Stunning video shows a California Highway Patrol officer handcuffing a firefighter who was trying to help victims of a serious car crash in Chula Vista.
The incident occurred on Tuesday night after a car overturned and another fell down an embankment on the 805 Freeway.
Chula Vista Firefighter Jacob Gregoire responded to the
accident by following standard protocol of parking his fire truck in
front of the crash scene to protect the victims as they were being
treated and loaded into an ambulance.
However, when a CHP officer asked Gregoire to move the
truck he refused and returned to helping the crash victims, prompting
the officer to handcuff Gregoire and temporarily place him under arrest
in front of a TV news camera.
“This is ridiculous. CHP is arresting engineer for where
he spotted the fire engine,” states a voice on the Fire Department
radio frequency. “We’re in the middle of patient care with patients on
the freeway and we’re trying to protect our scene and they’re putting
him in handcuffs at this time and walking him away.”
Gregoire was detained in a CHP squad car for half an hour before supervisors from both agencies arrived.
“It’s unbelievable that you guys have to treat us like
this. We are on the road trying to help people,” states Gregoire as he
is being handcuffed.
The CHP say they are investigating the incident but have refused to name the officer involved or say if he has been reprimanded.
“To detain one of our firefighters in the middle of an
incident is ridiculous, and it doesn’t provide the good customer
service, the good public service that both of our agencies were there to
do,” said Chula Vista Fire Chief Dave Hanneman, adding, “He protected
the scene, in this case protected the back of the ambulance where the
patients had to go into.”
Representatives from the CHP and Chula Vista Fire
Department met yesterday to discuss the incident and released a joint
statement saying it would be “a topic of future joint training sessions,
in an ongoing effort to work more efficiently together.”
President for Local IAFF 2180 John Hess told CBS 8, “I’m
very proud of Jacob. He did a good job. He made all firefighters look
good. He was there to protect the citizens and he was willing to take a
stand to do that.”
“We are stunned,” said Fire Engineer John Hess,
President of the Chula Vista Firefighters Union. “Our Engineer parked
his vehicle consistent with our standards and training. We cannot
imagine what possible explanation could be given to justify this conduct
by the CHP officer. This removed a valuable fire apparatus and crew out
of service for approximately one hour. This occurred at the same time
another Fire Engine was moved to San Diego to support their fatality
structure Fire. We had two districts without service for over an hour.”
This incident again highlights how some police officers
think that their duty is not to protect and serve, but to ensure that
all their orders, no matter how dangerous, illogical, or inane, are
obeyed without question.
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