ASSHOLE COP OF THE YEAR?

How do some of these guys ever get to be cops? A Massachusetts state trooper is in the running for "Asshole Cop of the Year." It is how he handled the case of a man rushing his pregnant wife to the hospital that makes him eligible for that dubious award. Here is The Boston Globe's report on the incident:

"A man cited for trying to use a breakdown lane to get to the hospital when his wife was in labor appealed his $100 traffic ticket today, but the couple doesn't intend to file a complaint against the trooper who issued it.

Jennifer Davis said her contractions were about 3 minutes apart, and rush hour traffic was stuck on Route 2 near Alewife Station. According to the Davises, John Davis drove in the breakdown lane and stopped to ask a trooper if they could take the lane to the next exit. He not only refused, they said, but he made them wait on the roadside while he finished writing someone else's ticket, then returned to their car and told them they would be getting a citation in the mail. Jennifer Davis said he also wanted to see her pregnant belly."

And here is how another source reported it:

".....they pull up behind a state trooper to ask for his help in getting to the hospital. Do they get his help? They do not. They get a ticket instead, for $100, and have to wait while the cop finishes the ticket he was already writing for someone else.

And after this woman in labor and her husband have been made to cool their heels and have been slapped with a $100 dollar ticket -- after all that -- the trooper tops it off by asking Jennifer Davis, the woman in question, to prove she was pregnant.

According to Jennifer Davis, the trooper said, 'what's under your jacket?' She said, 'my belly.' To which the trooper responded, 'okay, let's see it.' She was wearing a jacket, it seems, and so perhaps this intrepid law enforcer thought she and her husband were stealing a very large beach ball or something."

The Boston Globe also reported that:

"A State Police spokesman said the trooper was not expected to be disciplined because he was making a judgment call in enforcing the law that prohibits driving in the breakdown lanes. The lanes are only open to traffic on some highways during rush hour. 'Police officers are asked to make judgment calls every day and we understand that many of them are going to be subject to second-guessing but that goes with the job,' said spokesman David Procopio."

A judgement call? Yes. But did the state trooper make a good judgement call? No, most certainly not! Am I second-guessing the asshole? No. Even though I'm sitting here pecking away at my keyboard after having had plenty of time to reflect on the officer's judgement, there is no second-guessing on my part in this particular case. Why? Because this incident did not require a split-second decision.

The trouble is that the officer didn't give a shit about Mrs. Davis being in labor. "Trooper Doorite" may have gone strictly by the book, but his callous attitude and behavior dishonored the police service.

With the dismissive attitude about the trooper's callousness, as expressed by spokesman David Procopio, the Massachusetts state police would be well advised to adopt the policing philosophy of Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton. Bratton, who once served as Boston's police chief, tells his cops he wants them to police "consistently, compassionately and constitutionally." Good advise. And in the Davis case, a little compassion would have gone a long way.

Good judgement should have led the trooper to discontinue writing the citation he was issuing to the other driver so that he could get in his patrol car and escort the Davises to a hospital. Obviously, that never occurred to the asshole. And what about the first driver not getting that ticket? Big deal. Shit, that was just a traffic violation, not a felony or even a high misdemeanor.