Oklahoma Highway Patrol releases dash cam video from the Trooper vs. EMS incident

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Permalink Reply by Chad Furr on June 13, 2009 at 11:52am

Well from what I seen I would say the OHP officer should have his badge, gun, car, and balls removed from him. Just my thought on the subject though. Maybe the county that this occured in should do a bit better communications between different agencies. That way the police would know why the ambulance was driving like it was. TCSS

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Permalink Reply by Truckie Jay on June 13, 2009 at 2:18pm

First, the EMS unit didn't fail to yield in my opinion. I will GIVE I stress give that the unit took 10 seconds to pull over for the Trooper. That is nothing for highway speeds with a the moving over due to a stranded vehicle on the side of the road. This Trooper blew this wayyyy out of proportion. He did assault the medic that is evident on the tape. He did endanger patient care, that is evident on the tape. He almost caused abandonment, thankfully his fellow Officers stepped in and cooler heads prevailed.

That said this Trooper is reportedly just recently back from serving in Iraq. This no doubt was a stressful situation, we've all heard and seen our Troops come back from over there. I'm willing to bet this Trooper either didn't or couldn't take the necessary time off to unwind and adjust from that tour. That is truly a smear on our system.

Does that make what he did right? No, but it should definately be strongly considered when we watch this video and talk about this incident. I hope this Officer gets some help and is able to return fit for duty and this incident becames a reminder to him for future encounters and training.

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Permalink Reply by Oldman on June 13, 2009 at 6:06pm

Well I'm glad they finally released the video. The first video shot by the family member was pretty one sided. The dashcam from the patrol car gave a different perspective of the incident leading up to where the family video started. After watching it, I have to say both the trooper and the medic share responsibility for the way this incident transpired.

The trooper evidently was having a bad day and was already pumped up by the time he exited the vehicle. He was displaying the "I have the badge and gun, how dare you not do what I say" attitude. Maybe because his wife was riding in the car with him and he was proving what a big man he is. Maybe he always has that attitude. What ever the reason, he came out barking and started the incident off badly. There were better ways to deal with it.

Now I have a BIG problem with the medic jumping out of the truck leaving his patient. This is dangerously close to abandonment. Yes, he is the In-charge, but his primary responsibility is his patient. Now we don't know the nature of the illness for which the patient was being transported, but apparently the patient was stable. But anyone who has been in this business for a while knows that a stable patient can go south quick, fast and in a hurry. I'm sure the yelling and screaming outside the patient compartment was having a real calming effect on her. So when the medic came out of the truck, he was responsible for causing the escalation of the "my cahones are bigger than yours".

By definition, assault is the unwanted touching of another. When the trooper started pointing and threatening the medic, he (the medic) did, by trying to keep the trooper at arms length, touch the trooper. So technically, the medic did assault the trooper. After that it went from bad to worse.

So you see I am not defending either one of them. They both had a role. I still believe that OHP troopers are taught to be rear orifices in the academy, and some come by it naturally. But had I been the medic on this call, I would have stayed with my patient, and notified my supervisor.

After watching both videos, I think the DA was caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place, and either had to take no action, or charge both of them. I would hope that after the brew-ha-ha dies down, the medic and trooper can sit down together in private, maybe with a couple of cold ones, and agree that this was such a trivial incident that got out of hand, so that it doesn't effect future incidents where they may be called upon to work together.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on June 13, 2009 at 6:26pm

I have no problem with the patient leaving the patient compartment at all. When he did so, the door was open and he had line-of-sight with the patient. The trooper's hot-headedness, not the paramedic's action, is what changed that dynamic.

The definition of includes terminating the patient-provider relationship, and that act must be intentional of medical abandonment on the part of the provider. This situation was neither. The relationship wasn't terminated - the crew got back into the ambulance and completed the transport when the troopers allowed it, and their intent the entire time was to protect the patient and complete the transport. The dash cam video clearly shows that the EMS crew offered to face arrest at the hospital...in other words, they were both clearly advocating for their patient's best interests over their own, in the highest traditions of the service.

Stepping out of the rig and then returning to it doesn't meet the abandonment definition, and the intent was clearly the exact opposite.

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Permalink Reply by Oldman on June 13, 2009 at 7:46pm

Ben,

I'm sure you meant the medic leaving the patient compartment, but it is pretty hard to have line of sight when one is up against the drivers side of the box. I'm not arguing that they didn't have the patients interest in mind, and yes they did offer to turn themselves in at the hospital. Yes the trooper was clearly the instigator of the whole incident. The point is, one cannot have a fight alone. It always takes at least two, so the medic had a part as well. I never said they had an equal role in the escalation.

