State Trooper Pulls-over Ambulance, Choke-Holds EMT

[Formaldehyde]

The ambulance's lights were on (patient inside).

The only time an ambulance should be running emergency is when either responding to a call where a life is in jeopardy, or when transporting a patient to the hospital under the same conditions. I seriously doubt that heat exhaustion was sufficent reason for the latter.

The ambulance driver also would have likely not stopped, and the cops would have likely never caught him after responding to the emergency if that was the case. The emergency lights would have also likely still been in operation after he stopped. They were off in the video.

The dude following the ambulance would also not likely been able to keep up so he would not have been there to take the video. You also have likely heard him shouting "my mother is dying and you are trying to give the driver running emergency a ticket?!?" So no, I think he was running with his lights off when he got pulled, which also means the cops would have no way of knowing he was transporting someone to the hospital.

An ambulance is also not the easiest vehicle to drive. There is no rearview mirror so all you have to work with are your side mirrors. Unless the cops running emergency approached him from the front, it is quite possible that the driver didn't see them, especially if they were running without sirens which is quite typical if they want to maintain relative secrecy when they were approaching the scene.

It is also quite likely that the car in front of them that suddenly slowed did see the cops approaching, which would have exacerbated the situation even further. He may very well have had to make an avoiding maneuver because an ambulance is also not the easiest vehicle to stop on a dime. It takes a far longer distance to stop than a passenger car takes.

So bottom line as I see it: The cops should have backed off when they determined that the driver was busy transporting someone to the hospital. If they really wanted to harass him further, they should have followed him to the hospital and dealt with him afterwards. To try to arrest him under those circumstances is ludicrous, and it should result in at least one of them losing their jobs. Bad cops, no donuts.

 

[Labtec600]

Wonder how old the trooper was.

 

[GinandTonic]

1 - Why on earth does a Police car have priority over an Ambulance when they both have lights on? Thats some really messed up priorities. Pretty sure we dont have anything like that here thank god.

2 - Is obstructing an Ambulance on emercency duty a serious crime? Fairly sure over here you can get time for it.

Therefore if you really must fine the Ambulance driver his hundred bucks and stick a couple of points on his licence, the law is the law. Then fine the cop a couple of hundred bucks, give him a couple of hundred houres community service and six months suspended. The law is the law after all. I assume that criminal convictions preclude continued service as an officer and will therefore require him to be fired without compensation.

 

[JollyRoger]

How did those stupid Injuns end up in Oklahoma anyway? They ought to at least have the good sense to not to get between a law enforcement officer and the donut shop.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

This reminds me of when my grandfather's car was totaled and he had to go to the hospital when an ambulance broadsided him (the ambulance sustained only minor damage). It had run a read light just when he was pulling into an intersection with his vision blocked by a bridge. The Ambulance did not have its siren on and was not carrying a patient or rushing to get to a patient, although after the wreck they had a patient to transport.

I don't think my granddad ever drove after that, although he did get a new car which my dad used at first only when driving him places and later all the time. It was in that car that my sister and I learned how to drive, although before i got my license my dad gave it to my sister who soon totaled it in her first accident.

 

[Rashiminos]

Depending on the googlage, assaulting an EMT who is on duty is either a misdemeanor or a felony in Oklahoma.

http://www.fdnntv.com/news.asp_Q_ar...ma_Law_Makes_Medical_Worker_Assaults_a_Felony

Just missed it, lucky pig.

 

[Camikaze]

This seems like an instance of megalomania to me. They pulled them over and attempted an arrest because they could.

 

[Rashiminos]

1 - Why on earth does a Police car have priority over an Ambulance when they both have lights on? Thats some really messed up priorities. Pretty sure we dont have anything like that here thank god.

Actually, despite (my own) rationales to the contrary, the lights were off. I think Oklahoma state law is backwards is this respect, but you can feel free to (dis)agree.

 

[GinandTonic]

Actually, despite (my own) rationales to the contrary, the lights were off. I think Oklahoma state law is backwards is this respect, but you can feel free to (dis)agree.

Well when the lights are off any emergency driver is just a private citizen.

 

[Kerozine]

The only time an ambulance should be running emergency is when either responding to a call where a life is in jeopardy, or when transporting a patient to the hospital under the same conditions. I seriously doubt that heat exhaustion was sufficent reason for the latter.

Sounds serious enough to warrant it.

If heat exhaustion is untreated, it may progress to heat stroke, which is a medical emergency. Seek medical attention and call 911 immediately if:

* symptoms are severe, or

* the victim has heart problems or high blood pressure.

Source: http://www.medicinenet.com/heat_exhaustion/article.htm

 

[Formaldehyde]

Well when the lights are off any emergency driver is just a private citizen.

Not really. He is still transporting a patient in need of further medical care to the hospital. He should not be stopped from performing that duty unless he just deliberately ran over ... say 5 cops.

Sounds serious enough to warrant it.

Nope.

If heat exhaustion is untreated, it may progress to heat stroke, which is a medical emergency

Chances are that the EMT did treat it and stabilize the patient. Otherwise they would have been running emergency and the cops would not have stopped them...

 

[GinandTonic]

Not really. He is still transporting a patient in need of further medical care to the hospital. He should not be stopped from performing that duty unless he just deliberately ran over ... say 5 cops.

Over here no lights mean the driver is subject to speed cameras. Cops, Fire, Ambulance et al.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Same here excapt for cops. No way in hell you are ever going to ticket one of them.

And AFAIK, nobody claimed the driver was speeding. Most ambulances and fire trucks never go over the speed limit even when running emergency anyway. I frequently have to slow down to not pass them...

Can't embed this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt3YuRf5Yjo

 

[emzie]

Nope.

No. You have no clue as to the patient's condition, just as I have no clue. Don't assume either way.

 

[Formaldehyde]

No. You have no clue as to the patient's condition, just as I have no clue. Don't assume either way.

Did you miss this part:

Chances are that the EMT did treat it and stabilize the patient. Otherwise they would have been running emergency and the cops would not have stopped them...

I already listed the reasons why I think he was not running emergency. Which part do you disagree with or not understand?

And as it turns out, I do happen to know quite a bit about how ambulances operate. I dispatched them for 6 months. It was one of the most interesting jobs I have ever had.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

And as it turns out, I do happen to know quite a bit about how ambulances operate. I dispatched them for 6 months. It was one of the most interesting jobs I have ever had.

You seem to have had an awful lot of jobs.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Yes, I have. And I still retired the first time at 46.

 

[warpus]

Yes, I have. And I still retired the first time at 46.

Are you really 46 or are you just pulling our collective leg?

 

[Formaldehyde]

No, I retired at 46. Now I'm looking for work again...

 

[fishjie]

No, Pat made an entirely valid point that an ambulance causing an accident (likely to kill one or more of: officer, paramedics, patient) by cutting off a police cruiser too late would have been worse for everyone given the speeds emergency vehicles were traveling. That the police made a narrow-minded decision later does not change this fact.

(And as you seemed to have missed it, he called the cop an asshat too.)

the only asshat is the cop. making excuses for him is trying to downplay the fact that he was power tripping. this is why citizen review boards need to exist, and they need to be given the power to police the police. sure there are good cops, but even they protect their own.

anywho, the EMT apparently also got assaulted by another cop. LOL. would anyone here like to defend that?