Posted on 06/20/2010 12:23:49 AM PDT by B-Chan
A patient, believed to be having a stroke, says an officer with the Chattanooga Police Department blocked her husband from taking her to the emergency room at Erlanger Wednesday night.
Aline Wright is a cancer survivor, amputee and a newlywed. Wednesday night she began to show signs she was having a stroke.
"I started feeling some left arm numbness and a facial droop," said Aline.
"It appeared to me that I was probably having a stroke."
That's when her husband of four days, Jesse Wright, put her in the car and rushed her to the Erlanger Medical Center. Wright knows an emergency. He is a nurse technician at Erlanger.
On the way to the hospital, Aline says Jesse treated two red lights like stop signs. He would stop and then proceed if no traffic was coming. After Jesse ran the second stop light one block from Erlanger, the officer turned on the cruiser's blue lights and followed the couple into the emergency room parking lot.
"At that point we figured because we were so close to Erlanger emergency department that the police would be aware that's where we were going," said Aline.
According to Aline, the officer caught up with the couple as they were attempting to enter the emergency room at Erlanger Medical Center. Aline says her husband was carrying her in his arms because she could not walk. According to Aline, the officer blocked the entrance and demanded answers for running the red lights.
"He picks me up in his arms and the officer continues to block the way into the emergency room," said Aline.
"He's standing between Jesse and I, and the emergency room doors."
Aline says eventually the officer allowed them to enter the hospital, but says he didn't stop there.
Aline tells Channel 3 Eyewitness News that once the couple was placed in a hospital room, the officer attempted to enter their room to arrest Jesse for evading the police.
If he’d had 911 on the line while he was driving, he could have told them that he had a cop car following and for them to explain to the cop what was going on. Perhaps the cop would have wound up giving him an escort instead of arresting him.
I call it 911 addiction. People who have never worked in the emergency response system, whether as police, firefighters, or EMT, often do not understand that the cop/pumper/ambulance is not parked around the corner and ten minutes is a reasonable reasonable response time.
I know I’m preaching to the choir with you, but to everyone else reading this thread:
Find out the expected response time from your local police, fire, and EMS. Find out how long it takes to drive to the nearest hospital. Add 15 - 20 minutes for the crew to assess the scene and the patient, begin treatment, package and get to the ambulance.
Red lights and sirens look great on tv, but in real life the traffic can’t jump out of the lanes at a crowded intersection and drivers often stop in the middle of the road when they hear a siren. An ambulance is not a magic carpet. If the hospital is close, and you can treat the condition, get moving.
While you’re at it, learn what to do in an emergency. You can get all kinds of useful information just by asking.
I’m with you, dools!
My husband is a cop, and he would NEVER so such a thing. (He’d have to deal with ME if he did.) He’s got the smallest ego in the world, and has often said, “I didn’t take this job to ruin people’s days.”
Now...are there some idiots on the force who think their badges make their ding-a-lings bigger? Yup, and for the life of me I can’t imagine why they were ever allowed to become policemen. I know a few myself, and won’t even invite them over to a BBQ. Can’t stand ‘em.
I don’t know...perhaps things are different in other areas of the country and you see more of this kind of moronic cop behavior, but around here, the good cops know EXACTLY who’s got “Big Wanger Syndrome,” and they don’t like those guys very much. Trust me.
Regards,
Depending on the way your 911 system works that might have been helpful. The problem where I am at is you have two choices when you get 911 on the line, police or fire. Fire handles medical emergencies and our dispatchers do not talk directly to the police. I also think that driving fast and talking on the cell phone is not a good combination.
For me... people having a lot of faith in the 911 system is job security. On our department we are cross trained. As a lieutenant I used to spend a lot of time at our dispatch center. When I was still doing that there was only two of us working there for a twenty four hour shift. That was several years ago now we have expanded our coverage into the county and have more people, but it still is quite easy for the system to become overloaded. People don't seem to realize it, but at those times... all the things that they expect to happen when they call 911 don't necessarily go the way that they show it on TV. We are only able to juggle so much. I work with the police on almost a daily basis. I share the frustration that those here have expressed about this situation. I would say that the majority of police officers that I work with are reasonable people. They do have a different perspective than firefighters. I have literally wiped peoples' butts for them when that is what they have needed or requested. On our department we do what ever it takes to serve our customers. The police tend to have a more adversarial view of the customers. My guess however would be that this guy is considered an idiot even by his fellow officers.
I’m not arguing with you-—I’m just pointing out that he wanted to get her there the quickest way he could-—we don’t always make rash decisions in an emergency.
The cop was an idiot-—
I’m sure your husband is a good man. There are a few good cops.
Not at all. Monarchism is a political system; individualism is a philosophy of life. (–___^)
Most people can’t think of all angles while family is in trouble; it is natural. And most cops today are trained to not believe anything a citizen says (even if the citizen is carrying his wife into the ER). So the government (police) are going to go with the letter of the law, no matter what the situation dictates. It is very nice to say that the police are forced to make decisions ‘under pressure’, but the same anti-American idiots want the citizen who is really under pressure (like the husband, in this case) to make perfect decisions whilst wondering whether their loved one will live or die; to immediately make the ‘right’ decision to comply with the moron who has a badge, no matter if the moron with the badge’s orders will kill your loved one.
I will call those who believe the cop was right in this situation unAmerican. I have brought my wife, a 23 year veteran of the US Army (3 different wars from Viet Nam on) to the ER, in extremis, as she couldn’t breathe, and the ambulance was a half hour away)). If some ignorant a$$hat with a badge decided to get in the way, that a$$hat with a badge would have died with a 230 grain .45 cal JHP through his sorry cranium.
