Power Trip

Abuses of power are prevalent around the world and throughout history. Just look at the Iran voting scandal. When certain groups gain an edge over another, the typical result is suppression.

Needless to say, power abuse happens in a much smaller sense to everyday Americans. A glaring example comes from a recently surfaced video of an Oklahoma state trooper pulling over an ambulance while on its way to the hospital and choking the emergency medical technician.  

Before I rant and rave on this incident I need to clarify an important point. State and highway patrol officers have one of the most dangerous jobs in this country. They are forced to walk next to vehicles going 70 mph and have no idea whom they are pulling over.

For all the officer knows, a routine traffic stop could pose a life-threatening scenario. So my complaint is not with the institution as a whole – without these men and women patrolling the streets, we would have mayhem.

That being said, the chances of an ambulance being a threat to society is fairly minute. In a video of the incident, you can see the officer approach the ambulance and start yelling at the driver for allegedly giving him the bird.

The officer was not pulling over the vehicle because it was disobeying traffic laws. Rather, the officer felt insulted and decided to react. Once the driver was pulled over, the officer began to lecture him. After some heated exchanges, another officer arrived on the scene. The first officer proceeded to put the emergency medical technician in an arm bar and then a choke hold. The paramedic was trying to explain that there was a woman in the back of the ambulance, but the officers ignored his plea.

Thankfully, the paramedic was not arrested and the woman finally made it to the hospital. She was apparently suffering from heat exhaustion.  However, there is no way the officers could have known what the victim’s status was. What if the woman had a heart attack or a collapsed lung where seconds mean everything? Her survival rate would have been severely damaged by the first officer’s actions.

I understand the officer’s feeling of anger or rage. I too would want to run down the car that offended me and want to put the driver in a choke hold. But as an officer of the law, it is his duty to show restraint and provide an example for other drivers on the road.

State and highway patrol officers are given the responsibilities to protect and serve citizens. These institutions were not designed to allow harassment or personal vengeance. They are supposed to be held to a higher standard and expected to act accordingly. Obviously, that’s not always true. I only hope that this incident serves as a reminder of that responsibility.