Police Officer Arrests Firefighter At Accident Scene In California

[azurnoir]

How do we explain the arrest of a firefighter by a police officer at the scene of an accident — after an argument over where a fire truck should park? The authorities are still discussing the incident, which took place Tuesday night on California's I-805, where a car had rolled over at the center road barrier.

As San Diego's , an argument broke out between a California Highway Patrol officer and a firefighter from Chula Vista, as they clashed over where the Chula Vista crew's fire engine should be stationed. Firefighters had placed their vehicle along the center road divider, close to where a car had flipped over, and behind an ambulance. Emergency personnel tended to the car's two occupants as the conflict went on around them.

CBS 8's cameras captured the incident, which ended with the firefighter being handcuffed and placed in the back of a police cruiser.

The firefighter, Jacob Gregoire, 36, was held in the police car for about 30 minutes before being released, CBS 8 says. The station posted video showing Gregoire talking to the news crew to be sure they knew what was taking place.

"Hey, I just want to let you know, he's arresting me for not moving the fire truck," Gregoire can be heard yelling.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/02/05/272144424/police-officer-arrests-firefighter-at-accident-scene-in-california

video of arrest at the link -unreal

[MindPilot]

1. Here in a place that has an official "fire season"...

firefighters have almost god-like status. People on the streets will often wave and even applaud when a FD vehicle goes by.

That CHP did a very dumb thing.

[mockmonkey]

2. Seems to me...

the Fire Department should have priority and the Police are just there to support them. I guess at the next Fire the FD should stand around and await orders from the fuckin' PD.

[seabeyond]

3. gonna side with the fireman. they are not there out of ego or a power thing.

i have always found the firemen to be much more community minded and helpful than police. i like my firemen.

and agree with poster, seems like police are there as a supportive role.

that being said.... depends on circumstances.

[lapfog_1]

4. As explained by the Fire chief

it is policy for the fire department to park the responding fire engine directly behind the accident site and ambulance.

The reason is simple, should someone coming up on the accident site not slow down or move over, the fire truck will be between that vehicle and the people rendering aid and the victims.

The highway patrol officer is likely going to be reprimanded (if not fired) at least for this stupid stunt.

There is even a previous similar incident between CHiPs and local fire departments.

[MineralMan]

5. Disputes between PDs and FDs are not uncommon.

My father served as a Fire Chief for a couple of decades, and such situations are fairly common, he says.

It's an authority dispute. The Fire Department is there to do a job of putting out a fire and assisting injured people. The police are there to control traffic and prevent criminal activity. Sometimes, the cops assume that they are the authority in charge. Rarely is that appropriate, since their training does not include fire and lifesaving issues.

For the firefighters, they see the police's job as assuring their safety as they do their job. The police often think they should be in charge of everything. Hence the conflict.

[azurnoir]

6. actual arrests are common? ETA

I do know that in the past at least in Minneapolis the cops tended to denigrate firefighters with stuff like"ya must be rough laying around the station all day and then having to cook dinner" but arresting an on duty firefighter at the scene of an accident?

[MineralMan]

8. I don't have an answer for that.

I suspect actual arrests are rare. Certainly my father was never arrested. He also never yielded authority in a fire or accident situation to any police officer. He's a formidable person, my father is. When he's right, he does not yield. And when it came to fires and other firefighting situations, he was almost never wrong.

In most cases, though, police officers recognize that they are not experts on fire and accident situations, and yield to those who are. A few, of course, just have to exert their authority, I suppose. In the case of my father, they did not succeed.

[snooper2]

7. We need to stop hiring ignorant people to be cops...

This isn't the first time it's happened-


The fire fighter was awarded 18k in damages.

dumbass Oklahoma cop that I believe was fired-

[seveneyes]

9. The OK hothead cop only received a 5 day suspension

[Blue_Tires]

10. Holy damn....I'd never even heard of those incidents before...