By definition, "Abandonment of a patient, in medicine, occurs when a health care professional (usually a physician, nurse, dentist or paramedic) has already begun emergency treatment of a patient and then suddenly walks away while the patient is still in need, without securing the services of an adequate substitute or giving the patient adequate opportunity to find one". Now I firmly believe the medic had the consent of the patient before he stepped out of the truck, so you are correct. Technically, it would not be abandonment.

But I wonder, IF the medic had stayed with the patient instead of stepping out, would the incident have escalated the way it did? Perhaps the trooper felt intimidated. Lets face it, the medic was a pretty big guy compared to the trooper. Then again, it did appear the trooper was looking for a fight anyway, so it might not have made a difference.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Owens on June 13, 2009 at 8:07pm

Hopefully the trooper gets fired....cant have a guy as high strung as that with the ability to arrest and shoot people.

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Permalink Reply by DUST on June 13, 2009 at 8:40pm

Prediction for the trooper: Goodbye Oklahoma Highway Patrol....Hello security guard at Oklahoma mall.

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Permalink Reply by Brian D. on June 13, 2009 at 11:32pm

No way! This guy shouldn't be in any position of authority anywhere!

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Permalink Reply by Ted Bownas on June 13, 2009 at 9:34pm

I have to agree with both Ben and Oldman - in differing degrees.

First, the ambulance definitely DID appear to yield for the OHP car, as soon as the driver realized it was behind him - he appeared to be focused on circumnavigating the vehicle on the side of the road; as soon as he returned to his lane, he realized the police car was behind him and pulled to the right as far as the shoulder would allow.

Second, the OHP car, I couldn't help noticing, spent no more than fifteen SECONDS on-scene at whatever "incident" they were responding to, then immediately took off in pursuit of the ambulance, leading me to question the necessity for their emergency response mode in the first place.

Once the ambulance was stopped, the paramedic should absolutely NOT have left the patient compartment...at that point, he and the driver should have both remained in the vehicle unless directed otherwise by the officer. If you're proceeding with the flow of traffic, you're NOT an emergency vehicle, and should not expect to be treated any differently by a police unit, whose personnel have no way of knowing there's a patient in the back. I don't think there's a case for patient abandonment, but the paramedic shouldn't leave the patient unattended - it's bad business no matter what the reason.

I might even go so far as to say that if the driver of the ambulance had stayed in his seat and apologized to the officer when he walked up to the rig, and explained that he was focused on the stopped vehicle, and also that he had a patient in the rear, the situation may have been defused on the spot.

Don't get me wrong - that's NOT to say that the officer was acting appropriately - he obviously wasn't. But the situation escalated with the emotional input of the paramedic and the patient's family.

This is a bad overreaction (on the part of the OHP trooper) made worse by the reactions of the ambulance crew and patient's family. And unfortunately, now it'll be tried in the court of public opinion...where everyone loses.

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Permalink Reply by Oldman on June 13, 2009 at 10:07pm

Ted,

The court of public opinion can get real nasty, but imagine what can be accomplished if all branches of public service can somehow utilize this as a teaching tool.

LE could use it to show how a poor attitude on a "simple" traffic stop can turn into a mess. How if the officer uses courtesy and tact even IF he is having a bad day, will leave a better impression on the public.

Fire and EMS could use this to show that if we are operating in a non-emergency mode, we should be vigilant to the possibility of other emergency vehicles and possibly react in a more timely manner. To slow down if necessary, and as you said, stay in the vehicle instead of immediately exiting which might be perceived as confrontational.

We all need to play nice because one day, we will need an officer to come to our aid, and maybe that officer might need our assistance one day should he be a little impatient and be involved in a collision.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on June 13, 2009 at 9:43pm

I guess I can't see how the paramedic could have line-of-sight contact with the patient with the doors closed and arguing with the officer.

Everyone has bad days, and it was unfortunate that all parties involved had bad days at the same time.

The shameful part is that it was documented on film for all to see.

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Permalink Reply by Station10Capt106 on June 13, 2009 at 9:45pm

Wow. I really think the OHP was way out of line. His approach on the ambulance was very fast and with the car on the side of the road the ambulance didn't have time to immediately get over. It seemed like they eased over as soon as they passed the vehicle.

I do think that the paramedic in the back could have or should have stayed in the back with the patient. The situation might not have escalated as much. But seeing the actions of the OHP, I think he was pumped up and in a bad mood and was looking for a confrontation and nothing was going to keep him from it.

John

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