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.
Shrinker,
That is an opinion piece...totally irrelevant.
You can see what happened with your own eyes.
Simple stuff dude:
-Trooper coded on way to convenience store call.
-Ambi ignores code (which can cause lives to be lost if armed robbery or other emergency)
-Trooper arives to code call...advised situation handled
-Trooper goes after ambi
Simple stuff. Trooper is correct. Ambi in violation and disorderly to boot. If he wasn’t a minority he likely would have been cuffed immediately.
The dash video I saw should the Ambulance pull over as soon as it cleared the car already pulled over. I didn't see a thing the trooper was right about.
Yep you are correct.
He was placed administrative leave.
WITH PAY
A sign that he will be back to work after the desk jockeys fill out some paper work.
He's still on ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE. He's not off the hook. No overtime either. No uniform cleaning bills getting paid. No free doughnuts.
Still makes my point ~ they aren't letting this guy on the road ~ he appears to be erratic and tackling an ambulance? That is totally strange ~ more like "RENO 911" than "Real Police Stories".
I will bet you taglines that this will result in no action taken against the trooper.
I was once pulled over by a Fairfax cop because a tail light was out. When he flipped on his light I turned immediately left into a gas station because a car was to my right.
The cop pulled into the gas station and wanted to know why I turned left so I told him. He said he didn't see the car, but that was because he was immediately behind my C20 CHEVY VAN.
That's the cop's only defense for his meaningless followup. There's no defense for him continuing with the process once he had access to the video ~ and we must presume he watched the video just before he started pushing on the EMT, right?
The police department spends real money on cases like these and tax dollars are in short supply.
Already the department is behind him — that is clear.
You are reading this one through your lenses of what you would like to see instead of will probably happen.
Usually in times of fat and plenty they’ll keep around just about anybody they’ve paid good money to train. When times get tight they cut the clowns loose ~ there are plenty of other cops around the country who are better trained with better jobs and they’d be happy to move to Nashville to take this guys job.
I am sympathetic to law enforcement, in most cases.
However, the term “crispy critter” is often used, by cops, to describe accident victims or fire victims.
Most cops have a heart, some don’t.
Most cops have concern for the injured or the dead.
Some don’t.
This cop should be fired.
End of story.
You are absurd.
“Discretion is the better part of valor” and, in this case, the cop ABUSED his discretion.
The law does NOT require that every “violator” MUST, at all times, be prosecuted or even that every violator should be stopped.
“What about the car in front of the ambulance?”
He had time to get over prior to the point at where the other car is...even still...the ambi once passed the pulled over car...makes no effort to pull over.
He is in violation. Ignorant Fs like this can cost people lives when they are just “fighting authority” as a game.
That patient was not code.
Absolutely nothing will happen to the officer. That driver should be ticketed for failure to react to code, the EMT should be ticketed for physically impeding an officer.
“cop should be fired”
Watch the video. All of it.
Within his right.
A right is not a mandate.
The cop abused his authority.
There are times when authority should NOT be exercised, it is called “discretion” and this cop does not have any.
I saw the video, and the driver did yield the cop. I do not know about the alleged hand signal, but it is obvious the cop is a hot-head who should be diciplined, maybe even fired? If a hand signal is enough to cause you to blow up, then you do not deserve to be on the police force.
Your opinion on the matter.
Factually, the officer is in his right and the ambi is in violation.
Blatant disregard by individuals who understand the importance of emergency codes, as this ambi driver did, are negligence.
It could have been your wife or daughter or son at the convenience store that was getting carjacked or robbed. That delay of 5 seconds can mean life and death sometimes.
I disagree, the ambulance was watching out for the car in front and once he passed that car, he did yield to the cop. I do not believe he saw the cop until then.
With all due respect, you do not have the facts straight. You can read the official OHP statements from the officers here http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/griffin/NEWS9/PDF/0906/trooperscuffle.pdf The other trooper’s (Iker’s) statement begins at the top of page 3 of the pdf document. The pages are out of sequence, with the first page of text (page 2 of the pdf document) being the end of Martin’s statement; Martin’s statement starts on page 6 of the document, after the end of Iker’s statement. Unfortunately, the right margin of the text has been cut off, apparently by the fax machine, but there’s plenty readable to understand the sequence of events. Martin had already been to the convenience store/stolen car call, and had determined that the situation was being handled by the sheriff’s office. He left the scene when he saw the ambulance go by, with the driver making an obscene gesture. He radioed to the other trooper, Iker, who had also been en route to the convenience store call, to come back him up on a “traffic stop” and to “respond code 3”, indicating to Iker that there was a true emergency.
Right there, Martin was way out of line. A driver flipping off a passing patrolman is not justification for a patrolman to call for *emergency back-up*, causing another patrol car to take off with lights flashing and sirens blaring.
Martin is toast. His patrolman career is over.
The reasoning behind some cops cynicism is what they are exposed to on a daily basis. They see the worst of the worst, everyday. I think the cynicism is a coping device. I live in a small town, where the cops don’t see this kind of thing all the time and they aren’t as cynical as the cops I know that’ve worked in bigger cities. Oh and for the record, I’ve heard firefighters use the term “crispy critter” far more often then cops.
The OHP is backtracking.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090614_12_A1_ClaraH147024
“OHP Capt. Chris West said Friday that the results of an internal investigation have been turned over to the patrol’s chief, Col. Van M. Guillotte, who will make the final determination on whether disciplinary actions are brought against Martin. He did not know how long that review would take. “
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