After scouring the internet for a topic for this week's edition of my blog I came across the video below. Please take a look at the video for a quick overview of the discussion to follow.

As you can imagine my first reaction to this was, WOW!!!...What would make a police officer arrest a firefighter while the firefighter was still actively working the scene of the crash.  Was this simply a case of the officer being disrespected because the firefighter didn't move fast enough?  Did this officer talk to his supervisor before taking such drastic action?  Did any of the officers ask any of the other firefighters to move the truck before this "Arrest" was made?

When we think of ethical dilemmas that police officers face everyday, does a situation like this come to mind?  At first I didn't think so, but as I gave this scenario a little more thought I came to the conclusion that the officer certainly had to justify this arrest in his head before he took action.  He certainly had to reason it out and know that there were ethical implications involved.  From everything I've read and the videos I've seen it appears that the officer acted on his own.  Is this another case of an officer being disrespected and the actions that follow are his way of getting his respect back?  I can't help but believe that is exactly the case.  As a police supervisor for 20 years I have been to countless accident scenes.  During my experiences there have surely been disagreements with firefighters on where they parked, how long they were taking, what hospital they were going to, etc.  However, I've never even remotely considered arresting any of them for failing to obey an officer.  Firefighters and police officers have extremely difficult jobs as it is.  There is no way I would consider arresting a firefighter for something of this nature.

I can think of a number of steps the officer could've taken to avoid this public relations fiasco.  The first thought that came to mind was whether or not he asked a supervisor for their assistance.  Police supervisors are tasked with protecting the agency and its officers from decisions just like this.  The officer who made this choice clearly could've taken the extra couple of minutes to call for a sergeant to come to the scene.  Upon the arrival of the sergeant the officer could've relayed his concerns and they could have worked on a solution together.  If I were the sergeant at the scene I would have asked to speak to the firefighter's supervisor and together I think we would have worked out a solution that would not have involved the type of fallout we see here.

Here are some questions many of you probably had as you watched this video:

 Did the officer ask any of the other firefighters to move the truck?  That would have been my first course of action.  I would have found someone else to move the truck and then I would take the issue up with that firefighter's supervisor.

Why was the officer in such a hurry to clear the scene?  While the hopeful part of my brain says that he was in a hurry so they could open the road and clear the traffic jam.  The cynical part of me thinks it might've been close to shift change or maybe he was running late for his lunch break.

Finally, since this "Arrest" only lasted several minutes what should the ramifications be for the officer?  That is a good question and one that I'm sure will generate numerous comments.  As far as I'm concerned I think the officer should be reprimanded for his actions.  Although the video only shows the result of what happened when the firefighter did not obey the officer we don't know exactly what led up to it.  Either way I can think of no way to justify what the officer did.  As I mentioned above this is an issue that should have been handled after the fact by the fire department.  This was still an active scene and the officer's rush to arrest one of the firefighter's seemed to be an emotional one not one based what the public would expect from a reasonable and prudent officer. This officer needs to understand that the bad publicity he has brought to himself and his agency could have been easily avoided.   It could have been avoided if he would have done any of the things mentioned above.

This is just another instance where police officers end up being their own worst enemy.  I wonder what percentage of the public took the officer's side in this case.  Like you, I bet that number is extremely small.  Officers continue to bring bad press to not only themselves and their departments, but also to our profession.  We all need to think long and hard before we take away someone's freedom.  We should give even more thought when we consider the ramifications of an event like this, which is sure to generate coverage form both the public and the media.

Thanks again for taking a few minutes to read my blog.  I appreciate all of you stopping by and I am looking forward to reading your comments regarding this incident.  I hope you all have a great week.