Blue State Versus Red: Firefighter Handcuffed by Police at Accident

[XLFD]

On Tuesday, February 4, 2014, an interesting conflict developed between California State Police and a firefighter from Chula Vista.  Although it looks as if the trooper illegally and unsafely detained a member of the fire department (in the midst of the Fire Department mitigating and having command of the incident)  for parking in a manner that the trooper found offensive, will there be repercussions for his behavior? 

CHULA VISTA — A California Highway Patrol officer handcuffed and detained a Chula Vista firefighter for refusing to move his engine out of traffic at a crash scene Tuesday night, prompting a nationwide storm of online commentaries on Wednesday.

The firefighter had parked the engine behind an ambulance in the fast lane of Interstate 805 near East Naples Drive, where a sedan had flipped over a concrete guard rail and two people were reported injured.

Chula Vista Fire Chief Dave Hanneman said fire crews are trained to position their rigs to block oncoming traffic.

“I know clearing the freeway is a priority for the CHP,” Hanneman said. “Our No. 1 priority is the safety of our firefighters and patients.”

The CHP officer, whose name has not been released, told firefighter/engineer Jacob Gregoire (below) to move the engine out of the traffic lane or he would be arrested, Hanneman said. He said Gregoire, who was checking the overturned car for any additional victims, answered that he’d have to check with his captain.

That’s when the officer detained Gregoire, a 12 ½-year fire service veteran, Hanneman said.

A CBS8 news video shows the firefighter jumping over a low concrete freeway divider, putting his hands behind his back and being cuffed. The CHP officer led him to a patrol car, put him in the back seat and detained him there for several minutes. He was not arrested.

Supervisors from both agencies met at the crash site and Gregoire was released, Hanneman said.

“The CHP is going to investigate,” Hanneman said. “I think a lot of this had to do with communication.”

One of the two people in the crashed car was taken to a hospital. The CHP website said the crash occurred about 9:20 p.m. and lanes were cleared in about an hour.

Hanneman and San Diego Fire Chief Javier Mainard met with CHP Lt. Karyn Mentink and other officials at Chula Vista fire headquarters Wednesday morning to discuss the incident.

“We talked about not wanting this to occur again,”Hanneman said. “We talked about joint training and education.”

The CHP and Chula Vista fire issued a joint statement later, calling it an “unfortunate incident” and “not representative of the manner in which our agencies normally work together.”

Hanneman said Gregoire “did exactly what he was trained to do. He feels he made the right decision and I support him.”

Fire officials around the county agreed Wednesday that they’ve never heard of a local firefighter being detained or arrested for refusing to move a fire rig.

It has happened around the nation occasionally, including in 2008 in Hazelwood, Mo., where a jury awarded a firefighter $17,500 in damages for false arrest after he parked a fire truck to protect an emergency scene.

Thousands of people who viewed the Chula Vista video have online posted comments, many taking sides on whose actions were correct. Most tended to side with the firefighter, and some mocked the officer as having let his ego get in the way.

The incident raises the question of who controls an emergency scene along a freeway.

“In California, the Highway Patrol has overall authority on freeways and highways,” said San Diego Fire Deputy Chief Steve Ricci. “They are the incident commanders. However, we (fire personnel) were on scene first and the Chula Vista captain had assumed incident command at that point.

“As to a formalized transfer of command to the CHP — I don’t believe that ever took place.”

A San Diego Fire-Rescue Department engine crew also went to the crash site. As the crew was getting out to help, a CHP officer said they weren’t needed and should leave, Ricci said.

Ricci said the engine captain got out anyway and conferred with the Chula Vista fire incident commander before leaving. Ricci said his captain was not threatened with arrest for failing to move immediately.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/feb/05/firefighter-chp-handcuff...

Both sides met Wednesday to discuss the incident and released the following joint statement: "This morning representatives from both agencies met to discuss the incident to improve communication and ensure the highest level of service is provided to the public. This incident will be a topic of future joint training sessions, in an ongoing effort to work more efficiently together."