CHP officer handcuffs Chula Vista Firefighter caught on camera by CBS 8. A CHP officer’s move to detain a Chula Vista firefighter responding to a crash scene has some asking about the chain of command during emergency situations.
Orange County firefighters and the California Highway Patrol responded to a rollover crash on the 805 Freeway near Chula Vista, California Tuesday night, February 4, 2014. During rescue operations with fire vehicles parked in the fast lane and protecting the scene of the crash, an unidentified police officer asked, or ordered, firefighter Jacob Gregoire, a 12-year veteran of the fire department, to move one of the fire vehicles that was parked in the fast lane.
The California Highway Patrol officer told Gregoire to move the fire engine off the center divide or he would be arrested. As he worked the scene and checked the overturned car for more victims and confirmed the scene was secure, he reportedly told the California Highway Patrol officer that he would have to check with his captain, who was in command.
The CHP officer can be seen putting Gregoire in handcuffs with his hands behind his back while other firefighters continue to work at the crash scene.
The firefighter was detained in the back of a CHP police squad car for about 30 minutes before being released.
POLICE/FIRE AUDIO: Firefighter Arrested in Chula Vista by California Highway Patrol for not moving fire engine. (The audio feeds and recordings from www.broadcastify.com are released under a Creative Commons License. Some rights reserved. For more information, please see Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 United States http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/
Important items to note from the police and fire audio:
Firefighters didn’t initially locate the crashed vehicle.
When firefighters did find the vehicle, they weren’t sure if there was a second vehicle.
Firefighters didn’t know how many victims were involved in the crash.
Firefighters didn’t know whether any additional ejections may have occurred.
Firefighters needed to inspect the scene to make sure no fire hazards, electrical hazards or other hazards existed at the scene.
Firefighters worked to protect their scene.
NOT THE FIRST TIME …
Hazelwood police officer Todd Greeves arrests Fire Captain David Wilson on May 12, 2003. The police officer in Hazelwood will have to pay $18,000 dollars for getting into it with a firefighter while he was trying to help an accident victim.
A police officer in Hazelwood, Missouri arrested a firefighter while he was trying to help an accident victim.
Hazelwood police officer Todd Greeves arrested a fire captain after the fire captain told the driver of the fire engine to keep the fire engine in a protective position on the interstate.
Video from a police dashcam shows the arrest of Capt. David Wilson of the Robertson Fire Protection District.
It happened on Interstate 270 back in May of 2003.
Officer Todd Greeves wanted a fire truck moved to open up another lane of traffic.
The Robertson Fire Protection District Captain wanted the truck to remain in place to protect emergency workers working on the scene.
Officer Greeves was ordered to pay $17,000.
The jury awarded Wilson $7,500 in compensatory damages and $10,000 in punitive damages.
Unedited video of the 2003 incident showing the grab by Police Officer Todd Greeves.
See also …
TotalCriminalDefense.com Firefighter Wins $17,500 after Bad Arrest
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