An FDNY EMS worker and a New York City Transit cop got into a scuffle in the back of an ambulance Monday while a 59-year-old woman with chest pains was being treated. It happened during the morning rush at a subway station in Boerum Hill. The medic, identified as Andrew Haley, was briefly arrested.
According to the New York Post, Haley was about to attach leads to the woman for an electrocardiogram as the police officer was asking for information. Because the woman’s breasts would be exposed, the officer was asked to leave and shut the door to the ambulance:
When the cop refused, Haley allegedly shoved him and the two got into an argument, with the cop shouting, “Get your hands off me!” and each calling for a supervisor, the sources said.
Cops cuffed Haley and he was taken to Transit District Precinct 32 nearby, while other EMS workers brought the woman to the hospital.
“The EMT was arrested for obstructing governmental administration. That arrest was voided,” Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said later yesterday.
“Some dispute arose inside the ambulance, the EMT wanted the police officer to leave. The police officer didn’t want to leave. So that is the nature of the dispute.”
It comes from the Medicare EMR Facebook page and a STATter911.com reader. It claims to show a paramedic being arrested at an incident scene on a roadway. We are only getting one side of this and have no way to verify the information, but the information posted says it started when a fire chief on the scene asked police to control traffic. The paramedic apparently then followed up on that request and it turned a bit ugly.
Here is the full description from Medicare EMR:
Hi guys. i was the one filming this video so i will give you some background… just for the record there are various reasons why a person might be arrested. in this case the charges against him was preventing an officer from doing his duty. the irony is that the fire chief had asked the police officers 3 times to please control traffic which they duly refused. this paramedic asked the one officer why they were not co-operating. the police officer hurled insults at him and started swearing at him. (i have a voice recording of this as well). the officer then proceeded to leave the scene with no one to regulate traffic to go fetch someone to sort out the paramedic. the officer returned later with another police officer who also in turn verbally attacked him (i also have a voice recording of this). both officers wee asked to give their mass no and to identify themselves as he wanted to report them. both officers refused to give their mass no. he told them to sort their “@#$% ” out at which the one officer got enraged and consequently chest bumped him and pushed him. when the paramedic asked him if he was now assaulting him he screamed “you do something come you do something” he then signaled the other police officer to come over and they grabbed him and said they are now arresting him and force marched him up to the van, without reading his rights or stating why they are arresting him. when he asked them o please not push him he can walk cause he has a broken leg still in recovery they ignored him and forced him towards the van. when he asked to get into the van himself as he has a broken leg they threatened to pepper spray him and use “necessary force”. when the fire chief asked them what ate they doing and why are they not regulating the traffic they said no they are leaving to sort him out now first as he is bothering them. to make things worse they attempted to refuse him bail and his lawyer as well as the prosecutor had to step in to sort them out. he is appearing in court in Paarl tomorrow on charges of obstructing an officer from performing his duty.
Let’s give credit where credit is due on this. Some police officers in Richmond, Virginia were presented with a problem that many have seen before. But how many of you have tried this solution (it’s even better than my can of peas advice)?
They say cats always land on their feet, but two kitties stuck in a tree in Hillside Court recently were not about to find out. That’s when Richmond Police stepped in. First Precinct Officer Kelly Morley was flagged down by a resident who was concerned because the cats had been stuck in the tree for five days and they couldn’t get them down even with food. Officer Richard Chappell got the idea to stack a few city supercans as a way to help the cats down. Officers Brent Howlett and David Woods saw what he was doing and stopped to assist as well. The neighbors were so thankful for the officers’ kitty rescue and one of them took the cats in since they were strays and it was cold outside. Good work officers!
I credit the YouTube clip above with inspiring me to come up with a term to describe what I witnessed in the video and many other times in recent years: Social Media Assisted Career Suicide Syndrome or SMACSS. This video involves a story that first surfaced last week when Prince George’s County (MD) Police Department Chief Mark Magaw announced in a press conference that the two officers appearing in the video ”could be fired”.
