Man Listens To Pregnant Wife Instead Of Cop
From Man Listens To Pregnant Wife Instead Of Cop
I was just listening to the radio and they were discussing this. A vast majority of callers believe that the cop should not have given the husband a ticket.
Opinions?
Quote:
4:20 p.m. CDT July 30, 2004 - A husband rushed his pregnant wife to a hospital as she entered the last stages of labor, but the police caught up with him at the hospital.
Images:New Father Ticketed
Kathleen Siragusa's water broke just as she and her husband ran into a traffic jam in Fairfax County, Va.
In a panic, she begged her husband to switch on the flashing lights and continue driving in the shoulder lane.
A police officer soon pulled the couple over and refused to escort them to the hospital, insisting he call for an ambulance instead.
Fearing she'd have the baby in the car, she told her husband to keep on going -- and he did.
She gave birth to a baby girl just seven minutes after arriving at the hospital.
The same police officer greeted her husband at the hospital with a gift for the new dad -- a traffic ticket.
"Did he think he was helping?" Kathleen Siragusa asked. "Did he really believe that flashing his lights and his siren and hand signaling my husband to move over was going to help, when he knew I was in the last stages of labor? I don't believe that his mindset was in the right place."
But authorities said the officer did the right thing.
"There is no exception by law that allows an officer to go ahead and allow a motorist that's under stress already to endanger the lives of themselves or others on the roadway," said Fairfax County police Sgt. Richard Perez.
4:20 p.m. CDT July 30, 2004 - A husband rushed his pregnant wife to a hospital as she entered the last stages of labor, but the police caught up with him at the hospital.
Images:New Father Ticketed
Kathleen Siragusa's water broke just as she and her husband ran into a traffic jam in Fairfax County, Va.
In a panic, she begged her husband to switch on the flashing lights and continue driving in the shoulder lane.
A police officer soon pulled the couple over and refused to escort them to the hospital, insisting he call for an ambulance instead.
Fearing she'd have the baby in the car, she told her husband to keep on going -- and he did.
She gave birth to a baby girl just seven minutes after arriving at the hospital.
The same police officer greeted her husband at the hospital with a gift for the new dad -- a traffic ticket.
"Did he think he was helping?" Kathleen Siragusa asked. "Did he really believe that flashing his lights and his siren and hand signaling my husband to move over was going to help, when he knew I was in the last stages of labor? I don't believe that his mindset was in the right place."
But authorities said the officer did the right thing.
"There is no exception by law that allows an officer to go ahead and allow a motorist that's under stress already to endanger the lives of themselves or others on the roadway," said Fairfax County police Sgt. Richard Perez.
I was just listening to the radio and they were discussing this. A vast majority of callers believe that the cop should not have given the husband a ticket.
Opinions?
Comments
Originally posted by a10t2
By all means, the officer on the street should have the authority to determine whether or not to enforce the law. Just like I shouldn't be punished for murdering a serial killer.
Interesting question, but I don't think that the police have that kind of power. Isn't it their job to enforce the law and a judge to decide the outcome? I'm sure that the man can go to court and argue his case and the judge will decide if he deserves the ticket or not. Too bad the paper probably will not follow up on the outcome.
Oh yeah, I assume the baby was born healthy
can't believe they gave him a ticket..... (shakes head)
Originally posted by a10t2
By all means, the officer on the street should have the authority to determine whether or not to enforce the law. Just like I shouldn't be punished for murdering a serial killer.
yes you should. you are not cop, judge, jury and executioner. the goal of the most equitable system of law enforcement separates these roles intentionally...
Ticketing a guy for not wanting his baby delivered in a car seat is low, even if it could conceivably be justified according to the letter of some law. The question is not whether the officer did something illegal so much as whether they made the right call. I don't think this guy did.
Maybe his department was behind quota on tickets?
Originally posted by Amorph
This is odd. The protocol I was always familiar with was that if an officer realized you were getting a woman in labor to the hospital, he'd escort you with his lights flashing to clear traffic so that you could drive like a bat of hell, only safely.
Ticketing a guy for not wanting his baby delivered in a car seat is low, even if it could conceivably be justified according to the letter of some law. The question is not whether the officer did something illegal so much as whether they made the right call. I don't think this guy did.
Maybe his department was behind quota on tickets?
When my mom was pregnant with me, my dad had to rush to the hospital to her there in time. He was pulled over by the cops, but once they found out what was going on, the cops escorted my dad to the hospital. Granted, this was over 30 years ago, but I thought this was standard procedure.
So in this case, the guy could go to court, ask for Trial by Jury, and most likely be pronounced innocent. The cop has got to know this, so it really was stupid for him to do that.
Originally posted by Scott
I think the cop did the right thing. Only 3 months ago I drove my wife to the hospital a mere 12 hours after her water broke. Somehow we were able to make it while obeying the traffic laws.
We are just dumb men. Women, however, know these things without having to time contractions (or maybe that's all they do). The article says she gave birth just 7 minutes after arriving at the hospital, so, in hindsight, her concerns were clearly justified.
Originally posted by Towel
We are just dumb men. Women, however, know these things without having to time contractions (or maybe that's all they do). The article says she gave birth just 7 minutes after arriving at the hospital, so, in hindsight, her concerns were clearly justified.
Besides, would you rather deal with a ticket, or a pissed off pregnant woman who happens to be your wife?
Originally posted by Scott
I think the cop did the right thing. Only 3 months ago I drove my wife to the hospital a mere 12 hours after her water broke. Somehow we were able to make it while obeying the traffic laws.
You waited 12 hours after her water broke?!?
Wow, just, wow.
Originally posted by hardeeharhar
yes you should. you are not cop, judge, jury and executioner. the goal of the most equitable system of law enforcement separates these roles intentionally...
Apologies all around, my sarcasm got the best of me.
The point I meant to make is that it isn't up to the cop on the street to decide the law just to enforce it. Escort them to the hospital? Sure, that's the decent thing to do. Ticket them for breaking the law? Definitely, that's your job.
Originally posted by PBG4 Dude
You waited 12 hours after her water broke?!?
Wow, just, wow.
That whole rushing to the hospital when the water breaks is for TV drama.
My wife wanted to labor at home and go to the hospital only when she was ready to deliver. Her water broke at 2am so she tried to go back to sleep. Had to get up at 5am due to labor pains. Whet to the hospital about 3pm. When we got there she was full dilated and ready to push. That took 6 more hours.
Originally posted by Towel
We are just dumb men. Women, however, know these things without having to time contractions (or maybe that's all they do). The article says she gave birth just 7 minutes after arriving at the hospital, so, in hindsight, her concerns were clearly justified.
Not at all. A woman can be in the transition stage for a very long time. Babies don't come not matter what. You can wait and breath through a contraction. A woman can wait until she gets there and then push. So being there 10 minutes later does not mean the baby would have been born in the car. Everyone is different, YMMV.
This cop = jack-ass supreme.