I seriously doubt there is anyone in America, living near a T.V. that could have possibly missed this story.
There is, after all, a somewhat daily barrage of news reports on crime in general. But specifically, there are so many stories focusing on the relationship between the public and their police. News stories that highlight what is perceived to be police misconduct take front and center on every city news broadcast page. And rightly so. It should not be a secret how police and the public work together, or in some cases, work in cross purpose.
Link to the story:
This story stands out as being truly worth the sensation that it has generated. Now, let’s be clear. You and I were not there. Yes, there is a video and audio of the event. That is clear, though it can also be true that video’s do not always capture all the facts. In this case, they just may have caught enough to warrant public and municipal concerns. I don’t want to convict the police personnel involved without all the facts, but I “gotta” tell you the visual truth!
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Nurse Alex Wubbels is shown during an incident at University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., in this still photo taken from police body-worn camera video taken July 26, 2017 and provided September 1, 2017. Salt Lake City Police Department/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY
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That was damn ugly!
Sorry, I will tone it down from there. Enough is shown and heard to know that a process was in place, appropriate steps were being followed…up until the officer did not like the decision made by the hospital nurse and her hospital administrator. They had a written police agreement. They had, or reported to have had an established protocol with their local police. So, what could be wrong with going along with the that agreed upon policy? You have to ask, what made this case different, and justified the officer’s response, which included the arrest of the nurse, and with a struggle?
I got nothin…
Now, this investigation should follow normal and legal procedures…unlike the apparent procedures that the arrest followed. But at the very least, the optics are nothing short of ugly for the supposed “good guys” – the police. This kind of incident sheds an ugly light on the difficult job of police work. It does extreme harm to the normally great relationship with hospitals and nurses that work with police on a daily basis. And be perfectly clear, the nurses, though they seldom get in physical fights or shot at, also have a difficult job. I always found medical personnel to be very supportive in all my years in law enforcement. They, like police, are considered “first responders.” They, like police, save lives, or at least work their behinds off trying to. That is something to be appreciated and respected.
In this incident, and I use the term, incident to try and dial it down a bit; I should say something like, this travesty of social and human justice and all that is right and good in the world…but I will not! In this incident, the officer must have had the option of waiting for a warrant, regardless of what instructions he received from his own superior. In every instance where life is not at risk, officers have the option to take the necessary time to follow the best path to resolving a situation. Taking time would not have endangered life, evidence or policy. So, damn it, wait! It would look so much better had he done so. And, and this is big, no one would have known about this situation, because it would never have been reported. We all know that the media seldom reports when things go right and well. They report the miss hap’s, the oops, the oh shits and the “damns!”
These are days when every opportunity to get it right is important. In the time of Black Lives Matter, allegations of police brutality, dangerous pursuits, domestic and international terrorism, demonstrations and civil unrest, we need to maintain good police and citizen interaction. Even when an arrest is necessary.
So, let’s all take a beat, close our eyes, take three or four long deep breaths with eyes closed and imaging our happy place…and start fresh trusting each other, working together and seeking peace! Ok? Ok!