The short film is titled “Driving While Black” and is a satirical look at the issue of racial profiling during traffic stops. As Chief Magaw described, the video uses “demeaning language, racial slurs, and crude stereotypes.” The latest development surrounding the video is that the head of the local chapter of the NAACP, Bob Ross, does not believe the officers should be fired. Here’s what he told reporter Andrea Noble of The Washington Times:
“I would agree with a suspension rather than firing because they are young and immature,” Mr. Ross said. “If they had done that without the uniforms and without the police car, it probably wouldn’t have been a big deal. … It really was a good skit but when you have government employees doing it, it’s a different story.”
We likely won’t know whether these two officers end up losing their jobs until they get their day in court, or at least a trial board. Fraternal Order of Police President Vince Canales, who condemned the video during the chief’s press conference, told Noble, “These officers are entitled to due process and we are going to let the investigative process play out.”
But I have to ask this question: How can these officers really expect anything other than having to find alternative employment?
They used a real police car belonging to the department (likely a take home vehicle of one of the officers), real uniforms with the department’s patch and real department issued police equipment. They simulated traffic stops with lights and siren along public roads in public view as they appeared as actors in a video not sanctioned by the department. The video spoofs a real concern that police are having to deal with nationwide and one that has been a source of serious image problems for the officers’ own department for decades.
I ask again: How can anyone expect to hold onto their job after doing all that?
And I have another question. How did they think they were going to get away with it once the video was posted on YouTube or distributed by other means?
I think I already know the answer to question two. All rational thinking seems to go out the window for too many people when it comes to social media. They somehow have been led to believe that whatever they want to put on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter is just fine and should be without consequence. And when it involves someone in public safety, they often give the impression they believe there are no special responsibilities that come with being a police officer, firefighter, EMT or paramedic.
Let me make it clear that this column isn’t really about these two officers or the video ”Driving While Black”. What I am writing here should not be seen as an opinion or a prompt for a discussion on the issue of racial profiling. My focus is on this video being the latest outrageous example of SMACSS. While this one may be especially sensitive for some because the topic of the video involves race, SMACCS cuts across many other topics and impacts public safety workers of all races, creeds, religions and ethnic origins. Just click on this link and scroll down. You will see plenty of other cases STATter911.com has covered where careers have been cut down because of bad judgment in using social media.
The best I can tell is that the underlying cause is pretty universal among law enforcement, firefighters and EMS who have contracted SMACSS. It comes from a belief that a person can post whatever they want, whenever they want. Uniform and public trust be damned.
While legislation in the form of a department’s social media policy may catch some cases before they happen, there is really no known cure. As long as there is social media and the Internet there will be those who can’t avoid contracting SMACCS. But it can be prevented through education.
It’s a really simple lesson, though a hard one to follow for those who were brought up to believe that everything in their lives must be shared with the world. But once they can fully understand and accept that there are legitimate ethical and legal issues where social media and public safety intersect, the chances for a long career will increase, while at the same time the likelihood of catching SMACSS will decrease.
Previous STATter911.com coverage of this story here and here
As we’ve been reporting, there has been a good deal of controversy in Columbus, Mississippi over a Facebook post that resulted in the resignation of Firefighter Brad Alexander and the 30-day suspensions of two other firefighters and a cop. The post that caused all of this had been taken down from Alexander’s personal Facebook page and until now had not been part of the news coverage. Sarah Wilson at the Columbus Packet was able to track down the actual post and it was published this morning:
People never cease to amaze me. Mama yelling oh my baybee my baybee….Hey you stupid ass, where was babyeees mama at while your 2 year old was getting hit by a truck. Mama needs to have her guts cut so there wont be anymore babies. Freeloading ignorant woman
Lance Luckey, Damon Estes, Eric Minga and 12 others like this
The posting on Facebook came after Alexander responded to a child struck by a pickup truck on August 20th. According to the Columbus Packet, two-year-old Tyree Sparks Jr. was being watched by a family friend when he ran from the porch into the street and was hit. The boy recovered from relatively minor head injuries:
Shanta Henley, Tyree’s Aunt and Classie Craddieth, his grandmother raced from another neighbors home across Military Rd. as soon as they saw the commotion. Henley and Craddieth held the boys hands to calm him until emergency responders arrived minutes later. Sparks’ Aunt, Shanta Henley,accompanied Sparks in the ambulance and Craddieth and another Aunt, Shameka Nickelson, followed them to Baptist Hospital.
