Posted on 12/03/2012 9:26:38 PM PST by grundle
One generally assumes that an ambulance with its lights flashing can park wherever it pleases. This past weekend in New Orleans, a parked ambulance was "booted" by a convenience store employee, who was apparently annoyed that the ambulance had parked in his store's lot. Never mind that the paramedics were treating a man inside the store. That employee has since been fired.
According to a report from WWLTV.com, the paramedics put the patient in the back of the ambulance and began to drive away when the vehicle came to a sudden stop. The medics saw that someone had put a boot on their vehicle. When a store employee finally removed the boot, the tire was flat. The paramedics had to call for backup while the man with chest pains waited in the back.
Jeb Tate, spokesman for New Orleans Emergency Medical Services, said, "We actually had to delay that patient's care by calling another ambulance out here to come transport this patient."
Now, a few days later, WWLTV.com reports that the convenience store employee has been fired and issued a citation by the New Orleans Police Department for simple criminal damage to property. According to the police report, the man, Ahmed Sidi Aleywa, claimed that he didn't know that the vehicle was an ambulance and that he doesn't speak English.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Actually, I don’t think anyone, including police, should be allowed to immobilize a vehicle. This is an example of what could happen - rightly or wrongly.
If the police have a reason to boot a vehicle, then they have another reason to locate and charge the owner for the offense. Booting the vehicle is something akin to calling a weapon the perpetrator.
convenience store employee boots an ambulance? Do convenience stores now stock Denver Boots? I have seen this story a couple or three times and still do not understand how or why a convenience store employee would just happen to have a Denver Boot handy.
Those things are pretty darned unwieldy and probably pretty clumsy for a convenience store employee to put on a vehicle.
I sure hope someone here can help me out.
If you park your vehicle on my private property without my permission, I can do most anything to it that I wish, short of major damage.
Depends upon how you define "confiscate."
I am not a lawyer - I don't even portray one on t.v. (heh-heh). But...
I do believe that I am the king of my castle, as well as having the right to protect me and mine, which means that - after the trespasser has illegally parked his vehicle in my driveway, maybe even in my carport, where my kids normally play hopscotch - I could, e.g., simply close and padlock the front gate of my driveway and release the Dobermans, as a security measure, like I do every night (heh-heh), thus effectively depriving the trespasser of the use of his vehicle, at least until I get back from my all-night lodge-meeting.
Or are you saying that, due to the trespasser's illegal actions, I am not permitted to lock up my property, or let "Fang" and "Killer" run free on my fenced property, while I'm away?
You have a very strange concept of "private property," my FRiend!
Regards,
That’s a horrible thing to say about a decent upright criminal.
If you LEAVE the property, your vehicle will be booted.
So to avoid the boot, you must "stay"?
And "accept" the boot?
Talk about contradictory.
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