Almost Instant Karma: Deputy Mike Fort Goes Adrift

[XLFD]

Deputy survives being stranded in snowdrift for 7 hours screamed the headline in the Facebook link to a story which didn't give much more than what the title said, leaving a teaser urging the reader to pick up a copy of the newspaper to find out who the deputy was and who the rescuer was, and a picture of a frozen ham package. 

I have to admit that at first glance of the headline, I was thinking that the most likely candidate for being the 'victim' in this story was someone fairly inexperienced and was sincerely hoping it was Deputy Mike Fort having a taste of karma for his unexplainably bad actions at a traffic stop involving Trooper Sammy Seymour and his sister, whom he not only physically assaulted, but also unlawfully imprisoned before formally arresting her for banging on his windows to be let out (read all about it here). 

Not content with telling the in-car audio system how he unlawfully seized and arrested her, he also hoped sincerely that the Spectrum Health Care medical professional whom he administered some obvious medical injuries to  had like her job, and said so twice before parading her through that very hospital as if she was somehow in the wrong for resisting an unlawful arrest.

So even though the link would not tell me who the deputy was or most other details I waited patiently, and was pleasantly surprised.  Deputy Mike Fort was your stranded deputy who waited seven hours and it could be argued that he wasn't very smart during the 2015 Valentine's Day blizzard.  But make up your own mind from how it's presented in the COLDNews.  Following a map of the general area where most of the action happened in the middle:

The good news is that Deputy Mike Fort hurt little more than his ego and pride this day, and nobody else got in any trouble who tried to rescue him in this seven hour odyssey.  One can hope that during the course of this personal ordeal that he went over what else he has done recently, and considered whether the job is right for him.  One could think that maybe God or some other force of justice in the universe foisted this humiliating experience on him as some kind of retribution or as a potential learning experience.  Will he perhaps look at it as some sort of instant karma that happened exactly four weeks after he severely messed up and perhaps ruined someone's life?

Just from hearing what I did on the in-car audio on the morning of January 17, when he engaged in a host of  unprofessional acts and words, I doubt whether he has the moral character to make those assessments.  He'll just forever be one of those goats dressed in brown whom us county taxpayers have to divert all our resources to protect him from his own actions.

[Willy]

According to the article the officers did not know the cars were abandoned until they reached them. I give the officers credit for attempting to help people they thought were in trouble. The first rule to follow if your stranded in your vehicle in a blizzard is to stay with the vehicle. Wandering off can get you dead in a very short time either by falling off something like he did or falling and breaking his leg or arm. Getting lost in a blizzard can happen when your only feet from your car, so stay with the vehicle. If you find yourself stranded it's only common sense to keep the heat on by running the vehicle instead of freezing to death. I'd rather be taken back to the station when they find me instead of to the morgue.

[stump]

I can't believe that the county police cars would even start a shift without a full tank of gas. What if he had to travel to the outer county on a emergency run? Oh. I think I'll stop in Walhalla for gas!! oop's, there closed

[Angie]

I MY SELF WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OFFICERS FOR THEIR SERVICE !!!! THEY PUT OTHER PEOPLE BEFORE THEM SELF'S ...   AND I PERSONALLY WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU.  

[XLFD]

If you were referring to our service people and our volunteer firefighters I would emphatically agree with you, Angie.  I cannot agree with such a generalized statement about police officers, however.  Many may get into the force to put other people before themselves, but many of the police officers and prospective officers I've talked with over the years have other reasons why they are in it that aren't so noble. 

In the end, each officer needs to be judged good or bad not just by the fact that they are a police officer, but by their conduct and their character.  Thanks to all officers who excel in both conduct and character, I resolve to be your most ardent supporter. 

Deputy Mike Fort on January 17, 2015, proved to me he was sorely deficient in both.  On Valentines Day, he became a liability because of his inexperience.  I walked three miles outdoors (albeit mostly near the city of Ludington) at the same time he was falling into Hamlin Lake.  It ain't that hard to navigate if you're prepared and have some smarts about you.

[XLFD]

Good point, Celeste.  I would just add, that if anyone can make such sweeping generalizations about police officers, they undoubtedly can say the same things about teachers and nurses (who are probably more prone to put others before themselves than police officers, BTW). 

And yet an innocent teacher (Bill Marble) and nurse (Kimberly Septrion), in the eyes of two young putting-others-first policemen, became targets.  One was lethally put down on the floor of his kitchen, the other was assaulted and detained in the street before they had done anything that you or I would consider 'wrong'.  If I were a cop, I would have considered using words before resorting to lethal and unnecessary violence like those two cops did, and that's what police use-of-force training recommends. 

