Behavior displayed May 24 near Paden really unfortunate

I’ve refrained from weighing in on the much publicized scuffle between an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper and a Creek County paramedic last month.
The incident took place near Paden and the ambulance was carrying a patient reportedly headed to the Prague hospital.
Since Prague is in the Tri-County area, and we do have readership in the Paden area as well, I felt compelled to write something about it.
 If I side with the trooper I most likely will be bombarded by anyone who has had a run-in with one or some other law enforcement officer.
From all I have seen in viewing the tape, listening to and reading all of the media accounts, and there have been no shortage of those, I can’t agree with the way the paramedic handled himself either.
In listening to others express their opinions, I tend to agree with the thought that all of this should have been handled after the ambulance was allowed to continue to the hospital.
Bluntly, I think both the paramedic and the trooper were wrong, and two wrongs don’t make it right.
The behavior of the trooper and the paramedic appears improper. Both of these men were steamed at each other, but the manner in which they handled themselves was anything but exemplary.
The public expects troopers, paramedics, other law enforcement and medical personnel to conduct themselves much better.
It’s bad this incident occurred, but fortunately, the patient in the ambulance apparently was OK.
Investigations have been plenty surrounding this situation.
The Okfuskee County district attorney has conducted one, the OHP has an internal probe underway, and, reportedly, there was by the Creek Nation ambulance service.
There’s probably plenty of blame to spread around on the part of those involved.
The district attorney declined to file any kind of charges regarding this incident, although he issued a scathing statement aimed at the trooper.
OHP officials, at first, were adamant about not releasing the tape from the trooper’s dash camera until late on a Friday night.
That was only after repeated attempts by some media organizations and a call for release of the tape by Congresswoman Mary Fallin and state Attorney General Drew Edmondson.
Oklahoma is one of those states that no longer requires the tapes from OHP dash cameras to be released, but there was such an outcry over this incident, OHP officials finally relented.
In my nearly 42 years in the newspaper business, I have logged literally thousands and thousands of miles with troopers, police officers, sheriffs and their deputies, FBI agents, OSBI and drug task force personnel.
I even rode in the front of an ambulance more than 30 years ago after then OHP Trooper Eddie Burr had arrested some guy on a bridge at SH 102 near I-40. The suspect was threatening people and acting belligerent.
During my career up to now, I have never personally witnessed the type of behavior on the part of any law enforcement officer or paramedic that equated to the incident on May 24.
Some of those troopers I have had the privilege of riding along with, many of whom are now retired, include Gene Fitzpatrick, Eddie Burr, Charlie Blunt, Don Kirk, John Hardridge, Garry Thomas, then-Chief Gary Adams, B.J. Floyd, Perry Floyd, Bobby Knox, Rusty Manion, Troy Thompson, Jim Upchurch, Terry Morris, Mike Reed, Jeff Griffith, Jack Holloway, Bennie Durant, Sam Williamson, Jerry Bachus and Will Arnett among others.
                                                                                                     FBI Agent Jim El Roy, long retired, is another one.
This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but just a glimpse of some of those I have been privileged to do ride-alongs and be associated with over the years.
I reiterate that never have I seen any of these or others display the kind of behavior that is seen on the tapes from the incident.
And I’ve witnessed some pretty tense situations throughout the years.
Never have I witnessed one of these professionals cuss suspects or use expletives during any defining situation as this incident appeared to be.
Let’s just hope this kind of behavior isn’t tolerated and that such incidents are prevented from occurring in the future.
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