They said that the mother of the child,Terrance Henley, was actually on her way back from Columbus High School , where she is a Senior, when the accident occurred and was extremely emotional after she learned her child had been struck.
Much of the controversy stems around the suspensions for Firefighter Damon Estes, Firefighter Eric Minga and Police Officer Lance Luckey who hit “like” after reading the post. Columbus, Mississippi does not have a social media policy.
According to Wilson, there is no comment from city officials about the identities of the other 12 people who clicked “like” for this now infamous post.
This was the scene late Friday night at a rowhouse fire at 925 9th Street NE in Washington, DC. When Engine 8 went to pick up Engine 18′s line it turned out that an officer from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) already was handling that assignment. First spotted on Facebook over the weekend where, as you might imagine, there was a bit of discussion among some firefighters over the proper blocked hydrant protocol. It appears Engine 8 dealt with this problem without running any lines through the DC cop’s SUV.
We first heard from our friend Curt Varone about a sheriff’s department civilian employee in Virginia who lost his job after hitting “Like” on a Facebook post. Now we have learned the discipline for two firefighters and a cop from Columbus, Mississipi who clicked “Like” on a Facebook posting in August by now former Columbus firefighter Brad Alexander. Firefighters Damon Estes and Erik Minga and police officer Lance Luckey were each suspended for 30-days following an executive session of the mayor and city council.
As we first told you yesterday, Brad Alexander resigned after 12-years on the department. He also apologized on his Facebook page (see above) for a post he wrote voicing his frustration and questioning the whereabouts of the mother after a two-year-old child had been struck by a car. So far we have not seen the exact content of the offending post.
The Dispatch reports the council was split in its vote with some worried about this being a free speech issue. The City of Columbus does not specific policy covering Facebook comments.
The post reportedly attracted several comments along with multiple “likes” before it was brought to the attention of Alexander’s battalion chief and fire chief Ken Moore. Alexander and Moore met with mayor Robert Smith and members of the city council last Monday to discuss the post and potential disciplinary action.
The events unfolded in executive session but multiple sources said both firefighters Estes and Minga wrote letters of apology to the mayor and council. Those sources also claim Moore recommended 30-day suspensions for the two.
Chief of Police Selvain McQueen also reportedly recommended a 30-day suspension for Luckey. Luckey reportedly voiced his objections to the suspension, telling the mayor and council that he read the update from his cell phone and did not see the entire status update or the comments left underneath by various Facebook users.
Before anyone says anything I know it is ill advised and may be illegal for a police chief to tell a police officer to drop a ticket that the cop has written. But I find it hard to believe that there is such a lack of adult supervision in Trenton, New Jersey that a dispute between on-duty police and firefighters couldn’t be solved before more taxpayer money was wasted.
The article written by The Times’ Alex Zdan this morning should make your head spin and some of you may scream at your computer when you learn things in Trenton are so dysfunctional that the case of two tickets written by police officer Mike Davis to Firefighter Ken Stout at an emergency scene on June 8 may actually be going to trial.
According to Zdan’s article, firefighters responded to East State Street for an alarm at a high-rise apartment building:
With engines and ladders parked on the two-lane downtown street, Battalion Chief Steve Coltre told his driver Firefighter Ken Stout to place the chief’s marked SUV across the road.
“Stout was directed to block the scene for safety,” (Firefighters’ union lawyer Andrew) Bayer said.
Police Officer Lawrence “Mike” Davis then came on the scene and told Coltre to move his vehicle. Coltre refused, and a “discussion” occurred, Bayer said.
“There’s a statute that says a fire chief controls a fire scene as a matter of law, and so police officers can’t issue a ticket to a fire chief at a fire scene,” Bayer said. “Which is what happened here.”
By going to trial this has the potential for the taxpayers footing the bill for court pay for Davis, overtime for two firefighters and the cost of a judge coming in from another jurisdiction. They’ve already paid for an outside municipal prosecutor who failed to even acknowledge the stupidity of all of this to reporter Zdan. That’s a waste of money right there, if you ask me. I would think an outsider might at least the guts to tell everyone to grow up and deal with this.
Trenton’s fire director and police director had been in touch about this situation when it occurred but aren’t telling the reporter what they spoke about.
