AOLNews: Newlywed Arrested After Rushing Wife To Hospital

[brianm23]

All the guy needed to do was pull over and tell the officer what was going on. That would have taken about 30 seconds and I'm sure he would have got a police escort to the hospital. He did not and that is why he is in trouble.

Why is there always ONE person in the crowd with this sort of stupid ass logic? Yes, I have person in my car who's life could depend on seconds and you want to waste it on explaining it to a cop. Congratulations on being THAT guy. :doh:

PS. It would have taken more than 30 seconds. The officer would have had to run the tags, get out of the car, walk to the vehicle in question, and do his spiel about why he pulled you over. More like 3-5 mins. I'm glad my life isn't in your hands.

[Bang]

I suspect that it is pretty possible that the guys account of what happened as he was getting out of the car and trying to get into the hospital may not be exactly what happened. Right now all we have is the account of the guy that was carrying his cancer survivor amputee newlywed into the hospital because she was having a stroke. It is possible that he may not have the clearest recollection of what happened.

Like I said before, I probably would do the same thing. I would be SINGULARLY focused on taking care of my loved one.

This is true. We've only got his side of it. And I agree, given the situation he probably doesn't remember it precisely.

I also think it's interesting in there that the officer mentioned that the guy went in and jumped the line, etc. I still think it's a pretty crappy thing to do on the cop's part.

As far as some saying call an ambulance.. I think it depends on how close you are to the hospital,, good chance that you can get her there much faster than the ambulance even gets to your house... but the ambulance has treatment for the ride and can radio ahead what was coming in.

Suffice to say, hope i never have to make these choices.

~Bang

[Bliz]

You don't pull over and hope to talk to the cop. Not a chance. You call 911, tell them what's going on, where you are, and that you have a cop behind you, and ask them to radio the cop, apprise him of the situation, and turn him into a police escort.

You might have the presence of mind to do that, but I would be in panic mode and I'd do just what this guy did.

He had the presence of mind to call ahead to the ER and let them know he was on the way. How'd he even get that number?

What? And face another charge of talking on your cell phone while driving?

:rotflmao:

[brianm23]

He had the presence of mind to call ahead to the ER and let them know he was on the way. How'd he even get that number?

Apparently you missed this part.

Just married last week, Eric and Aline Wright of Chattanooga, Tenn., both medical professionals at Erlanger Medical Center,

[hyphenatedbren]

There was an article on this on the local ABC affiliate's website some days back. A portion of it addressed the idea of calling and waiting for an ambulance versus the husband driving her there. Given the nature of strokes an extra 20 to 30 minutes could have been devastating.

The director of Erlanger's Heart-Stroke Center, Dr. Francis Fesmire, wrote a letter saying Eric Wright did the right thing by rushing his wife to the ER, and had he waited for an ambulance that would have added 20-30 minutes time to her arrival at the hospital. Dr. Fesmire is asking police to show some mercy and drop the charges.

Here's a link, though it contains much of the same information as the AOL story.

http://www.newschannel9.com/news/couple-992252-emergency-wife.html

[Destino]

All the guy needed to do was pull over and tell the officer what was going on. That would have taken about 30 seconds and I'm sure he would have got a police escort to the hospital. He did not and that is why he is in trouble.

This is a gamble. What if the officer isn't willing to listen. You going to gamble you're wife's life? What if he had decided to run plates and ID check first... during a stroke? Just let her die and then blame the officer for it later?

Sorry in this case the man did what he had to for his wife. She was in dire need of IMMEDIATE care. Strokes are time sensitive situations where seconds literally matter. I don't blame him one bit and frankly it's shameful to see this man charged with anything. He's a hero not a criminal.

[twa]

Sorry in this case the man did what he had to for his wife. She was in dire need of IMMEDIATE care. Strokes are time sensitive situations where seconds literally matter. I don't blame him one bit and frankly it's shameful to see this man charged with anything. He's a hero not a criminal.

And he broke numerous laws in doing so.

Whether it was justifiable should be determined by the legal system,which appears to be doing so.

[DarrellsMyHero28]

And he broke numerous laws in doing so.

Whether it was justifiable should be determined by the legal system,which appears to be doing so.

The reality is that in this situation the man has to be prepared to face some type of punishment.

He's not above the law, speed limits do not have exceptions.

However, I think he'd likely take the fine/community service/whatever considering that he saved his wife's life.

[The Brave Little Toaster Oven]

If that were me, I probably would have called 911 and asked them to inform the officer what I was doing.

[terpskins10]

Thank you for so clearly displaying your ignorance of the competitiveness of getting into law enforcement.

Hey, I did apologize in advance and I don't pretend to know the entire process. What I do know is most of the police officers I know personally (and I do know several because I used to work at the station on case work) have told me that they became a police officer because it seemed like the best thing for them after not being able to get into college. Maybe it's different where you are from. There was the case of the guy getting turned down from being an officer in MA because his IQ was too high, though, which is where I'm citing from.

Anyway, I know there's always two sides to every issue but there has to be a way to get these officers some sensitivity training. It happens too often for it just to be "the dangers of being on the job". I know people do some insane stuff to get out of tickets but standing at the door and barring the guy from getting his wife into the ER is plain idiotic, no matter what.

[Destino]

And he broke numerous laws in doing so.

Whether it was justifiable should be determined by the legal system,which appears to be doing so.

Government waste. The DA should look into the facts and spare the tax payer and the court system this waste of time and money. Not to mention forcing this man to dump his own cash in hiring a defense attorney is criminal IMO.

[brianm23]

Hey look, another.......poster making a sweeping generalization. Nothing new here. All too common these days.

