WTF Stories of the Week

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

All traits of irrationality.

Also the traits of someone strung out on any number of drugs.

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

I probably would have flat-out punched a cop at the time my mom was in hospice. I wouldn't have even noticed I was doing it.

And, I would have probably been condemned by people, because in our society, open grief is considered inappropriate, rather than a call for compassion, patience, and understanding.

If you would have punched a cop doing his job, I wouldn't give you a lot of sympathy. Your own grief is not an excuse to break the law and assault someone; ESPECIALLY law enforcement.

[innerSpaceman]

Yes, let's all take that literally, shall we?

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Yes, let's all take that literally, shall we?

Who's taking it literally? She offered a hypothetical situation, and her hypothetical actions in that situation. My question is, what would she expect the hypothetical reprocussions of those actions to be?

The genesis of his behavior is irrelevant. A cop facing irrational behavior is a cop facing irrational behavior, and the course of action is the same whether the behavior is the result of a fundamentally dangerous person or of someone overcome by temporary emotion. That's precisely the POINT of their training - to have a well practiced set of actions he takes to remain in control of the situation, regardless of the unknowable mental state of the person he's dealing with. All he has to go on is the observable behavior, and everything about Moat's actions in that video screams that this is an irrational person, take your time and don't let them have control of the situation.

I'm not saying I don't understand why the driver would have been acting irrationally, I'm saying that the officer, for the most part (by the time he's yelling "Shut your damn mouth!" it's clear that he's not doing a particularly good job of controlling the situation. But it was far from entirely out of line), reacted as he should be expected to when faced with an irrational person.

[Strangler Lewis]

When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras.

[JWBear]

I'm sorry. I have to side with DP on this one. The cop was a prick. If someone is speeding, runs a red light, and then pulls into a hospital; wouldn't you think the cop would realize that there was a medical emergency? What if the dying person was in the car? I would have done just what the wife did; tell the officer the situation and run inside. The driver only became upset after the cop refused to listen. There was no need for the cop to be such a bureaucratic a$$hole.

The Dallas Chief of Police apologized, as he should heve.

[Alex]

Ok, watched the video.

I suspect the police is mostly apologizing because it was an NFL player.

If the police officer drew his weapon, I have no problem with that either as he was faced with a car that had refused to stop and then when it did four people appear to have immediately existed the car.

That said, I do not really see immediate belligerence from the driver to warrant the attitude of the patrolman once it was clear he was dealing with people who really were hurrying to the hospital (though obviously he still would not know if there truly was a situation worthy of any hurry, let alone one breaking the law). And also, if it is true that the driver was stopping at red lights before going through them (I couldn't tell from the video but that did seem to be true for stop signs once at the hospital) the I think that would be an indication that you're not dealing with anybody too deranged.

So, my renewed verdict:

1. The officer, I would say initially reacted appropriately but did not handle the situation in a manner likely to defuse matters once it was clear what was being dealt with.

2. The driver also did not do anything to help matters once things got going.

3. If the driver weren't an NFL player I don't think that any apology would have been offered.

4. The driver parked in a handicapped zone and seemed clear no passengers in the car warranted such a spot. So I hope he got a ticket for that.

5. It is kind of weird that the newspaper reporter in the linked article mentioned it was a well attended press conference when the apology was offered but the only media outlet mentioned was Inside Edition. Really?

6. Everybody seemed to have worked hard to make the situation worse than it was.

7. If Disneyphile punches a cop because her mother is dying, despite whatever sympathy I have about her situation she should be punished for it.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

If someone acts irrationally towards a policeman, I hope they treat the person the same, regardless of circumstances. Cops put their life on the line and have to be ready for anything.

Even if a chase ends at a hospital, the driver could jump out with a gun and start shooting. You never know.

[innerSpaceman]

WHAT? Cops not automatically Saints?!?!? What planet are you from???

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

WHAT? Cops not automatically Saints?!?!?

Nor are they automatically demons. Far too many people jump to that conclusion.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by SzczerbiakManiac

Nor are they automatically demons. Far too many people jump to that conclusion.

I would go so far as to say that far more cops are good than bad. IMO, the number of bad cops is a VERY small percentage.