Stout faces a potential fine of $225 for obstructing traffic and not displaying his permit.
There is controversy over a video that surfaced today of an NYPD officer shooting a pit bull in the head when the dog lunged at the cop on Monday in the East Village. Bystanders at 14th Street and Second Avenue immediately scream at the officer for shooting the dog and it’s making news in New York today.
Much as I did in my post about the dog in Chile who bravely saved her puppies from a fire, I have to question our priorities and compassion as human beings. My observation has absolutely nothing to do with whether the officer was justified in shooting the dog. I will let you all sort that out.
According to the New York Daily News, the dog belonged to a homeless man, Lech Stankiewicz who was apparently having a seizure on the street. The animal was keeping people away who approached Stankiewicz.
As you watch the video, after the pooch is shot, that I can see in the clip not one person checks on Mr. Stankiewicz, who is on his back with his body on the sidewalk and head in the street. No sign of anyone caring about Stankiewicz in this short version of the video or the longer version at Gothamist.com where there is 9:49 of raw video (now above). Stankiewicz is in sight for about 5:30 of that video before the videographer is moved back from the scene. Not once do I see anyone kneel down and see how Lech Stankiewicz is doing.
Maybe I’m just screwed up in my priorities and the rest of the world is right (I’ve been told that before) but shouldn’t the bystanders and police show slightly more concern over how the human being is doing over the canine (or at least fake it)? Besides his apparent seizure isn’t it all possible a bullet bounced off the street and struck Lech Stankiewicz? Would anyone there had known it if that happened?
At last word the dog is still alive and so, by the way, in case anyone cares, is Lech Stankiewicz. From the Daily News:
Stankiewicz — who sources said was intoxicated — was taken to Bellevue Hospital and treated for minor injuries. He was later cuffed on an arrest warrant for an open container summons, cops.
On Sunday Poplarville, Mississippi Chief Mike White was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct at the scene of a car crash . The chief’s arrest was caught on video.
Chief White says the incident occurred because of a dispute with Pearl River County Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Garcia over a safety issue and who was in charge of the incident scene. The accident involved a vehicle that had flipped over on Old Wiggins Highway just outside the city limits of Poplarville.
The chief told Al Showers of WLOX-TV that the vehicle was on its roof, with fluids on the ground and the smell of gasoline. The deputy was going to allow someone to use a privately owned vehicle and a winch to upright the car. But Chief White thought that would be dangerous, particularly with about 10 to 15 people standing near the car.
Pearl River County Sheriff David Allison said Garcia told him, Chief White stood between the overturned car and the winch and refused to let the car be up-righted. The Chief said a qualified tow truck driver should be called to do the job.
“There were still hazards on the ground that the car hadn’t been flipped up or moved out of the roadway. I had still deemed it a safety hazard and a fire hazard so at that point, yes I would have considered that accident my scene,” said Chief White.
Sheriff Allison said his deputy didn’t feel there were any public safety concerns and that his deputy was in-charge of the accident scene and not the fire chief.
“We wouldn’t report to a fire scene and tell them how to put out a fire,” said Allison.
You may recall the story we ran from March 4 of an off-duty rookie Virginia Beach police officer who crashed his vehicle on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. This was the case case of Bradley Colas, accused of attempted murder for stabbing two firefighters who came to his aid and shooting at them. At the time of the incident Colas believed he was trying to find Jesus and also to protect his girlfriend.
All charges against Colas were dropped today at the Accomack County courthouse. According to Sarah Hutchins at The Virginian-Pilot, Colas’ attorney, Moody Stallings, said the prosecution dropped the charges after agreeing with the position of the defense that Colas was suffering from “involuntary intoxication” from the antibiotic Biaxin he was taking for a respiratory infection. The attorney supplied testimony from a doctor to backup his claim.
“I’m disappointed it’s taken this long,” Stallings said.
A judge signed an order for Colas’ release from custody, Stallings said. A Circuit Court trial had been scheduled to start tomorrow.
Colas twice had been denied bond in Accomack County. At a bond appeal hearing in March, Colas told firefighters in the courtroom he was sorry for what had happened.
All charges against Virginia Beach police officer Bradley Colas were nolle prosequi in an Accomack County courthouse this morning.
