Speak out before Police Stupidity costs more lives

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thejazzpianoma, Sep 29, 8:25pm
I found it extremely offensive too when it happened to someone I know. They were not speeding, just a combination of a really badly designed intersection that was not suitable for the traffic volume/speed and the position of the sun at the time. I am sure the massive fine was really effective when combined with significant head injuries, the insurance excess on the written off car and medical costs.

As far as the Police were concerned the intersection was not at fault and instead was some kind of secret meeting place for really bad/suicidal drivers as there were accidents and near misses there on a daily basis until it was finally changed.

Bear in mind not all cops are bad, but we do have a combination of a large percentage of Officers who are not up to snuff, terrible organisation of resources and systems and very poor policy. The policy part can also make good Officers look bad which dosn't help anyone.

All I want to do is get people to realise whats going on so we can fix things.I look forward to the day when I can be proud of our Police force and feel comfortable relying on them to assist rather than hinder.

Likewise I would have thought those Police who are genuine good people trying their best would appreciate an overhaul that put them in better standing with their community and allowed them to do proper police work.

Its win/win for everyone once improvements are made. Unfortunately right now though the system is a bit like a functioning alcoholic. Everything looks fine on the outside but all is not as it appears.

I am a bit confused as to why you can't see the Police Officer was endangering someones life by delaying the Doctor for an unnecessarily long time.
dajoki, Sep 29, 9:49pm
The doctor was delayed because he did not have his hospital identification on him. He only got to his front door when he was recalled to hospital which means he did not have identification on his previous hospital shift. Slack security at that hospital.
irule, Sep 29, 9:53pm
How did the cop know he was a doctor! I know police cars have lots of switches and sirens, havn't seen any with crystal balls. To me it looks like the cop did a good job.
shelleigh, Sep 29, 10:03pm
Jazz the police officer had a job to do - stop a speeding driver and check he was telling the truth about being a doctor. If he hadn't, then people would have complained about that too.
People know if they choose to speed they can get pulled up for it and be given a ticket and fined.
There definitely needs to be a nationwide solution so that emergency services staff driving to an emergency situation can be recognised by both police and the general public.
A flashing light on a vehicle is part of it. So is having the staff go through an appropriate driving course.
craig04, Sep 29, 10:16pm
As far as I can see, the cop pulled over a speeding driver. He was not to know that he was a doctor on his way to the hospital on a call out at that stage.
Don't you think that the doctor should have had his ID on him! Especially since he was on call. My wife is a theatre nurse and is on call 2 nights a week and always has correct ID on her.
Aside from being verbally abused by the doctor, I think the cop acted with a great degree of common sense.
scotty20001, Sep 29, 10:18pm
I agree completely.
thejazzpianoma, Sep 29, 10:19pm
The thing is the Officer was immediately shown the Doctors pager and phone with the alerts from the Hospital. At that point he could have taken the Doctors license and followed him to the hospital.

There was no need to waste a whole 5 minutes checking his I.D to remove the last 1% of doubt while someone lay dying.

That's the trouble with the Police having the attitude that everyone is always lying to them which has become prevalent.
thejazzpianoma, Sep 29, 10:20pm
He was told immediately he was on a hospital call out and shown the Doctors pager and cell phone with the emergency page/text.

Even there was some doubt the Officer should never have risked a life over it. There was no reason why he could not follow the car to the Hospital immediately and check the details on the way.

The Officer simply showed a callous attitude to someones life and prioritized a pointless display of bureaucracy over a dying person.
the_don_61, Sep 29, 10:20pm
Bring back in Traffic cops.and Police.

Traffic cops should know how to drive at a much higher level.Police should just Police.

O wait up I know they have diffrent cars as you can tell by the colour.

Or like has been said before, maybe the police should have Drivers for the police cars.
the_don_61, Sep 29, 10:23pm
But its OK for a 21 year old police man to do 160Kph down linwood ave at 3.10 pm during the week, when schools just got out.
thejazzpianoma, Sep 29, 10:24pm
Why are we so adverse to having the Police system reviewed, overhauled and made accountable!

