UPDATED: Trooper Daniel Martin says he was given the finger by ambulance driver. Read Oklahoma Highway Patrol statements.
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June 16 update: Paramedic White says Trooper Martin should have badge and gun taken away
More STATter911.com coverage: Trooper’s lawyer says medic is danger to the community; Dash cam video released; Fox News interviews EMS crew & Trooper Martin; Trooper on administrative leave; No charges filed by DA; EMT-B Paul Franks speaks out; Read statements from Toopers Martin & Iker; Troopers identified; Statements from witnesses and the patient; Reaction from police officers; Statements from EMS crew.
Watch KWTV-TV story on the troopers’ statements and the interview with medic’s attorney
Atlanta medic wants boycott of Oklahoma products because of confrontation
UPDATE– I had a brief conversation with District 24 District Attorney Max Cook on Tuesday. He explained that the initial and primary focus of the ongoing investigation is to determine if any charges will be brought against the EMS crew. While it is not the current priority, Cook would not rule out the possibility his office could look to see if there is any merit to claims the OHP troopers interfered with EMS providers.
For the first time we are hearing the police version of events leading up to the dramatic May 24 confrontation caught on video between the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and a Creek Nation ambulance crew. Trooper Daniel Martin believed the driver of that ambulance, EMT-B Paul Franks, had raised his middle finger toward the trooper.
Paramedic Maurice White Jr., tending to the patient, had indicated in his account that Franks had thrown up his hands in surprise.
The statements from Martin and Trooper Bryan Iker were given to the District Attorney’s Office in Okfuskee County and were released on Monday by OHP.
As had been reported before, Trooper Martin was responding with lights and siren to assist the Okfuskee County Sheriff’s Office with a stolen-vehicle. Creek Nation officials previously confirmed the ambulance was not using its emergency equipment.
In Martin’s statement he indicates the ambulance didn’t yield and instead pulled out in front of him. In their accounts, released last week, the EMS crew reported they did not hear the siren and could not see the trooper who was close to the back of the ambulance. Both sides agree that Martin came over the radio telling Franks he should be more observant.
In his report, White said Franks threw up his hands in surprise when they received the radio call from Martin, urging them to check their rear-view mirrors.
White said he thinks the trooper might have mistaken Franks’ hands in the air as an obscene finger gesture.
Once on the scene of the stolen-car report in Paden, Martin said he saw the ambulance pass and observed Franks extend his left hand out the window with his middle finger raised.
“I took the gesture as a sign of defiance to (the) failure to yield earlier, and that they (ambulance) did not believe they had a responsibility to adhere to the rules of the road in regards to my emergency vehicle,” Martin said.
Seeing that the stolen-car call was under control, Martin said, he chased the ambulance until it pulled over.
Once he got out of his cruiser, he was trying to talk to Franks when he saw White get out of the ambulance and slam the “door in a hostile manner.”
Martin said White kept getting between them, despite repeatedly being told by Martin to back off.
The trooper told Franks he was going to be cited for failure to yield, adding that “I did not appreciate his hand gesture.”
White said the trooper bolted out of his car in a huff and yelled at Franks, “What do you mean flipping me off?”
White said he tried to explain to the trooper that they were taking a woman to the hospital and asked if they could continue the matter once they got there.
But White said the trooper would have none of it and insisted on giving Franks a ticket then.
However, Martin said White kept getting in his way, and he finally tried to arrest him for obstructing an officer. That sparked the first of two scuffles as Martin said he tried to arrest White but the paramedic threw up his arms to resist.
A number of relatives of the patient had followed the ambulance and were in the street.
Fearing possible violence, Martin said he backed away from White and then went to his cruiser to radio Trooper Bryan Iker for help.
The trooper said only when White got back into the ambulance was he able to speak with Franks. Martin said Franks assured him he did not give the trooper the finger gesture and apologized for not yielding.
The trooper then walked back to the ambulance and tried to tell White he would be arrested once he arrived at the hospital, but the paramedic was not in the ambulance with the patient.
Martin said he walked around to the passenger side of the ambulance where White was standing. White was angry, wanting to file charges against the trooper for assaulting a paramedic, he said.
Another scuffle ensued, and Martin said White grabbed him around the neck, refusing to let go.
Iker’s report backs up Martin’s account of the second scuffle.
Martin said he applied a choke hold on White’s neck to release the grip. With White calmed down, Martin said he told the paramedics to go to the hospital and he would follow.
Martin said that if he were allowed to speak with Franks uninterrupted, the confrontation would not have happened.