Nolle prosequi is a term meaning that for now, the prosecution has decided not to pursue the charges in question. The charges in question can be pursued at a later time, however.
While leaving the courtroom this afternoon, Colas told WAVY.com that he is glad the firefighters are OK. He said he was “out of his mind” at the time of the alleged attack, and the drug he took was “very dangerous.”
A house fire from February 9 handled by the Washburn Fire Department in Marshall County, Illinois, with assistance from the Varna Fire Department and the Lacon-Sparland Fire Department. I don't know if he is also a firefighter, but it sure looks like a police officer pitching in to help extinguish this fire.
This may be a very disappointing "must see video" for many of you. No real action and it isn't a fire. But it is exactly what I needed to get me out of my funk after viewing the series of videos I posted Sunday of police officers around the country who have a funny interpretation of protecting and defending the Constitution.
The video posted to YouTube last November stars Badge #1093 of the Oceanside (CA) Police Department, Cpl. Matthew J. Lyons. I urge all of you to watch how Cpl. Lyons reacts to a man carrying a camera who records the entire interaction with the officer. Besides the camera in his left hand, the man, who only gives his name as Jeremy, has a gun on his side.
Listen to Cpl. Lyons' words and watch his actions. The officer is also a 22-year veteran of the U.S. Marines. He knows and respects Jeremy's right to not only carry an unconcealed, unloaded weapon, but to also carry and use a camera that is not concealed.
Now, compare this to what you saw from the Suffolk County (NY) Police Department sergeant (below) who arrested a credentialed news photographer on Friday. Or the officers you see in the other videos I posted on Sunday. If you were a police chief or commanding a squad of officers, would you want on your team cops who only uphold the part of the Constitution that fits their purposes or those who believe in the entire document?
Jeremy, who apparently gets stopped quite a bit with the gun on his belt walking around Oceanside, has recorded other transactions with police officers. They are posted on this YouTube channel. While the other cops aren't quite as charismatic as Cpl. Lyons, the best I can see tell is none of Oceanside's officers seems to get bent out of shape because a citizen has a camera in their face. My guess is that comes from good training.
Corporal Lyons you are my hero. You not only served our country as a Marine, you serve the citizens of Oceanside by keeping them safe and safeguarding their rights. Thank you Doug Walton for finding this one and sending it our way.
Commissioner Richard Dormer said in a statement Monday that there is an internal review of the incident and all officers will undergo media relations refresher training. The announcement came about an hour after the Press Club of Long Island, a local trade group, called for the charges to be dropped.
“I am working with the Suffolk County District Attorney to have the arrest nullified,” Dormer said. “The police department believes in keeping an open line of communication with the media and we will be reviewing the department’s policy concerning involvement with the news media.”
And in Las Vegas, an internal review of previous case we told you about found that Officer Derek Colling violated several department policies, including using excessive force, when he subdued and arrested a man who was taking video from his own driveway of police responding to a burglary call. Here's the latest story and here is our previous coverage. The video from that incident is below.
The video above was posted to YouTube about an incident that occurred on Friday in Suffolk County, New York. It came with the following description:
This was the end of a police chase and the Sgt. doesn't want video coverage from a credentialed member of the press. The photog asks how far to move back but the sgt. says no you can't shoot it at all. Notice the road is open to traffic, there are people without a camera that are standing there and even some kids walk straight through the scene. The photog moves a block away and shoots from the next street over and that's when he's arrested and charged with Obstruction of Governmental Administration….how can you obstruct from a block away.
LongIslandPress.com says the man behind the camera is Phil Datz, who works for Stringer News Service in New York:
Suffolk County police confirmed that Datz was arrested and said he was charged with obstruction of governmental administration. He was taken to the Fifth Precinct stationhouse in Patchogue where he was fingerprinted and had a mugshot taken. He was later released.
“We are reviewing the circumstances surrounding the arrest” of Datz, a police spokesman said. Datz can be heard referring to the cop as a “Sergeant” but the name and rank of the arresting officer was not released.
Ryan said a police officer apologized to him at the precinct, but told him nothing could be done about the arrest because Datz had already been booked.
