Posted on 06/14/2009 12:19:46 PM PDT by kenth
PRAGUE — The Oklahoma Highway Patrol released a dashboard camera video late Friday that was recorded during an altercation between a patrol trooper and an emergency medical technician. Featured Gallery
The patrol said the move is contrary to what the agency normally does but decided to release the video because of the high level of public interest and the fact that the release "would not affect the administrative review” of the patrol’s investigation of the incident, according to a statement released late Friday.
"We’ve been well aware of the fact that this incident has drawn enormous attention, but made the decision to protect the integrity of the investigation, any and all relevant evidence, as well as the rights of the department employees during the course of the investigation as required by law,” said patrol spokesman Capt. Chris West.
The move came after the patrol received sharp criticism by the attorney representing the technician, who questioned the patrol’s initial decision not to release the video.
The patrol has completed its internal investigation into the actions of trooper Daniel Martin, who has been placed on administrative leave with pay, West said. The investigation is now under review.
Martin, a patrolman with two years experience, has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing by Okfuskee County District Attorney Max Cook. He also said he would not file charges against Creek Nation EMT Maurice White Jr., who is the person involved in the altercation with Martin.
Richard O’Carroll, White’s attorney, had earlier criticized the patrol for not releasing the video.
"Why wouldn’t they release the video?” said O’Carroll of Tulsa.
West initially defended his agency’s decision to withhold the dashboard video, adding that Martin is entitled to his "due process” as a state employee. Martin claims the ambulance driver, Paul Franks, rolled down his window and made an obscene gesture at him. Franks denies making such a gesture.
"This investigation is to determine whether any disciplinary actions should be taken or not,” West said. "We’re trying to take the high road here.
One video of the incident has reached the public domain. The video was taken by the ambulance patient’s son on his cell phone camera and posted on YouTube.
Martin is shown choking White outside the ambulance with another patrolman, Brian Iker, urging everyone to remain calm.
"Thank God there was a camera, or else my client would have been prosecuted by now,” O’Carroll said.
Ok, well that does it. I'm totally convinced now with your reasoned argument.
I hope you’re not a cop. But you probably are. A perfect example of what is wrong.
Like the OHP officer in question here, you are imagining a problem where none exists. Yea, that's definitely a flagrant disregard for the OHP’s authority that you see there.
“there was more than enough time for the ambulance driver to pull over “
At what point in the video do you thing the paramedics should have noticed him? And then how much time are you giving them to respond?
From the time I see the ambulance first appear on the dash cam, I count about 6 secs pass before the HP is on their rear. Two seconds later I see the ambulance manuever to the left to avoid the parked car. Then the driver immediately moves far right to give way for him with no yellow line, no oncoming, and a clear view to pass safely.
What are you seeing?
“They didn’t have a patient...”
I thought you said you watched the video? Are you sure they didn’t have a patient?
No! what is wrong you were hatched, not born.
Molon Labe,
NSNR
Really one should not post photos of their family members’ or themselve’s on the FR.
You Do Not Know Me,
NSNR
I was only responding to a monday morning quarterback, who needed some logic instilled in their acorn brain.
I enjoy funning with klowns on the “do not know mix.”
Semper Paratus,
NSNR
From your posts, we can gather that you are about 12 years old. Does your daddy know that you are on the computer?
The Barney Fife post was most appropriate to this thread about an insecure LEO who thinks that forcing others to kowtow to his badge equates to people respecting him. Perhaps you should think about watching the Andy Griffith Show, you need some basic training on the do's and don'ts of law enforcement.
This little peacock of an LEO is exactly the type who would ignore blatant acts of recklessness and disrespect by a group of Hell's Angels etc. and explain it away as "showing restraint in order to keep the peace". Like wife beaters, this type of man picks his victims based on their inability to fight back and the ease of intimidation.
Make an enemy of the public and they will make an enemy of you.
I'm most happy that this little peacock will be looking for a different job, but that won't fix his personality. Without the badge shielding him, he'll be getting the crap knocked out of him the next time he acts like this. That might have some corrective result.
