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F*** the police? Hold on, tiger

JPNor

Shared on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 08:12

In the small world of northern New England, we cling onto really meaningless news stories. The news comments are generally filled with racist soapboxing, and many people who really despise the police for overstepping the boundaries they are supposedly allowed. One very recent story that's been on the front page of the local news websites for the last week (remember: tedium) is about a man fighting a speeding ticket he received taking his wife to the hospital while she was in labor.

One story is here, but I'll break down the facts:

  • -It was early in the morning, and he was clocked going 102 in a 55mph zone.
  • -He called 911 on his cell phone and told the dispatcher his wife was moments from delivering a baby.
  • -The officer got in front of the man's car and provided an escort to the hospital.
  • -The baby was born six minutes after the couple's arrival at the hospital.
  • -The officer congratulated the man, and then handed him a speeding ticket.

The state has publicly announced that they will stand by the speeding ticket because the soon-to-be-father endangered the lives of himself, his wife, his unborn child and the public by driving so fast. The news articles have yielded a firestorm of anti-police commentary from the family's supporters, who claim that had the man stopped, his baby would have been born in the shoulder of I-93; the family simply needed the medical attention available at the hospital and not at the hands of a state trooper; any other request for medical attention or a quick transit to the hospital would simply have further delayed the family and put the baby at risk.

The comments on the local news stories aren't quite as polite as the above explanation - most of the people flashing their opinions around share a common "fuck the police" mentality. Which, maybe, is why I'm bringing the debate (and my opinion) to this particular venue, so it doesn't immediately turn into a political shit-slinging and name-calling. At least I hope not.

Personally, I think the guy deserves the ticket. I'm not sure what police protocol is in this sort of thing, but considering the officer was willing to escort the family to the hospital I believe he would have transported the man and his wife into the police car and taken them there himself. Maybe I'm more of a big picture kind of guy but if the car had blasted through an intersection and killed a pedestrian, this would have been a much bigger story than it already is. We have a couple police officers on this site and I think I know what their opinion will be, but I'm curious to hear dissenting opinions too.

Comments

Duckman's picture
Submitted by Duckman on Wed, 01/12/2011 - 14:46
In this day and age the Officer has to write the ticket and let the courts decide on punishment, if any. Problem is in the article the guy already missed one court date so he is not making any friends there!
JPNor's picture
Submitted by JPNor on Wed, 01/12/2011 - 16:32
Hey Duck that was actually a screwup on the part of the state (the article isn't really clear). They sent him a notice of his court date but had the date wrong in their system, so when he showed up with his wife and baby the court turned him away.
strue's picture
Submitted by strue on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 08:37
I worked for 6 years as a Paramedic in a medium sized city. In my six years i delieverd 5 babies. None of them were "expected ". If that family would have just used the 911 service they'd paid their taxes for instead of driving like morons. They'd not have a pretty new ticket to go with their baby. Average response time for most EMS services is 5-10 minutes. It'll take longer than that to even have a baby if it was "crowning".
AngryJason's picture
Submitted by AngryJason on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 08:57
I liken this to the 'Law and Disorder" episode of the Brady Bunch, season 4. Bobby was drunk on power, but learned that there are some situations where breaking the rules is warranted. Sounds like the police officer who issued the ticket never had to go into an abandoned building to save a cat. On the flip side, I would think that if I had gone through that, and my lady had just delivered my child, I wouldn't really care about the ticket. Got to the hospital safe, kid has the requisite number of fingers, toes and eyes, life's good, take the ticket and have a funny story to tell later in life.
Snuphy's picture
Submitted by Snuphy on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 09:20
Article says the guy is afraid he'll lose his license. To save my license, I'd probably ask a judge for sympathy too. Otherwise, they guy should pay the ticket. And he should be happy the trooper was cool enuf to provide an escort instead of pulling him over and calling EMS, which is probably what he should have done.
Jedi_Kez's picture
Submitted by Jedi_Kez on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 09:29
He broke the law, he gets a ticket, really it's that simple. If you were allowed to speed due to pregnant wife about to deliver, that would have been added as an exception to that law.
CrypticCat's picture
Submitted by CrypticCat on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 10:11
I'm on two minds, Firstly from the father's perspective, I'm so with him. I never had the pleasure of being granted a kid, but if I was, I would prolly lose my military cool and make decisions like rushing my wife to the hospital using my car as a LeopardII. The police overhere is even restricted in speed when using lights and horns, they can only go like 20Kmph faster than the regulated maximum speed under that condition. Unless of course forced to break that barrier. But in those cases, their conduct is being investigated afterwards. Special branches of the KLPD are free from that restriction, the most well-known branch of that are traffic-law enforcers who chase down speeders. I totally understand the father, but no-one is above the law. Though overhere the escorting police-officer would prolly wave the ticket issuing because the police overhere is still very much touchy-feely. The police-officer made the right call and most of the anti-responses are mostly people who generally already believe that the laws are in place to keep them face down in the dirt.
Raider30's picture
Submitted by Raider30 on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 23:25
As an officer going that fast is unsafe for everyone, though as a father I can understand his desire to get his wife to the hospital. He should accept the ticket. However, the police cut people breaks all the time on speed, that is the speed cited on the ticket vs the actual speed the person is going. Someone else mentioned he was fighting the ticket because he was afraid he would lose his license(I didn't read the article), in this instance the officer could have dropped it to say 75 in a 55 or something that would not trigger the loss of a license. Thus the law breaker is punished but also cut a break due to circumstances.

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