Cop Handcuffs Firefighter

[SciFi Chick]

What an absolute dickhead on a powertrip.

[Swift]

What an absolute dickhead on a powertrip.

To paraphrase Mark Twain, "Never attribute to dickheadedness what can equally be attributed to stupidity"

I just hope the cop never has a fire at his house.

[FZR1KG]

Not 100% sure but doesn't the fire department have priority over police in certain situations, like a burning building or an accident?

[Swift]

Not 100% sure but doesn't the fire department have priority over police in certain situations, like a burning building or an accident?

I'm not sure what the law is, and I'm not even sure it is uniform within the US. When I was in Rhode Island, in my EMT days (30 years ago), the question of who was in charge of a scene depended on exactly what kind of incident it was. If it was a crime scene, it would generally be the cops; if it was a medical incident, it would be us (with one exception). The exception was if the person had to be taken to a hospital against their will (usually for a mental health emergency); a police officer had to make that determination, though we would offer our advice (which wasn't always followed).

We didn't deal a lot with car accidents, so I don't recall.

I literally had one or two times where a cop asked us to move a vehicle, but it would always be during a lull in the action (or they'd ask someone who didn't seem very busy) and it was always very polite ("Hey, could you put the jeep over there so we can get that cruiser out" "Sure, no problem")

[FZR1KG]

I do a lot of work with the fire departments in Oz and some work with the police and ambulance services.
I've never seen or even heard of behaviour such as this.
Pretty sure it's also a unique case in the US, namely one total dickhead that's about to get a huge fire cracker up his ass ignited and for good reason.
I know how it works in Oz, pretty much like what you described, depends on the nature of the incident.
If its a fire then the fire dept takes control.
If its a crime scene then the police do.
If its an accident then the paramedics have the stage.
The above is general because it's treated as a form of triage.
The most serious threat at the time determines who has control.
Not sure if that is an unwritten rule or not but in Oz they all support each other rather than try to take jurisdiction over the other.
Though as I said, I image it's the same here except for MrBurningAsshole.

[cid]

This same thing (minus the cuffs) happened to a friend of mine who is a fire dept Lieutenant at the scene of an accident. The police officer in question wound up having to choose which orifice to defecate from, as his superior ripped him a new one...

[SciFi Chick]

I do a lot of work with the fire departments in Oz and some work with the police and ambulance services.
I've never seen or even heard of behaviour such as this.
Pretty sure it's also a unique case in the US, namely one total dickhead that's about to get a huge fire cracker up his ass ignited and for good reason.
I know how it works in Oz, pretty much like what you described, depends on the nature of the incident.
If its a fire then the fire dept takes control.
If its a crime scene then the police do.
If its an accident then the paramedics have the stage.
The above is general because it's treated as a form of triage.
The most serious threat at the time determines who has control.
Not sure if that is an unwritten rule or not but in Oz they all support each other rather than try to take jurisdiction over the other.
Though as I said, I image it's the same here except for MrBurningAsshole.

You are correct, which is why I posted this. That "cop" is a freakin' moron and will be shunned by his own as well as the firefighters, assuming he isn't just fired. What he did is uncalled for and absolutely stupid. Especially his reasoning, "I told you to move the truck and you said no." What a fucking moron.

[geonuc]

In terms of the law, I believe the protocols for establishing priority at a scene are just that, protocols. But if it comes to a dispute, the police have the ultimate authority.

[FZR1KG]

In terms of the law, I believe the protocols for establishing priority at a scene are just that, protocols. But if it comes to a dispute, the police have the ultimate authority.

So that's why in the old wild west movies if there was a crooked sheriff and a good guy trapped in a burning building the sheriff pull his gun and says let it burn. It's in accordance with the law. Damn. Truth in movies.

[geonuc]

In terms of the law, I believe the protocols for establishing priority at a scene are just that, protocols. But if it comes to a dispute, the police have the ultimate authority.

So that's why in the old wild west movies if there was a crooked sheriff and a good guy trapped in a burning building the sheriff pull his gun and says let it burn. It's in accordance with the law. Damn. Truth in movies.

Uh, yeah, exactly.

[cid]

In terms of the law, I believe the protocols for establishing priority at a scene are just that, protocols. But if it comes to a dispute, the police have the ultimate authority.

I dispute that. IIRC (and I might not -- this comes from informal discussion with friends in the EMT/firefighter/rescue community), the safety and preservation of life takes priority. Someone's gonna be late for work because of the above? As they say in southern Russia, tough sh!tsky y'all...

[geonuc]

In terms of the law, I believe the protocols for establishing priority at a scene are just that, protocols. But if it comes to a dispute, the police have the ultimate authority.

I dispute that. IIRC (and I might not -- this comes from informal discussion with friends in the EMT/firefighter/rescue community), the safety and preservation of life takes priority. Someone's gonna be late for work because of the above? As they say in southern Russia, tough sh!tsky y'all...

Not sure what you're disputing, cid.

[cid]

I agree that protocols are 'gentlemen's agreements' and not cast in stone. But as far as who's calling the shots?
According to my "EMT/firefighter buddy, if it comes to saving a life, those personnel (whether police OR NOT) call
the shots, for everything from traffic control priorities to what flavor sprinkles are on the donuts (ahem).
Getting traffic moving again comes ini a poor second, and IMNSHO, justifiably so.

[geonuc]

You completely missed my point.

[cid]

Wouldn't be the first time.

Enlighten me.