by Mike Roche
Most everyone has been involved in an automobile accident. Imagine your vehicle has overturned and there are injured victims. The 911 calls have been made and the ambulance, fire department and police arrive. Then you witness a truly bizarre event. The police officer handcuffs one of the firefighters and detains him in the backseat of a police car. Truth is stranger than fiction and this blog is committed to true crime. However, wait, did a crime even occur?
On February 4, a car travelling along Interstate 805 in Chula Vista, California, drove through some construction, flipped over a concrete guardrail and left two people injured. An ambulance was first to arrive and parked in the fast last. The fire department arrived next and parked behind the ambulance. The firefighters scrambled out of the rig and dashed over to check on the injured and to ensure that there were no additional victims trapped in the overturned car.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) arrived on the scene. This is when things got interesting. The CHP officer, who the agency has decided not to name, asked the Chula Vista firefighter/engineer Jacob Gregoire to move the fire truck out of the traffic lane. The officer should have made the request through the supervisor of the fire unit. Perhaps he was busy rendering aid.
Gregorie was no doubt annoyed at this request and responded that he was checking for additional victims. In California, the Highway Patrol has overall authority on freeways and highways. They become the incident commander. Like an alpha dog, the CHP officer hiked up his leg and marked his territory. He told the firefighter that if he did not immediately move the fire truck that he would be arrested. A KFMB-TV news crew had arrived at the scene of the accident and recorded what happened next. Gregoire jumped over highway divider and told the news crew, “I just want to let you know he’s arresting me.” He put his hands behind his back and was shackled. Gregoire was placed in the back of the CHP car and detained.
One firefighter reported on the radio what he had just witnessed. “This is ridiculous. CHP is arresting Engineer Gregoire for where he spotted the fire engine. We’re in the middle of patient care with patients on the freeway and we’re trying to protect our scene.”
A San Diego Fire-Rescue Department engine crew also arrived at the scene. A CHP officer (unknown if it was the same officer) told them that everything was under control and they could return to their firehouse. The fire captain ignored the officer and consulted with other fire personnel at the scene to ensure no further assistance was needed before they left. No law enforcement action was taken.
When I donned the blue polyester and a badge, my main priority after arriving at an accident scene was to ensure the injured were treated. We always strived to restore the flow of traffic as quickly as possible but never at the expense of the injured. In this litigious society, you must proceed with caution. The accident investigation was also important and took precedence over traffic flow. Yet, while dealing with these multiple obligations, I was always aware that the number one priority was providing first aid to the injured.
Now obviously traffic accidents wreak havoc on the flow of traffic. We have all been late to an appointment because of construction lane closures or an accident. There are times that the switchboard of the local police department lights up with complaints. Sometimes those complaining are important people with political juice. They will tell you they have other important people to see, and important places to be. I am sure that CHP officers are told routinely to restore the normal traffic flow as quickly as possible. They no doubt hear their supervisor whispering in their ear to hurry the _____ up and get traffic moving because they do not want complaints from the State Capital.
The law enforcement and fire services communities have at times had a contentious relationship, mostly in the form of good-natured joking, but not always. I remember a few decades ago when a firefighter aimed a water hose at an officer to send a not so subtle message of peace, good will and mutual respect. Firefighters loved to accuse cops of spending their day drinking coffee and eating donuts. Cops responded by insisting the fire fighters were getting paid to sleep and to watch T.V. But we also had mutual respect for the challenges and hazards of each occupation. Neither group wanted the other’s job.
Supervisors from the two agencies discussed the arrest of Engineer Gregoire and cooler heads prevailed. Gregoire was released without being charged about half-an-hour after he was handcuffed.
The CHP and Chula Vista Fire chiefs released a joint statement, calling the situation an “unfortunate incident” and “not representative of the manner in which our agencies normally work together.” The departments said this incident would be the topic of a future joint training session.
If one of the injured had died, would this have become a “tragically unfortunate situation?” If one of the injured had been the member of the officer’s family, would he have been so quick to abuse his authority? Training? How do you train good judgment and common sense? This comes down to respect for humanity and the professionalism of all first responders. In law enforcement, we are taught to try to refrain from becoming the story. I always did my best to follow this sensible rule.
In this case of Engineer Gregoire, the CHP officer utterly ignored this sound advice, fortunately without any drastic consequences. The next time this happens, however, things might not work out so fortuitously. There may be times to pull rank, but a serious injury-accident scenario is hardly ever one of them.
Please click here to view Mike Roche’s previous posts:
The Boston Bombers: A Tale of Two Troubled Brothers
Don’t Text at the Movies, The Life You Lose May Be Your Own!
Killers and the Catcher in the Rye
Mike Roche has over three decades of law enforcement experience. He began his career with the Little Rock Police Department, and spent twenty-two years with the U.S. Secret Service. The last fifteen years of his career were focused on conducting behavioral threat assessments of those threatening to engage in targeted violence. He is the author of three novels and two nonfiction works on mass murder and also rapport building. Retired, Mike is currently a security consultant at Protective Threat LLC, and an adjunct instructor at Saint Leo University. He resides in Florida with his family.
Mass Killers: How you Can Identify, Workplace, School, or Public Killers Before They Strikehttp://www.amazon.com/Mass-
Face 2 Face: Observation, Interviewing and Rapport Building Skills: an Ex-Secret Service Agent’s Guidehttp://www.amazon.com/Face-2-
The Blue Monster http://www.amazon.com/The-
Coins of Death http://www.amazon.com/Coins-