What is wrong with oklahoma?

DrIndy

http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0509/626636.html

This is disturbing.

What the hell is going through the highway patrols minds when they saw the ambulance - are they not part of the "emergency service"?

Disturbing to say the least - just hope the womans condition did not suffer as a result.

AARRRGH

That's insane. I've read a lot of articles recently about scary police behaviour in the US. You'd wonder about the sanity of people like the officer in that article...

goldie fish

Remember the one where the Cop arrested the Fire Cheif because the engine was blocking the freeway after a crash?

bk

It gets worse, it seems one of the highway patrol officers admitted that he was going to pull his weapon and use deadly force on an unarmed EMT!!!!

Madness

There seems to be lots of problems with Highway Patrol officers in some parts of the US using excessive force and no common sense. Some seem to be just bullys with a badge and a gun.

Hooch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COouJZK-2sM

Crazy stuff.......

donvito99

This just further damages the American polices reputation.

DubMedic

Someone's been lifting weights... that policeman should have been more careful:P.

LostinBlanch

Unbelievable. Reminds me of that incident a couple of months ago where a cop stopped an NFL player in Texas going into hospital to see his dying mother. Despite hospital staff coming out and telling him that his mother was actually dying while he was out getting stopped for going through a red light. The cop even drew his gun!

Thankfully that barsteward was suspended for such despicable behaviour.

A slight difference to yer man going through a red light and speeding on the rte programme on Sunday!

Mutz

Stupid cop :rolleyes:

Zuppy

Just further Info.



Okla. trooper claims paramedic gave the 'finger'

.related-content-container a{font-size: 11px;} #content div.related-content-container ul li{margin-bottom: 5px;} #content div.related-content-container ul{margin-top: 5px;} By Manny Gamallo
Tulsa World
Related Articles:

• Okla. paramedic speaks out on trooper scuffle
• Okla. paramedic, trooper scuffle on highway

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.

Zuppy

Okla. paramedic speaks out on trooper scuffle








OKMULGEE, Okla. — A paramedic involved in a scuffle with a highway trooper has revealed the moments that lead up to the confrontation.
Maurice White Jr., a critical care paramedic with the Creek Nation, Okla., EMS, said he was physically assaulted by a trooper who prevented him from maintaining patient care.


White was nearly arrested during the Sunday incident, which was captured on a cell phone camera. It happened after White and a colleague were transporting a patient to the hospital when their ambulance was forced to pull over by a trooper.


When they came to a stop, White said he noticed a woman in the front seat of the cruiser and believed she was in need of immediate medical attention "based on the officer's erratic driving behavior."
In a written statement to the Creek Nation EMS director, White said as he and Franks exited the rear of the ambulance to assess the situation, the trooper left his own car in a "state of rage."


White added, "He approached my partner and yelled, 'Get your ass back here. I am giving you a ticket for failure to yield.'"
White said he explained to the trooper that they were transporting a woman, who reports say had heat exhaustion, to the hospital.

Related Resource:
White Jr.'s Statement (PDF) "He ignored my statement, became even more belligerent, and demanded my partner come to his patrol car so he could write him (my partner) a ticket," White said.

The paramedic said he told the trooper they were transporting a patient and that they could continue the dispute at the hospital.
Moments later, White said the trooper shouted, "You are under arrest for obstructing a police officer," and grabbed his right arm. White said the trooper tried to maneuver his arm behind his back on order to cuff him, but wasn't able to and a brief struggle ensued.
White said when he returned to the patient compartment, another trooper appeared on the scene, began knocking on the door and tried to arrest him.


He added that when the officer was again unable to maneuver his arm behind his back, he "engaged my trachea in a claw-like grip, digging his nail into my neck while partially shutting off my air supply.
"After 10 to 15 seconds, he released his grip and told me we could continue with the transport, but as soon as I transferred patient care to the hospital I would be placed under arrest."
White was later informed he would not be arrested, and the episode is being investigated by the Highway Patrol's internal affairs unit and a county prosecutor.


The incident began, according to White, when a patrol car with emergency lights on but no siren came close behind their ambulance. As it overtook, they received a transmission on their radio from the driver, who was quoted as telling them, "You should consider checking your rear-view mirrors."


A few blocks later, White said he saw a trooper's car, with its lights and siren on, pull out of a side street and again raced up to the ambulance, ordering them to pull over.

deadwood

Nothing wrong with Oklahoma, if you're into cowboys singing low brow musical numbers. Personally, I preferred The King and I, but Carousel would also rate amongst Rodgers and Hammersteins greatest work. The Sound of Music will always be a firm favourite with music fans and critics alike,though.

iam_serpentine

Ahh...America can be really screwed up sometmes.

goldie fish

deadwood wrote: »

Nothing wrong with Oklahoma, if you're into cowboys singing low brow musical numbers. Personally, I preferred The King and I, but Carousel would also rate amongst Rodgers and Hammersteins greatest work. The Sound of Music will always be a firm favourite with music fans and critics alike,though.