From experience in writing about this topic, I am sure there are some who will laugh and say the only mistake the police officer made is he didn't destroy the camera and video. I find humor in lots of things many others find inappropriate. But this doesn't make me laugh. To me, it is extremely chilling and very sad.
As many of you who read this electronic rag know, I am very biased when it comes to this issue. I make no apologies for being hard-core pro-First Amendment. And I am kind of fond of that whole Constitution thing.
I know some who disagree with my position will start telling me how awful the news media is (and some in the news media are awful, as recently shown by the News Corp. debacle which now has possible connections to 9-11 victims). And others will tell me I don't know what's not on this video that the terrible man with the camera did. So, let me be clear I am only basing my opinion on what I see in this raw video.
What the police officer had to say on the video and the actions he took are plenty enough for me to once again point out that leaving decisions of what is and isn't okay for the public to see in the hands of uniformed and armed agents of our government is quite a scary scenario for the future of our country. And those who think these actions by police are just fine and call yourselves supporters and protectors of our way of life really need to study a little history and look closely at the countries where government does control the news media. This is my preemptive strike telling you to stop making excuses for people in uniform who are only selectively supporting the Constitution they are sworn to protect.
Below, are some other stories in recent months that help fuel my worries. Each has its own set of circumstances. I am sure many of you who feel differently than I do can find excuses for the actions of the police that will support your own interpretation of our rights. But I have to tell you it's not how they taught it to me in school.
Above is a video from the May 12 arrest of Emily Good in Rochester, New York. This case has received national attention. Good, who is described in news reports as an activist, shot the video of police activity while standing on her front lawn. The District Attorney quickly dropped charges against Good. The union representing the police has a different view on this and believes the safety of officers is what's at stake here. They also say that officers involved in Good's arrest have been threatened (read and watch that story).
James Sheppard, Rochester's police chief, ordered investigations of this incident and one where police ticketed cars belonging to supporters of Good gathered at a meeting (video here). Chief Sheppard told the Democrat and Chronicle on July 5 that he is waiting for results of the investigations before determining if there was any misconduct by Officer Mario Masic, who arrested Good. Here's more of the chief's comments::
He said he thought the video showed that Masic acted professionally, and said the stop that precipitated Good's arrest — the activity partly filmed by Good — was an example of "proactive" policing.
Police said there were suspected gang members in the car. No one was arrested from the vehicle.
Sheppard said the incident does show the need to remind police officers that they shouldn't be concerned if someone videotapes them without interference.
Chief Sheppard is exactly right. A lot of this is about training. Not just for police, but for all first responders who now have to do their jobs with cameras shooting them from all angles. As I have mentioned before, some EMS providers are using cameras during training to make sure when they hit the streets they can do their jobs competently despite someone taking pictures. I have watched law enforcement train for decades on how to ignore taunts and other actions of protesters during large demonstrations. Wouldn't it be smart to the same with cameras?
A story by Jack Minor in Colorado's Greeley Gazette looks at the attempt by some since 9-11 to declare photography illegal. It has some interesting comments by Greeley Police Chief Jerry Garner who confirms that his city does not have any law prohibiting taping of police officers (by the way, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Protective Service, the FBI, the U.S. Capitol Police and most every other law enforcement agencies in the Washington, DC area confirmed the same for me when I was a TV reporter working on a number of stories about this post 9-11 issue) :
Garner said he was amazed at how a lawful act such as videotaping could be considered illegal. Garner went on to say that he tells young officers to, "Do your job so that if you were being taped and the tape was shown to your loved ones you would never be ashamed."
Great words to live by for all of us in the digital video age.
Above is the story of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a man taking pictures of an arrest in your Nation's Capital on July 3 (what is it everyone was celebrating the next day?). Click here to read more about this incident in Georgetown.
When you look at the story above from June 19, I think you will understand why the DC police officer in the July 3 Georgetown incident believes citizens have no right to go about their business unmolested when they are taking pictures of cops in action on a public street. Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Chief Diane Groomes explains why it is okay for officers to confiscate your camera when you shoot an arrest scene. It leaves you wondering if the department will start taking the cameras of all news photographers who show up where people are being cuffed and stuffed. If not, what's the difference? And who is the press these days anyway? (For the record, as puzzled as I am about her comments, I have a great deal of respect for Chief Groomes and her treatment of the press based on my experience as a reporter in Washington.)
