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Paramedic Demands Gun and Badge for Trooper Attack AP and Tulsa World - June 16, 2009 OKLAHOMA CITY ~ The paramedic who scuffled with an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper while a patient waited inside the ambulance says the trooper should lose his badge and his gun. Maurice White Jr. said Tuesday on the CBS Early Show that trooper Daniel Martin was in a state of rage when he stopped his ambulance and totally disregarded the patients safety. Martin stopped the ambulance May 24 for failing to yield. White says he got out of the ambulance to tell the trooper they were taking a patient to the hospital. The argument quickly escalated into a scuffle and Martin put White in a choke hold. Martins attorney says the trooper either did not hear that there was a patient in the ambulance or it did not register. He says White failed to comply with the troopers orders. The troopers lawyer then laid the blame Monday entirely on the paramedic. Attorney Gary James said paramedic Maurice White Jr. repeatedly interfered with a traffic stop Trooper Daniel Martin was doing on a Creek Nation ambulance in Paden for allegedly failing to yield to his cruiser. The ambulance, which was taking a woman to a hospital in nearby Prague but did not have its lights or siren on, was being driven by Paul Franks. Martin attempted to pull over the vehicle for failure to yield and also after the trooper had perceived that the ambulance driver had given him an obscene finger gesture, something Franks denied. James said Martin tried to talk to the driver about the alleged failure to yield and finger gesture, but White kept interfering, despite repeated requests by the trooper for White to get back into the ambulance with his patient. White has said he was trying to explain to Martin that they had a patient in the ambulance, and to ask if they could continue the dispute after getting to the hospital. It was after repeated requests to back off that Martin attempted to arrest White, and a scuffle broke out as the paramedic attempted to resist arrest, James said. A second scuffle began on the passenger side of the ambulance as the trooper again tried to arrest White. A cell-phone video of that scuffle was taken, showing the struggle between Martin and White. The troopers dashboard camera footage also was released to the public last Friday. What is not seen in those videos, James said, is Martin being wrestled to the ground by White. James released photos showing bruises and welts on the troopers arms. The photos were taken four days after the incident, James said. Another photo the attorney released to reporters at a Monday news conference shows Whites right elbow thrust into the troopers chin during the second scuffle. Right or wrong, James said, the trooper had the authority to make an arrest, and White did not have the right to resist the trooper, he said. A person who will fight an officer is a danger to the community, James said, adding that White is a danger to the community. He also urged reporters to check into Whites background, noting that he had worked for the Muskogee and Mayes County EMS systems. James said he has received many emails from ambulance crews who have worked with White, and none of them were complimentary of White. Martin has been on paid administrative leave since June 1. James said Martin requested the leave after being victimized by hate mail, threats of drive by shootings and attempts to hack into his computer. The trooper has three young sons, and he feared for their safety, so that is why he requested the leave, his attorney said. James described his client, a 15-year law-enforcement veteran, as a good family man who also is a volunteer firefighter and youth baseball coach. James said Martin returned in April after serving in the Mideast for Operation Enduring Freedom. The attorney said the trooper served with a Navy anti-terrorist force providing security for cargo-laden ships entering the war zone. He noted that Martin is a well-decorated military veteran. In hindsight, James said, the situation could have been handled better, on both sides. But, again, he blamed White for causing an escalation in the confrontation. If White had heeded Martins first request to get back into the ambulance, none of this would have happened, James said. The attorney noted that White, through his Tulsa attorney, Richard OCarroll, filed a tort claim with the state June 5, so James believes a lawsuit is just around the corner. The attorney said Martins back-up officer, Trooper Bryan Iker, was present at the second scuffle and witnessed Martin being wrestled by White. The patient in the ambulance has been identified as Stella Jordan of Boley. James said she was suffering from heat exhaustion, and was subsequently treated and released from the Prague hospital. Noting that the ambulance was not running with its lights or siren on, James said the ambulance has no more rights than any other motor vehicle on the road. The attorney said the confrontation lasted nearly five minutes, and during that time White only spent 10 seconds inside the ambulance with the patient. Martin was responding to a request for aid on a stolen car report in Paden in Okfuskee County with his lights and siren on when he encountered the ambulance, which failed to immediately pull over, James said. In the end, the ambulance was allowed to continue to the hospital. Franks was given a written warning for failure to yield.

Video URL:
http://www.emstube.com/video/810/Trooper-Chokes-Paramedic-Gets-Caught-on-Tape


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