What do we have to lose!

Have we really been so brainwashed by the propaganda that we not only accept everything we are told but we will go to great lengths to protect government departments from investigation and review!
craig04, Sep 29, 10:25pm
I disagree. If that was the case. he would have ticketed the driver and not escorted him don't you think!
thejazzpianoma, Sep 29, 10:26pm
I am not sure gunhand was actually meaning Police by that statement more so Fire/Ambulance who are yet another group expected to take personal liability because of the Police policy of "there are no accidents".
thejazzpianoma, Sep 29, 10:29pm
It wouldn't have mattered much if he did ticket the Doctor, that at least wouldn't have cost a life. What mattered was he wasted 5 precious life saving minutes of the doctors time.
Also, the doctor was not "escorted" that's done with lights flashing ahead of the escorted vehicle to clear the way. The officer instead followed the Doctor noting his speed.
Even after the Doctor was identified and the situation established the Officer wasted yet more time breath testing him before he was allowed to continue.
steve312, Sep 29, 10:42pm
If it isn't broken, don't fix it.

The doctor was speeding, had no emergency warning device to display he was attending an emergency and didn't have the correct identification with him.The Police officer didn't have his crystal ball tuned in that day so did the right thing and stopped the vehicle.

He had no way of knowing whether the pager was legit (hardly an approved form of ID).I would imagine it didn't display any specifics of the emergency, just a generic urgent recall to work.

I have to agree with the majority of the responses to this idiotic post.The Police Officer did the right thing and after determining the doctor was fit to drive and actually doing what he claimed, escorted him on his way without a ticket.Sounds like reasonable and effective policing to me.
holden95, Sep 29, 10:52pm
I think it is a sad indictment on our health system that some where like the Hutt Hospital HAS a on call doctor and none on site. Hell it has a ICU. Yet easier to try and lay blame on police.
shelleigh, Sep 29, 10:58pm
Jazz the trouble is many people DO lie to the police so it would be irresponsible of police staff NOT to check that people are who they say they are.
At the end of the day the police are NOT responsible for the actions of others. If I speed that is a choice that I have made therefore I have only myself to blame if I get a ticket and a fine - no one else.
dr.doolittle, Sep 29, 10:58pm
FFSwhy cant you accept the pathologists findings as reported! Oh, I know, you dont trust pathologists, reporters, newspapers or anyone for that matter. You just have your own view & thats all that matters so you must be right. Am I right!(doubt it)
dr.doolittle, Sep 29, 11:00pm
If the Police drove Fiat's would you trust them then.
cocabowla, Sep 29, 11:06pm
to right, the bee under jazz' bonnet seems to be the size of a punto motor.
thejazzpianoma, Sep 29, 11:12pm
So what you are saying is that because in this particular incidence the patient might not have been killed by the actions of the Cop everything is O.K!

What about next time!
thejazzpianoma, Sep 29, 11:13pm
I agree the health system needs an overhaul as well. But having a better health system dosn't always cover for having a broken Police force. In this case it would have but not every case.

Bottom line, fix both.
thejazzpianoma, Sep 29, 11:15pm
Just because some people do lie should not be license to put lives in danger so the Police can be 100% sure a story is correct.

It would have been easy for the Officer to check the identity and story while following or even better, leading the Dr to the hospital.

Also, there was no excuse for wasting further time with a breath test after the story and identity were confirmed.
dr.doolittle, Sep 29, 11:31pm
Ahhhh. now we're getting somewhere.
So it's the Police AND the Health system who are to blame.
How's about we include the Education Dept, Fisheries, local councils and probably one of your favourites, the Chinese.
shelleigh, Sep 29, 11:32pm
Well as others have said, the cop wasn't to know the doctor wasn't lying.
He wasn't putting someone's life in danger because he stopped a speeding driver, verified his identity and breathalised him.
However letting a driver continue speeding could have put lives in danger.
We will have to agree to disagree on this one Jazz :)