As a retired police officer, firefighter, paramedic and currently a leader in the Stop Willful Ignorance movement, I respond to this with the following. This CHP officer is following orders from his command. BUT THIS ORDER IS AN UNLAWFUL ORDER AND ARREST. Locally, here in the Tennessee/Virginia area, the highway congestion is nothing compared to the large coastal area cities in California. Ive worked as a police officer both in Bristol and San Diego. The only difference between drivers in California and the Tri Cities is the number of vehicles on the highway. If there is a traffic collision ANYWHERE other drivers MUST look at the crash scene, just hoping to see blood and guts. Then they cause other collisions. Ive been working a traffic collision and had my police car struck AND I WAS PARKED ON THE SHOULDER with emergency lights on and road flares laid out on the highway. Only to find MY car come to rest next to ME. Ive had a couple of supervisors come onto my crash scene and tell me to tell the fire department to move their truck out of the way. WHY?? Because they wanted to open up a traffic lane to allow more vehicles through and so they didnt have to work traffic control. Each case resulted in a quick argument with me refusing to order them to move and reminding them of the CIVIL LIABILITY that they were opening the police department to. Including with HIM being named in the lawsuit. About the only vehicle that is capable of moving a fully loaded and operational fire truck is another truck of equal or larger size. At these collisions where you have to cut people out of cars, getting them on backboards, starting life saving treatment and add to that at least seven firefighters and paramedics minimum working the crash. As a paramedic I cant start an IV on a person trapped in a crushed car with my butt hanging out into unprotected space. Nor as a firefighter can I work the Jaws or doing other things to extricate crash victims without the fear of getting killed or seriously injured. All of this arresting fire truck driver/engineers for parking the fire apparatus in such a way as to provide protective cover for emergency workers and the victims. All because that CHP officer wanted to open up the traffic lane NEXT to the collision. Many states are now enforcing the Move Over Law. That law is to protect law enforcement officers who have a vehicle stopped for whatever reason on a multi lane highway. California has this law. But it only is for law enforcement. The day I ever see law enforcement arrest a working firefighter for not moving the fire truck is the day Ill lead a march on the courthouse where the mayor or city manager works. Common sense seems to be a brain function that many people have lost or never had at all. Plus with the attitude I have today, if I were a firefighter and seen thus happen Id start pumping as many police cars full of water as I could.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 16:44:55 +0000
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