Monday, June 15, 2009

Finally, the dash cam

The OHP has finally released the dash cam video from the incident in which trooper Daniel Martin choked a paramedic because the Trooper believed the medic's EMT partner flipped him the bird.



During the first 39 seconds of the video, you see the trooper overtake the ambulance. It looked to me like the ambulance pulled to the side of the road as soon as they were clear of the vehicle that was pulled over to the shoulder. You decide.

The trooper, after arriving at the scene of the call, did not even get out of his vehicle before chasing down the ambulance and pulling it over. This is where things get ugly. His first words to the driver were, "You don't need to be givin me no hand gestures, I ain't gonna put up with that shit, you understand me?"

Then at 5:24, he says "He is going to jail. You don't talk to a state trooper like that!" Ten, at 6:10 the Trooper's microphone is mysteriously shut off. Compare that segment of the video to this one



you can see that the point where Trooper Martin's microphone is shut off is just before the Trooper began choking the medic. I wonder what was being covered up here? I wonder why the other dash cam video from the other vehicle is missing. The second trooper claims he shut it off, because he felt it wouldn't be needed.

That says it all. There is nothing on the dash cam that shows the paramedic attacking the trooper. The medic never tried to put the trooper in a headlock, as Trooper Martin claimed in his report. In other words, the Trooper lied in an official report. Isn't that perjury?

The trooper was wrong, just as I suspected. Assaulting a person under color of authority. Unlawfully threatening deadly force (aggravated assault). Perjury.

No charges filed. Free pass for the cop. This cop does not need to be on our streets with his obvious attitude and behavioral problems.

Trooper Martin you are a douchebag criminal with a badge. OHP, and all other cops who cover for this sort of behavior: This is why so many people distrust and dislike the police. Stop covering for these criminals who are giving you a bad name, and throw them from your ranks. That would go a long way to rebuilding your image.

Edited to add: The "emergency" the cop was responding to? Apparently, it was to pick up his wife, who was waiting for a ride. If you listen to the dash cam tape at 1:32, you hear the car door open and close, and a woman says "Hey babe."

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