Posted on 12/07/2005 7:04:19 AM PST by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
A 29-year-old Strongsville man says an out-of-control Cleveland firefighter punched out four of his front teeth last week at the scene of a car wreck.
Marc Huff rushed to Dead Man's Curve Thursday where his girlfriend's car was crunched and spun around. His girlfriend was not seriously hurt.
But Huff left the scene in a police car, under arrest for misconduct in an emergency. He pleaded not guilty to the misde meanor charge Tuesday.
And he filed complaints with the Fire Department and the city against firefighters.
A fire inves tigator's com plaint, filed in Cleveland Mu nicipal Court, states that Huff's car nearly clipped one of the firefighters as he raced to the scene. It also states that Huff initially refused to leave the scene and then nearly drove over firefighters again.
Then the 5-foot-9, 130-pound IRS tax collector started a physical altercation with several firefighters, according to fire Detective Joseph Stevens' report.
Cleveland police, who took Huff to jail, don't mention that altercation in their report. The police report says Huff was "grabbed and subdued" by firemen because he was disorderly.
Neither report makes mention of Huff's teeth being knocked from his mouth.
A Fire Department spokesman and a spokesperson for the public safety department said they were not sure the arresting fire detectives had made a report, and if so, whether they could release it.
"Like all complaints, we are taking this very seriously," Fire Department spokesman Larry Gray said.
Huff said when he tried to leave the scene, one of the firefighters slammed his helmet on the hood of Huff's car and reached through the window to punch him in the mouth. When Huff exited the car, one firefighter shoved him, another put him in a chokehold, a third forced his hands behind his back, and they slammed him against his car, he said.
"I was spitting out blood and saying, 'Please get off my neck. You're going to break my neck,' " Huff says.
Huff said one firefighter replied, "I hope I break your (expletive) neck."
Shante Jones, the daughter of Huff's girlfriend, also raced to the accident scene. Jones, her mother and a friend had been at The Q watching a tennis match between Venus and Serena Williams and were headed home in separate cars, Jones said.
Firefighters cursed at Huff and told him to get away from the scene, she said. She saw seven or eight men surround Huff, who was bleeding from the mouth. An arson detective took pictures of Huff's mouth and tried to help him locate his teeth, Jones said.
"I think the whole thing was blown out of proportion," she said. "Everyone was panicking. He wasn't trying to hurt anyone, and there's no reason they had to hurt him."
The police report does not name the firefighters involved in the altercation. Police Lt. Thomas Stacho said police don't have additional information on the arrest because the Fire Department arrested Huff. At the Justice Center, Huff was inexplicably booked as a felony offender, even though he was charged with a misdemeanor.
After Huff made bond and was released from jail - almost 15 hours later - he went to a hospital in Willoughby, where he was treated for tooth extraction, neck pain and physical assault, according to discharge papers from the emergency room.
Huff also visited a dentist for some temporary partial dentures that have left him with a lisp, he said.
"I thought public officials should be held to a higher standard," Huff said. "It's sad that they acted that way. The whole situation sucks."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
rdissell@plaind.com, 216-999-4121
Not that there's anything wrong with that. Jerry Seinfeld
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My sympathies are with the firegighters. It's one of the most dangerous jobs to begin with, not to mention having some idiot trying to run them down as well.
...Then the 5-foot-9, 130-pound IRS tax collector started a physical altercation...
I'd like to send a case of beer to te firemen.
Wish I could have been there to get the boot in.
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"Preview" is our friend.
I've been in this exact situation and I managed to not get smacked by cops or firefighters. Just because your emotions are running a bit high, that's no excuse to flip out, just about run people down, and start fights at the scene. This guy is a complete moron.
He left in a Huff...or was it a minute and a huff?
-G Marx
Yep. Nearly hit firefighters, AND he works for the IRS?
'nuff said.
With a lisp, heh? Like to have heard that.
His job sure taught him to be respectful to fellow civil servants and citizens.
The article says that the firefighter's report makes no mention of Huff's missing teeth. They probably didn't know. The fireman that popped him was probably too busy trying to keep the situation from getting completely out of control, and keep in mind that they're on the road where they have to worry about traffic, the car catching on fire, the hurt car driver, etc. He probably had some adrenalin going.
Lessons learned: Don't square off with firemen at the scene of a road accident.
LOL!! He probably sounded like Porky Pig!
Amen. After working as an RN/EMT for years I have found out there are two things that can make a scene go bad. Irrational jerk in the family and the media. Both get in the way and could care less if they cause injury.
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