You may not get where I am coming from. You’d probably vote to convict if you were on the jury. But you’d also vote to exonerate the ‘cop’ if you were on his jury. And that would make you a statist a$$hat.
In my experience, B-Chan, it’s more than a few.
For every story such as this one, there are dozens of stories that would never make it to page 25 of the Paduca Times, let alone all the way to FreeRepublic.
No one ever hears about the cops who do their jobs with quiet competency, kindness, and professionalism, and yet, there are many, MANY who do just that. Much of what they do can seem minor, even trivial, but their actions often impact people’s lives — so even if he just helps Little Old Lady Anderson get back into her car after she’s locked herself out, it means something to Little Old Lady Anderson. Of course, such an incident would never get reported — no one else will care.
I can only imagine the ridicule this Officer Jackboot is rightfully being subjected to behind the scenes over at the stationhouse. Oh, the others probably won’t come out and say anything publicly, but I’d be my last nickel that he’s getting tormented by his fellows — and I bet he’s been invited to his last BBQ, too.
B-Chan, I hope you’ve had a wonderful Fathers Day!
Regards,
In my experience, ma’am, the reason no one ever hears about the cops who do their jobs with quiet competency, kindness, and professionalism is because such cops are rare.
I’m glad your experience has been better.
And thank you for the Father’s Day greetings. It was a wonderful day!
Fair enough, B-Chan. I’m sorry your experience has been so negative, I truly am.
But I’m VERY happy you had a great Father’s Day!
Regards,
My feeling is that if you are having a difficult time with the police on repeated occasions that there may be something about your mannerisms that the officers you are coming into contact with are interpreting as hostile. I have seen this at a lot of different scenes; I try to give helpful hints to people who I see who look like they are likely to get into some sort of confrontation with the police. It is human nature to pick up on nonverbal communication.
I don't and the reason is they truly believe that anyone who isn't a cop is beneath their being.
Cops hang around with other cops just like blacks hang around with other blacks..same with whites.
We only trust who we feel comfortable around.
Am I prejudiced? No...Just honest and observant.
I wrote a rant about that very thing on my blog. I think I'll post it...a couple of more times.
He should of tased them both....Serves them right!
I don't care. I reject the idea that I have to walk around on eggshells hoping that I don't accidentally trigger the latent cop-rage in some homicidal badge jockey. If cops are trained to be that sensitive to perceived "hostility", then the problem lies with them, not me. Unless I am committing a crime they have no business "interpreting" my behavior.
I have had several bad experiences with police over the years -- instances where police officers have gone out of their way and made an extra effort to treat me with disrespect or to use violence against me. I have never been convicted of any crime. F--k them, and f--k their vaunted "sensitivity" to "nonverbal communication".
Once this story goes viral, this officer will be forced to resign. Does anyone remember the Ryan Moats incident in Dallas a few years back?
I doubt it. Blue protects Blue.
Does anyone remember the Ryan Moats incident in Dallas a few years back?
For those who aren't familiar with this sad story:
A police officer was placed on administrative leave Thursday over a traffic stop involving an NFL player whom he kept in a hospital parking lot and threatened to arrest while his mother-in-law died inside the building.It happens to someone, somewhere, every day. You could be the next lucky winner. And imagine if you're not a famous NFL star...Officer Robert Powell also drew his gun during the March 18 incident involving Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats in the Dallas suburb of Plano, police said.
"I can screw you over," he said at one point in the videotaped incident. When another officer came with word that Moats' mother-in-law was indeed dying, Powell's response was: "All right. I'm almost done."
...
Moats' wife, who was in the car along with other relatives, said Powell pointed his weapon at her. "He was pointing a gun at me as soon as I got out of the car," Tamishia Moats told The Dallas Morning News.
...
He ordered Tamishia Moats, 27, to get back in the SUV, but after pausing for a few seconds, she and another woman rushed into the hospital. She was by the side of her mother, 45-year-old Jonetta Collinsworth, when she died a short time later from breast cancer.
"Get in there," said Powell, yelling at Tamishia Moats as she exited the vehicle. "Let me see your hands!"
"Excuse me, my mom is dying," Tamishia Moats said. "Do you understand?"
Ryan Moats explained that he waited until there was no traffic before proceeding through the red light. When Powell asked for proof of insurance, Moats grew more agitated and told the officer to go find it.
"My mother-in-law is dying! Right now! You're wasting my time!" Moats yelled. "I don't understand why you can't understand that."
As they argued, the officer got irritated.
"Shut your mouth," the officer said. "You can either settle down and cooperate or I can just take you to jail for running a red light." Source: ESPN
My goal was to give you feedback that might help you have more positive interaction with police officers in the future. You seem to be describing a pattern of unsatisfactory interactions with the police... If you choose to keep butting heads with them that is your business. Personally, I find life to be challenging enough without creating additional conflicts for myself.
I have no idea what type of training police receive in nonverbal communication. I do know that if my crew and I respond to an incident and we show up with a bad attitude, people pick up on it and the call will generally not go as well as it could have otherwise.
Nearly all living creatures pick up on hostile nonverbal communication including animals and even people who appear to be unconscious. Your attitude is probably being communicated loud and clear to the officers you are coming into contact with and you are reaping the benefits whether you have "been convicted of any crime". In other words... it's probably time for you to take responsibility for your own actions and grow up.
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