Another Cop Abusing Authority, This Time Against A Fireman

[swifty]

Firefighter arrested on emergency call, now officer fined $18,000


St. Louis, MO - A battle between a police officer and a firefighter in the middle of an emergency call is costing the officer $18,000.
var jsVideoWidgetSize = 0; var jsVideoWidgetVideoId = 217923Watch raw video from the dashcam

While responding to an emergency call on the interstate, Officer Todd Greeves wanted a fire truck moved to open up another lane of traffic but the Robertson Fire Protection District Captain wanted the truck there to protect emergency workers.

The police officer arrested the fire captain in the middle of efforts to move an injured driver from the interstate.

The whole incident was captured on dash cam video and the videotape is what led to the federal court jury's verdict, ordering the officer to pay $18,00

Officer Greeves' attorney says he's disappointed and that his client's conduct was not malicious in any way.

Missouri law grants firefighters the right to park their vehicles wherever they want, but Hazelwood, Missouri's police chief says he still believes police have the right to regulate traffic and have fire trucks moved.

Video (http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=233_1203031330)

Lucky the cop got what he deserved. However I do see this as a growing problem in America's Law Enforcement. It's not rokey officers but senior offices who have trouble interacting with honest citizens accused of minor offenses (speeding, skateboarding, etc). It seems that officers on a daily basis will mostly interact whit other officers or repeat criminals and have little interaction with the general public. In their personal lives cops seem to marry cops and only hang out with other cops. When working unless they are have to come face to face the the scum of society. It seams over the years more and more cops are developing them against the world mentality.

The problem also lies with society. We continue to require local police to do more and more and slowly allowing them to become a military organization. 15 years a go every patrolling cop would wearer the standard uniform consisting of shoes, slacks, dress shirt, and cover. Now for for every one I See in the standard uniform I see 2 to 3 in combat boots, cargo fatigues (sometimes camo), and either a BUD top or polo shirt, topped off whit a ball cap. It is also standard to see cops patrolling a station or building carrying M-14s. This is a lot of fire power for a crowded public place with no imminent threat. But hey those are gust my thoughts what are yours?

[Yahoshua]

After conferring with multiple retired LEOs' over the years on various incidents (such as this one), it is now an understood situation that Law Enforcement in U.S. society is actually of inferior quality than officers were a mere 20 or 30 years ago.

There has been a disturbing trend in which the quality of candidate and current officers has been compromised in the name of "diversity" and due to an increasingly short list of applicants that would pass under standards that would've been applied to applicants 20 years ago. While the equipment officers have been given are of admirable quality and performance, the training to effectively use the tools at the disposal of current LE and the lack of encouragement to individual officers to familiarize themselves with their equipment is dismal at best.

As a result, we are reaping the harvest of a grossly undertrained, underpaid, unappreciated, and compromised program in LE. It is becoming a frightening picture in which LE is quickly forgetting how to interact with fellow citizens, succumbing to a looped "Us vs. Them" mentality within LE circles. Combined with repetitive and near-continous scandals, it comes of little surprise that those who perceive themselves as being unfairly treated by members of LE efforts often have little appreciation for LE and almost no motivation for assisting the LE community.

Worsening the situation is the apparrent militarizing of LE in both dress and behavior. The terror attacks on 9/11 had the unfortunate side-result in the "gearing up" of LE depts, most small towns now have SWAT gear and heavily armored APCs'. When in reality, the funds spent on this gear would be better used in overhauling and instituting more rigorous and frequent training for LEOs'. The militarizing of LE departments is critically endagnering the proper role of LE in American society, threatening to transform our current LE into a paramilitary occupation force more willing to intrude on the private lives of citizens and flaunt the rights guaranteed by the constitution.

As the situation is now, it is a dismal spiral into the future of a police-state.

[Sailor Steve]

I see that while the verdict has just been reached, the incident actually took place five years ago.

Just from a video-watching neutral point of view, that was actually pretty funny!

[Kapitan_Phillips]

Now for for every one I See in the standard uniform I see 2 to 3 in combat boots, cargo fatigues (sometimes camo), and either a BUD top or polo shirt, topped off whit a ball cap.

The uniform depends upon the duties the officer is assigned. Polo shirts dont suprise me, especially on officers with civic roles, like traffic regulation or something like that, although I highly doubt you'd see any on-duty officers in camo and a Budweiser shirt. Are you sure they weren't on their break? ;)

[sonar732]

Let's add another one from Shreveport, LA late last year.

Video (http://shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080220/VIDEO/80220030/1084/VIDEO)

[August]

Let's add another one from Shreveport, LA late last year.

Video (http://shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080220/VIDEO/80220030/1084/VIDEO)

I watched the videos and read the related articles and i don't see anything that shows he deliberately beat her.

From one of the articles:

n dealing with a DWI suspect, officers turn on a video camera to record the breath testing, according to police. Once that’s done, they turn it off and go into another room for processing. The taping itself is to be used as evidence in court.

“After her refusal to take the breath test, officer Willis turned off and saved the videotape in accordance with normal practice,” Brainard said. “The suspect again tried to leave the room. In the process of (Willis) stopping her, she fell and injured herself.”

Willis called 911 then turned the video camera back on, Brainard said. Blood was only on Garbarino and the floor, which supports Willis’ version, Brainard said.