I have yet to find a surry with a fringe on top.

deadwood

goldie fish wrote: »

I have yet to find a surry with a fringe on top.

They're right purdy though.

Our man in Havana

There are lunatics in all aspects of US law enforcement. I worked with many of them. Some of them are just over enthusiastic and others are plain stupid.

Zuppy

But they are entertaining (at least from over here)

gilly0512

Bond-007 wrote: »

There are lunatics in all aspects of US law enforcement. I worked with many of them. Some of them are just over enthusiastic and others are plain stupid.

For those of you who like to give out about our Police force, just be thankful that our Gardai are nothing like American Police who are extremely agressive, belligerent, massively corrupt, and who will practically arrest you for having the audacity for not agreeing with them. I remember once seeing a programme on Sky where an English Police officer spent two weeks working with the Chicago Police, and he could not get over how agressive the policing was, stating that in America policing was all about arresting or fining people for even the most basic sort of misdemeanour. Here at least as in much of the UK policing is about been able to talk to people or hearing their side of the story, rather than just arresting or fining people for every single misdemeanour in a very agressive way.

deadwood

gilly2308 wrote: »

Here at least as in much of the UK policing is about been able to talk to people or hearing their side of the story, rather than just arresting or fining people for every single misdemeanour in a very agressive way.

It's called Zero Tolerance.

A few years ago, it was the real buzzword amongst Fine Gael types, only they wanted zero tolerance to apply to regular offenders (hoodies!), not the hackneyed bachelor farmer driving home at 20mph on the Zetor. The phrase was bandied about without any real understanding of what it entailed.

Zero tolerance operates by fining and/or prosecuting all offenders for all offences where the power exists, no matter how trivial. Joe Duffy and Eamonn Keane would have a field day here after an hour of this!

The term zero tolerance is not solely the attitude of the police but includes that of joe public who sees that the aggresive pursuit of antisocial behaviour, in turn improves the quality of life for everyone (Times Sq.) and reduces crime, thereby creating a zero tolerance by the public for this behaviour. e.g. I see a man pissing/child begging/busker playing Oasis and usually tut-tut under my breath. If a zero tolerance policy was enforced, I would report them and the Gardai/warden would slap a fine on them or arrest and prosecute them - job done. But then you'd need guards on the street and a practical, beurocracy free, fines system without the gnashing of teeth and hand wringing of civil liberty groups, so we're back to square one.

Back on topic though. The zero tolerence policing you refer to above works well where there is force of numbers, political will and money to enforce it like in Chicago and New York (funny how the men in power there went on to dabble in the presidential race - aspiring Irish politicians please note) None of these exist here. That's why gardai exercise their power of discretion in a lot of minor incidents.

gilly0512

deadwood wrote: »

It's called Zero Tolerance.

Zero tolerance operates by fining and/or prosecuting all offenders for all offences where the power exists, no matter how trivial. Joe Duffy and Eamonn Keane would have a field day here after an hour of this!

deadwood while I'm aware that most American Police Forces operate a zero tolerance policy, and while that in itself has plenty of merits, there is no need for the extremely agressive attitude portrayed by most American Police officers. It does not take that much effort to be civil to people, or to treat people that you encounter with the respect they deserve, even if you are issuing them with a fine for some minor misdemeanour.

deadwood

gilly2308 wrote: »

It does not take that much effort to be civil to people, or to treat people that you encounter with the respect they deserve, even if you are issuing them with a fine for some minor misdemeanour.

[EMAIL="F$@k"]F$@k[/EMAIL] off!:D

deadwood

Sorry, Gilly, couldn't resist.

I do agree with you. It's much easier to deal with a person when you assume a respectful attitude. Save the hard-man bit for those that require a firmer hand.

Trojan911

Bond-007 wrote: »

There are lunatics in all aspects of US law enforcement. I worked with many of them. Some of them are just over enthusiastic and others are plain stupid.

I would stretch that further afield, including here & the UK, not just the US. I base that on personal experience also.

tricky D

They could do well to read these every now and again:

Peelian Principles

silverharp

officers said they acted by the book......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP4UIkErS2s

DubMedic

silverharp wrote: »

officers said they acted by the book......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP4UIkErS2s

Stop showing sneak previews of Traffic Blues , you're going to ruin next week's episode :rolleyes:.

johnnyskeleton

Possibly it's because American state agencies compete with each other (sometimes to their advantage, other times not) while there are usually good relationships between Irish State agencies.

Possibly it's a race issue.

donvito99

Whats wrong with Oklahoma?

Its in America.

deadwood

donvito99 wrote: »

Whats wrong with Oklahoma?

Its in America.

Oh, it's ina shtate alright!