The video above is also from your Nation's Capital. This time the scene is not on a public street, but inside a public meeting of the DC Taxicab Commission. The officers are with the United States Park Police. In fact, the meeting is at a U.S. Park Police facility. Is it only me who finds it ironic that the people who seem the most outraged by the arrest of the reporter are taxi drivers who are immigrants from countries where the press and the citizenry don't have the freedoms that this country guarantees? Reporter Tom Sherwood wrote about this June 22 case here and has more to say here.
Now, before any of you make decisions about what my politics are are or start believing I don't support law enforcement or possibly mom, apple pie and the flag, watch the interview below with the reporter who took the video above. He was also arrested by U.S. Park Police. Notice who is doing the interview and completely supports the reporter's actions and thinks police were wrong. Judge Andrew P. Napolitano is the senior judicial analyst for the Fox News Channel. He also hosts the show Freedom Watch on the Fox Business Network where this interview took place.
On Friday night Modesto, California police officer Larry Meyer, with the help of an unidentified man, rescued a woman from her home that officials say she set on fire. Meyer also grabbed a garden hose in an attempt to deal with the fire while waiting for the arrival of firefighters. The fire was contained to a bedroom. The video above is from ModestoNews.org. Here's more from Erin Tracy in the Modesto Bee:
About 10:20 p.m., dispatch received a report of smoke coming from a home in the 1400 block of East Rumble Road, according to police Lt. Gary Watts.
Officer Larry Meyer arrived on the scene before the Fire Department and saw a man standing near the home's open front door. It's unclear who the man was, but he and Meyer entered the smoke-filled home to rescue the combative 56-year-old woman, Watts said.
What's wrong with this picture? Click the video above to watch this street drama unfold.
No date on this Detroit house fire on Temple Street between Park Avenue and Woodward Avenue. (UPDATE – Dennis Walus was kind enough to track this down and confirmed the fire was on Saturday at 72 Temple Street.)
The description says there is a ”man trapped upstairs claiming people downstairs were shooting at him” and that the area was “soon swarming with police.”
As Engine 1 drops its lines in front of the structure, look who is kind enough to catch the plug for them. It took a little bit before the cop got the message that unless he has a pump built into that cruiser he better move it.
While we are on the subject of Detroit, STATter911.com reader and contributor Paul Bassett (who knows his way around both a crime scene and a fireground), recently posted the video below from his July visit. Paul’s still photos can be found here.
Paul also has one of the nicest photo essays on the challenges faced by Detroit firefighters. We have previously posted it. In case you missed it, click here.
On a daily basis Dennis Walus is always out there taking great pictures of Detroit firefighters in action. His photos can be found here.
And our friend in Chicago, Steve Redick, makes regular trips to Detroit. His Detroit videos are here.
A must read update: The Facebook post from Columbus, MS that caused veteran firefighter to resign. Three others get long suspensions for hitting “Like”.
23 commentsAs we’ve been reporting, there has been a good deal of controversy in Columbus, Mississippi over a Facebook post that resulted in the resignation of Firefighter Brad Alexander and the 30-day suspensions of two other firefighters and a cop. The post that caused all of this had been taken down from Alexander’s personal Facebook page and until now had not been part of the news coverage. Sarah Wilson at the Columbus Packet was able to track down the actual post and it was published this morning:
The posting on Facebook came after Alexander responded to a child struck by a pickup truck on August 20th. According to the Columbus Packet, two-year-old Tyree Sparks Jr. was being watched by a family friend when he ran from the porch into the street and was hit. The boy recovered from relatively minor head injuries:
Reporter Wilson writes that relatives of the boy are quite upset about the post and are considering legal action. Also, a group of citizens are organizing a fundraiser to assist the Facebook 4, as they have been dubbed.
Much of the controversy stems around the suspensions for Firefighter Damon Estes, Firefighter Eric Minga and Police Officer Lance Luckey who hit “like” after reading the post. Columbus, Mississippi does not have a social media policy.
According to Wilson, there is no comment from city officials about the identities of the other 12 people who clicked “like” for this now infamous post.