Are officers that break the rules and kill and imprison others putting other people first?  I'm sorry, Angie, I just can't see that. 

[Willy]

Fort was dispatched out to the Hamlin Lake area to check on vehicles that somebody thought might be occupied. He didn't just decide to take a spin out by the lake. He was doing his job as directed.

The area where he was located was out in the open with no buildings to block the wind. There's a big difference between wind blown snow in the city compared to wind blowing across an empty expanse. The scene by the lake would have been a complete white out and with no buildings to see in order to gain ones bearings. It would have been a possible fatal mistake to wander away from the vehicle. I undesrtand the problem with Fort and I agree that he overstepped his bounds with Seymour's sister but during the blizzard he did perform his duty without hesitation and for that he deserves some credit.

[Angie]

Well said Willy  :)

[XLFD]

I didn't have a lot of wind breaks for some of my three mile trek, but there is one thing you notice when you are traveling in a blizzard, the wind direction, which is pretty much constant.  That day it was coming almost due north (NNW) all during that time, briskly so.  That wind is your compass.  When Fort felt the wind blowing heavy on the right side of his body, he should have known he was traveling towards Hamlin Lake.  He was lucky the lake was frozen or we might have a MCSO laptop computer and deadly weapons lost in that body of water.

[Angie]

I do watch the news. I have my opinion and you have yours :)

Any how did you all have  run in's with the law and is that really where your attitude is coming from???  And I do feel the same for firemen as well if it's my house that is burning you bet I have more respect for them as well.  When we get the hell out they go in... JUST think if it WAS your family..  And no not all are innocent BUT THE MAJORITY ARE!!!!

[Willy]

Another group of people I respect are combat soldiers who are probably the most courageous of all and see things most people can never imagine. Another group of people I really have respect for are the ambulance drivers. I knew a few of them when I worked in a large city. Some of the stories they told were horrific, especially the encounters they had with injured and sick children. Some of the gruesome murder and suicide scenes were disturbing to hear and I couldn't imagine seeing all of that gore. Firefighters deserve our respect because they never know what they are getting into on their jobs but they always go back for more. It's to bad X was used as a political tool to bolster the mistakes and egos of those in charge as well as the twisted court system. He may well be a firefighter to this day if the higher ups had at least an ounce of integrity.

[Angie]

Again well said and agree 100%

[AQUAMAN]

I'd like to first look at this from a logical and sensible standpoint, as opposed to a touchy-feely good stance. Look at the first picture above, and where is the location of Fort's patrol car? It's NOT on the road, it's NOT on the side of the road, it's NOT in a driveway, it's NOT even close to anything resembling a place where you should drive this time of year at all. It's IN a roadside PARK. Again, that's not paved, and certainly not plowed either. And look again where the patrol car sits, just a few feet away from the second bayou launch ramp, almost into the bayou of Lk. Hamlin, close to 100' off the road. That sound like someone that is cognizant and cogent in mind, and actions? Like the type of "hero" you want looking to help you? Oh I know, someone's going to suggest it's such a whiteout, that he's innocent of being sloppy. Wrong! If you can't see where you are going what's the first thing to do? It's stop in your tracks, put on your flashers, remain calm, look at your gps and/or compass for direction, and then call your position in to dispatch. That also appears to be a two- wheel drive car, not a four-wheel, not a six-wheel atv, not even a common snowmobile. Anything but what he's driving of the aforementioned vehicles are what you need, esp. in this type of weather. Like I said before: should have stayed in the fort, Fort. If people were injured and dying out there, then what? They would have died, and Fort lacked the initiative for duty, and promoted self-preservance in the face of an emergency. He didn't just go out for himself first and foremost for an hour or two, he went for seven or eight hours like that. Fear is what consumed him imho, not courage and duty. I'm also talking from personal experiences, and that of others in death defying conditions, not just wind and fluff Monday quarterbacking. Poor judgment overtook him, and his mission was failed. Others too, were put in extreme danger trying to rescue the rescuer, and that's failed behavior too. I don't think it wise nor prudent for any citizen to lump all apples into the same basket. Each individual exhibits their true raw character in various situations, and Fort just really didn't measure up on this particular situation, he failed miserably. Part of that responsibility lays with his superiors too, for sending him on a mission with the wrong vehicle, and probably lack of training and maturity.