Woman Speeding - Father having heart attack?

Question

The officer stopped the lady because she was going 30 mph over the limit. She then took off and was pulled out of her car and arrested and taken to jail. The officer was suspended w/o pay for a week.

I totally agree with the officers actions.
Are we to just let people disregard the law and perhaps create another accident or fatality resulting in disobeying the law?

Her father is having a heart attack and she wants to be there.
What is she going to do? Except cause a scene?
Is there something that she was going to say to him that she could not have said before?
Do we let dramaticism overrule the law?
Is it everybody elses fault for her actions?

The father did recover from the heart attack.

I ask this question because of a similar incident. My grandmother was having a stroke. Both me and my brother drove to her house. My brother drove irradically and suggested that I was being thoughtless.

Answer 1

I think some of the answerers did not see the news item. The father was already in the hospital. She just wanted to go there and chat with him. It had nothing to do with saving his life by getting him quick assistance.

If that same women had caused a fatal accident by speeding like crazy how would the 6PM news have covered it? They would have said the cops were bad for not stopping her from speeding and called for the cops to be suspended.

Answer 2

At first I wasn't sure if the heart attack victim was in her car or not at the time of the speeding. Then I believed that the victim was already at the hospital and she was only speeding to get there. In that case, speeding isn't going to help the victim any and will only make matters worse by risking her own safety and those of her fellow drivers. Therefore, the officer was perfectly correct to pull her over and give her a citation. When she sped away, she exacerbated the situation and caused the officer to think the worst, like she had a reason not to want to be caught. Your scenario does not indicate that she tried to explain the situation. The officer would have tried to calm her down and get her to continue on more cautiously. I don't think the officer was unreasonable in your scenario unless she tried to explain and he had no simpathy for her. However, that does not merit suspension when he was following training protocol. Most of the blame is on the impatient lady.

Answer 3

I hate to say it but I have done it before, my worker got bite by a bee and is very allergic to them, his epapen didn't work, and you have to have them to the hospital in a few minutes or it could be deathly.....In my area an abulance is more than 15 minutes from my location, i see nothing wrong with what she was doing. She didn't create an accident, and I imagion she had to slow down for some things....Law enforcement put people's lives in danger sometimes also, by driving to fast for some reasons, but does anyone pull them over and take them to jail, when they are trying to get to a scene without there lights on.....Maybe she shouldn't of been doing 30 over but things happen, and I imagion if you had to do it you would.

Answer 4

Logically thinking would tell you to pull over, stop in a hurry, let the cop know what is going on so PROPER help could arrive, aka an ambulance. You would'nt go to jail, and at worse they may just give you a ticket, or a warning, or hell, might even forget about it. But running from the law is no excuse. If they were at home and got in this vehicle to go to the hospital, that was also a mistake. 911 would have been a better option, she could have administered basic first aid while waiting for the paramedics to arrive.

Answer 5

I think anyone with even a minimal amount of compassion would have a problem with the police officer's behavior. People look to our law enforcement to be there - they are after all in the business of PUBLIC SERVICE. He could have offered to make sure she arrived safely - he could have offered to have the hospital contacted to ensure that her father had arrived there safely - ANYTHING - other than acting like a non feeling bully. How you can condone such behavior is way out of my realm of thinking. It's not for anyone to judge why someone would want to see someone they love knowing it could be the last time they do see them. I don't know anyone on this earth who has the right to pass judgment on that subject.

Answer 6

I don't think the officer should have been suspended, only because he clearly didn't know the circumstances.

I think the woman was in the right to speed, though. Cops speed and park their cars in the median (which is dangerous) just to ticket people for having a broken tail light. If those are acceptable reasons to violate traffic laws, then I think a man dying also qualifies. She shouldn't have driven away from the cop, but she should have quickly screamed "MY FATHER IS HAVING A HEART ATTACK - FOLLOW ME WITH YOUR SIREN TO THE HOSPITAL." She panicked - I can't really blame her for that.

So, I don't know, the cop's suspension was an overreaction and she did do something wrong, but I don't think either should get in trouble.

Answer 7

If the father was in the car , you can verify what she's saying and let her go! If she's on her way to him then it takes longer to verify, but you still let her go! Only a real oinker would do otherwise! This officer should lose his badge permanently by exhibiting just how incredibly stupid he actually is when confronted by this situation! Then every cop who speeds while performing their jobs are equally guilty and deserve a ticket! No excuses for anyone ever!

Answer 8

The officer did the right thing.

If the father was in the car, however, it would have been a completely different story. In that case an officer's fiduciary duty to aid the sick father would have taken precedence over traffic laws.

It would actually be criminal for the police officer to prevent a driver from speeding if someone's life depended on it.

Answer 9

I can't believe the officer was suspended. That is ridiculous. The proper way to handle that after being pulled over, would have been for the woman to quickly explain the situation and request a police escort to the hospital. Fleeing and getting away with it is preposterous. Makes me wonder who the woman is or who she knows, cause I have a feeling the average Jane Doe never could have gotten away with this.

Answer 10

The cop should have ticketed her and taken her to the hospital. Geeze, sometimes people are reactionary, her father was had a heart attack for crying out loud. Sometimes compassion should lead the way. I'm glad he was suspended, he overreacted, just as she did. Did he have control of his emotions? No!