There was a local city cop in the town close to where I grew up that was also a Barney Fife. If someone rolled through a stop sign at an intersection where you could see all traffic for 300 yards and where you might get six cars per hour, he would follow them 1/4 mile down the road, pull them over, and then make them walk back to "see what the sign says". This in a town of 2000. When people then started treating him like the tool that he was, he complained that they "had no respect for the law". If you can't see the irony in that, you should never have any position of authority.
Jerking the guy around became a local sport for the teenagers, and everyone just accepted that the LEO had it coming. He didn't keep his job long after that.
Stop sucking on your trucks tailpipe, it destroys your brain.
nope
Empty rural road; no one around; this is not a terribly populated area; no need to make a noise; patient comfort, etc. The EMT chose to not run his siren. The cop chose to run his siren ~ presumably so all the cows could hear it or something.
The ambulance has a much longer safe stopping distance than you imagine. The HP should know that from his training ~ which he apparently forgot.
I'd love to interrogate this guy.
Okay, I’m still puzzled by the rare and sketchy reports of a woman being in Trooper Daniel Martin’s car when he stopped the ambulance. Previously I’d only heard it on TV news, and since I couldn’t find any written reference to it yesterday, I decided either I must have heard it wrong, or the report I heard was wrong. Now I’ve bumped into a written article (several days old) that also mentions this, though without specifying that the woman was the trooper’s wife. The weird thing is, even though this is a very long and detailed article, it just mentions the woman briefly early in the article, attributing the information to Paramedic White, and then makes no further mention of her.
http://www.sequoyahcountytimes.com/pages/full_story?article-EMT-%20cop%20face-off%20under%20investigation%20=&page_label=home&id=2727281&widget=push&instance=home_news_bullets&open=&;
“White’s said in his report that as the trooper passed the ambulance the trooper came over the radio with a state to the effect that “you should consider checking your rearview mirrors.” White said he was surprised at the “unprofessional” broadcast over an emergency frequency. He said about three blocks farther he saw the OHP car enter the road at a high rate of speed, cutting off the car driven by the patient’s family members who were following the patient to the hospital. The OHP car did have its lights and siren running, White said. Franks then pulled onto the shoulder and the OHP trooper pulled along side and gestured for the ambulance driver to pull over. White said he noticed the trooper had a woman in his car, and, “Based on the officer’s erratic driving behavior,” he thought the woman needed immediate medical attention. Because of that White got out of the ambulance, he said, and the ambulance driver also got out.”
It’s really odd that there’s been no further mention of this woman. She can’t have been a trooper herself, because she’d have gotten out at some point, and also would have been required to make an official statement to the OHP — the OHP has released the troopers’ statements and there are only two of them, one from each of the patrol cars on the scene. She couldn’t have been someone who’d been arrested, unless Trooper Martin is really flat-out insane — it could have made sense to respond to the emergency call from the convenience store with an arrestee in the patrol car, but not to make a clearly non-emergency traffic stop. So was it his wife? His girlfriend? A political figure or spouse/girlfriend/daughter of same, who was getting chauffeur service from the OHP, which has to be hushed up, because the OHP isn’t supposed to providing chauffeur service to VIPs or their family and friends? If there was another person in that trooper’s car through this whole saga, she certainly needs to be interviewed as a material witness.
And as I think I said in an ealier post, if you are driving that ambulance, you might well think the cop is pulling over the car in front of you. You naturally do not pull over for the cop until he is past the car and you know he is going further up the road.
The bottom line stupidity here is that not six months ago a Dallas cop lost his job for being a jerk to a car full of civilian rushing to a hospital. As his chief said at the time, it was inexcusable. Here this guy one state away is about is probably going to lose his job for essentially the same thing, but made worse by it being an emergency vehicle. There is no way the OHP can keep on a guy who gets out of his car and begins swearing at EMTs. Talk about dumb.
You have done a great job of trying to research the matter.
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