How is that a sweeping generalization? I said a police officer with a power trip, all too common these days. How is that a sweeping generalization? It is common these days so what I said is true. I didn't say ALL police officers are on power trips, THAT would have been a sweeping generalization.

[Chachie]

And he broke numerous laws in doing so.

Whether it was justifiable should be determined by the legal system,which appears to be doing so.

Truth.

The guy did the right thing in the eyes of god and the human experience and knows he'll have to get through some legal red tape. I'm sure he's very happy to have saved his wife's life. The officer pressed charges, which was the officers' job to do. I'm sure it will all pan out for both parties but only because the man broke the law. If he hadn't, it would be much worse for both.

[darklight1216]

People also assume that there's no adrenaline flowing, or mind racing on the officer's part because he's made "routine" traffic stops so many times before. However, one is expected to be right all the time. The other gets a free pass.

I don't know if the cop's mind was racing and I don't really care. As an officer of the law he should be held to a higher standard. He isn't average Joe just trying to do the right thing, he's "America's finest" and should act like it.

[twa]

Government waste. The DA should look into the facts and spare the tax payer and the court system this waste of time and money. Not to mention forcing this man to dump his own cash in hiring a defense attorney is criminal IMO.

You would think so going from what has been reported...so why the arrest and charges days later?...It does not appear it was the actions of the officer

Could there be something missing from the article?

[nonniey]

I think there are some situations where an officer has realized he or she has ****ed up, but is too damn prideful to just apologize.

Or there are just some AH cops as there are in any profession. The **** on the walk are what you call police AHs. Good leadership should weed them out but good leadership isn't really that common.

The edit above refers to a roster on the walk. I guess automatic censoring has its flaws.

[Taylor4Life]

My first thoughts: this cop may actually be an idiot on a power trip... but in order for charges to have been brought that decision would have had to have been made by someone ELSE (i.e. DA) after having objectively looked at all of the facts involved in this case. Something tells me that we don't have all of the information here... I know I'll get slammed, but I'm not into making judgements without having all of the facts.

[Chachie]

Let's keep in mind that the officer didn't actually stop the man from entering the hospital. He could have physically done that and been within his protocol. He also could have called for backup when he was following the car. He didn't. He may have stood in the doorway at the ER but apparently he let the man pass. I'm willing to bet the charges are about maintaining a process that should not be brushed aside despite the cop letting the man and his wife get to safety.

In other words (with absolute respect to the poor woman) this is being blown out of proportion. The media loves this stuff.

[Destino]

You would think so going from what has been reported...so why the arrest and charges days later?...It does not appear it was the actions of the officer

Could there be something missing from the article?

You give government employees the benefit of the doubt all the time or just the ones that carry fire arms? Personally I don't especially when a DA is involved. They'll charge anyone with anything they can get away with.

[twa]

You give government employees the benefit of the doubt all the time or just the ones that carry fire arms?

More so than some guy off the street...yes

[Johnny Punani]

Worst thing that happens if you dont stop, you get arrested.

Worst thing that happens if you stop, your wife dies.

Im thankful you arent in my family...

Give me a break drama queen...

You understand the guy would have made it to the hospital faster (even after the whole 30 seconds needed to tell the cop what was going on) with a police escort, right?

[darklight1216]

Give me a break drama queen...

You understand the guy would have made it to the hospital faster (even after the whole 30 seconds needed to tell the cop what was going on) with a police escort, right?

I think a stop would take more time than that. Like someone else mentioned, the cops usually sit around in their car filling out paperwork/running license numbers or whatever they do before they mosey on over to the car. If this takes just two or three minutes, think of how much damage could have been done.

[Johnny Punani]

I think a stop would take more time than that. Like someone else mentioned, the cops usually sit around in their car filling out paperwork/running license numbers or whatever they do before they mosey on over to the car. If this takes just two or three minutes, think of how much damage could have been done.

So you honestly think someone in an emergency is just going to sit there and wait for a supposed 5 minutes? Of course not. You are going to get out of your car and go tell the Cop what is going on. When the Cops sees you get out of your car they are going to get out of their car (probably to tell you to get back into your car). That is going to take all of 30 seconds and if the Cop isn't a douchebag they are going to tell you to follow them while they use their lights and sirens which is going to allow them to signal to other vehicles to move out of the way. That alone is going to save you several minutes beyond the 30 seconds it took to tell the Cops what was going on.

[Special K]

So you honestly think someone in an emergency is just going to sit there and wait for a supposed 5 minutes? Of course not. You are going to get out of your car and go tell the Cop what is going on. When the Cops sees you get out of your car they are going to get out of their car (probably to tell you to get back into your car). That is going to take all of 30 seconds and if the Cop isn't a douchebag they are going to tell you to follow them while they use their lights and sirens which is going to allow them to signal to other vehicles to move out of the way. That alone is going to save you several minutes beyond the 30 seconds it took to tell the Cops what was going on.

Now, are you including the time it took to get your butt off the ground after getting tased for approaching the cop car?

[Henry]

So you honestly think someone in an emergency is just going to sit there and wait for a supposed 5 minutes? Of course not. You are going to get out of your car and go tell the Cop what is going on. When the Cops sees you get out of your car they are going to get out of their car (probably to tell you to get back into your car). That is going to take all of 30 seconds and if the Cop isn't a douchebag they are going to tell you to follow them while they use their lights and sirens which is going to allow them to signal to other vehicles to move out of the way. That alone is going to save you several minutes beyond the 30 seconds it took to tell the Cops what was going on.

I'm not sure getting out of your car and approaching the cop during a traffic stop is a particularly good idea.