Slap on the wrist for cop who assaulted paramedic

Mark Frauenfelder 1:20 pm Thu Jul 23, 2009

Update to the story about the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper who was more interested in choking a paramedic than he was in the condition of the patient in the ambulance. Trooper Daniel Martin was suspended for five days and ordered to "anger assessment."

From J.D. Tuccille's Civil Liberties Examiner site:

"Anger assessment" is that greatest of meaningless institutional butt-coverings. It allows organizational higher-ups to tell the lawyers that they're doing something without actually doing something. It's nonsense.

What needs to be assessed in a police officer who was fired in 2000 as Chief of Police in Fairfax, Oklahoma, for violent and bullying behavior, and who then endangers a patient in an ambulance and picks a fight while in uniform?

Daniel Martin was out of line, acting like a cartoon cop outraged that somebody didn't "respect mah authoritah." While letting his bruised ego run wild, he behaved unprofessionally and, potentially, put a life at risk.

Five days without pay and a bit of psychobabble are an awfully light slap on the wrist for that sort of misconduct.

Slap on the wrist for cop who assaulted paramedic

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