.

The trooper then walked back to the ambulance and tried to tell White he would be arrested once he arrived at the hospital, but the paramedic was not in the ambulance with the patient.

Martin said he walked around to the passenger side of the ambulance where White was standing. White was angry, wanting to file charges against the trooper for assaulting a paramedic, he said.

Another scuffle ensued, and Martin said White grabbed him around the neck, refusing to let go.

Iker's report backs up Martin's account of the second scuffle.

Martin said he applied a choke hold on White's neck to release the grip. With White calmed down, Martin said he told the paramedics to go to the hospital and he would follow.

Martin said that if he were allowed to speak with Franks uninterrupted, the confrontation would not have happened.

As it was, Franks was ultimately given a written warning for failure to yield. White was not arrested at the hospital.

The troopers filed their information with Maxey Reilly, assistant district attorney in Okfuskee County, for possible charges. Reilly has forwarded the case to District Attorney Max Cook for review.

Edited June 2, 2009 by VentMedic

[Diazepam618]

I hope the creek nation sues the hell out iof this redneck trooper, too bad Johnny C wasn't around to take the OHP to court.