Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Paramedic Confrontation

[VinMann]

What I don't understand is when the trooper claims to first learn of the patient. The paramedic and EMT both claim to have told him. The trooper said he looked in the back. The paramedic said he stepped out to let a family member in. Then we see the trooper screaming in the side door "you are under arrest" meaning 'I am taking you into custody'. The paramedic has a duty to convey to the trooper that the proper procedure is to allow him to proceed to the ER with the patient. I contend that it is proper to resist until other law enforcement personnel arrive to evaluate the situation and correct the troopers error.

With all the training that law enforcement, paramedics, and EMTs go through, I find it extremely rare for one to perform other than how instructed. My question goes to the commander and instructors, did your personnel perform as instructed? We may not hear another word from State which tells me the problem is not with the trooper but with his boss.

If I was pulled over for any reason, with a patient on-board, I would have activated at least my secondary lights. More lights make a safer scene.

[Dustdevil]

I want to know if the local news media is demanding the dash cam video under FOIA. The cops may stonewall for awhile, but it will only hurt them in the long run, because the media will quickly thrash them in the court of public opinion if they don't quickly co-operate.

[Ridryder 911]

I want to know if the local news media is demanding the dash cam video under FOIA. The cops may stonewall for awhile, but it will only hurt them in the long run, because the media will quickly thrash them in the court of public opinion if they don't quickly co-operate.

I believe Channel 6 & 9 (same parent company) have asked but as long as it is still considered a possible litigious situation, they will handled as evidence.

The civil suits, should be interesting, not by-passing the possible tribal situation.

R/r 911

[VinMann]

Just in case some didn't read Trooper Martins report.

http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/griffin/NEW...operscuffle.pdf

It's a puzzle with missing pieces (and some that don't fit).

[Dustdevil]

Just in case some didn't read Trooper Martins report.

http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/griffin/NEW...operscuffle.pdf

It's a puzzle with missing pieces (and some that don't fit).

Much of that statement was directly contradicted by the video. I think that's why he's on "administrative leave" now, and why the dash cam isn't being released, even though the DA says they should.

Tulsa World: Video: Trooper put on administrative leave

Video: Trooper put on administrative leave

The Highway Patrol is still investigating a con-frontation between the trooper and a paramedic.

By MANNY GAMALLO World Staff Writer

Published: 6/11/2009 2:30 AM

Last Modified: 6/11/2009 3:27 AM

OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper at the heart of a May 24 confrontation with a Creek Nation paramedic has been placed on administrative leave, authorities said Wednesday.

OHP Capt. Chris West said Trooper Daniel Martin was put on paid administrative leave June 1 while the patrol's internal affairs investigation into the incident continues.

West emphasized that the leave is not punishment — the trooper is still being paid — but only routine while an investigation is conducted.

However, West was unable to explain why it took the patrol a week to put Martin on administrative leave. He continued working after the confrontation on U.S. 62 in Paden, seven miles east of Prague.

West said he didn't know how long Martin would be on leave.

But he did say that a Tulsa World request under the state's Open Records Act for the video from the trooper's dashboard camera is being denied.

West did not elaborate on the reason for the denial.

Okfuskee County District Attorney Max Cook said last week that the Highway Patrol should release the dashboard-camera video.

Cook said he would not charge either the trooper or the paramedic, Maurice White Jr., in connection with the confrontation.

"Although I do not condone their actions, I do not believe that filing charges at this time would serve the best interests of the public or the interests of justice," he said last week.

The confrontation occurred as a Creek Nation ambulance was taking a woman to the hospital in Prague. The ambulance was not using its emergency lights or siren.

Martin was en route to help the Okfuskee County Sheriff's Office with a stolen-vehicle call and was using his lights and siren, he said in his report.

He said the ambulance didn't immediately pull over to let him pass. Eventually, the ambulance did let him pass.

Martin said he radioed the ambulance crew that they should be more vigilant.

White acknowledged receiving that transmission and said his driver, Paul Franks, threw up his hands in surprise at the call.

White said the trooper might have mistaken Franks' response as an obscene finger gesture.

Martin claimed that as the ambulance passed by in Paden, Franks gave him the finger. Franks denies that.

Martin said he gave chase and pulled over the ambulance. He said he approached Franks and told him he would be cited for failure to yield and asked why he flipped him off.

White got between Franks and Martin, telling Martin that they were on their way to the hospital and that "we can continue this there."

Martin said that after White ignored repeated requests to back off, the trooper tried to arrest White for obstructing an officer.

That's when the scuffle broke out, with Martin claiming that White grabbed him around the neck and White claiming that Martin put him in a choke hold.

Eventually, the ambulance was allowed to go on its way. White was not arrested, and Franks received a written warning for failure to yield.

Part of the confrontation was captured on a cell-phone camera at the scene by a relative of the patient in the ambulance.

Edited June 11, 2009 by Dustdevil

[Dustdevil]

I believe Channel 6 & 9 (same parent company) have asked but as long as it is still considered a possible litigious situation, they will handled as evidence.

I just saw a special segment on Fox News Channel about this story. They say they too have made an Open Records Act request for the video and have been denied, even though the DA told the OHP they should release it. They also said that OHP and the trooper refuse to identify the female passenger that was in his cruiser with him, but that they have confirmed that it was the trooper's wife.

Fox News interviewed the Medic, and even talked briefly with the trooper at his home. All the trooper -- who was actually quite cordial -- would say is that he trusts that it will all work itself out. He also told them off-camera that the reason he was so angry that day is because he just returned from active duty in Iraq.

Beyond the obvious contradictions, what I find interesting about the troopers' statements is the back-up trooper claiming that he turned off his dash cam when he arrived on the scene. Excuse me? I seriously doubt that! The camera is automatically activated when a trooper turns his red lights on. They NEVER intentionally turn it off, unless there is something they want not to be seen. And he wants us to believe that he drove code-3 to back up a fellow trooper, who requested EMREGENCY BACK-UP, then took the time to fumble for the camera kill switch before going to assess the situation? I call BULLSHYTE!

[tniuqs]

He also told them off-camera that the reason he was so angry that day is because he just returned from active duty in Iraq.

So did the trooper behave in this that in Iraq as well ?

[okmedic]

Just some more follow-up stories...

http://www.news9.com/Global/category.asp?C...;autoStart=true

http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=10520809

[verra99]

simulationcredit

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Edited June 12, 2009 by verra99

[Dustdevil]

The driver speaks out!

Click here to see the full, unedited interview with the driver.

http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=10482416

Paramedic Defends Himself After Trooper Scuffle

Posted: Jun 04, 2009 9:16 PM

Updated: Jun 05, 2009 9:28 AM[

By Dave Jordan, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Paul Franks, a paramedic in the middle of a feud involving an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper, is defending himself after the controversy continues.

Franks has already spoken to investigators within Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the District Attorney's Office, but he continues to deny what he says are outright lies by OHP Trooper Daniel Martin.

"It's not been easy for me to come and call you people up and say, 'Come talk to me', because I initially didn't want to do this," Franks said.

But Franks felt compelled to come forward after reading and hearing Trooper Martin's statements about what happened Memorial Day weekend on Highway 62 near Paden.

The scuffle, Martin claimed, was caused when Franks "failed to yield" to OHP who was running on an emergency call. When Franks finally did pull over, "he gave Martin the finger."

Franks said it never happened, and if anything, Martin was the aggressor.

Eventually, OHP pulled Franks over and what happened next is the subject of much debate.

Trooper Martin said Paramedic Maurice White emerged from the back of the vehicle and "he presented himself in a hostile manner."

But Franks said White was acting in defense of his patient who was being transported to a nearby hospital, and Martin was enraged.

"I'm tell him, 'Sir, I didn't see you or I would have gladly pulled over,'" Franks said.

Franks said he initially didn't yield because he never saw OHP. The road was hilly, a car was in front of him and Trooper Martin did not have his siren on, all of which he said he barely had a chance to explain.

"Trooper got out of his car very, very angry," Franks said. "Dash Cam will show his actions, if we ever see it."

District Attorney Max Cook is not releasing the video because it's part of an investigation.

"If they're so convinced that he was right...let's see that Dash Cam," Franks said.

Trooper Martin is now the subject of an internal investigation by OHP, but he still remains on the job.

District Attorney Cook has not said when or if he will file any charges against anyone involved in the confrontation.