Deputy Fired!

[Warren Faidley]

This just in. Figured I'd start a new thread since this was such a major event.
OK Mods?

Reports are coming in that the deputy in Crane County has been "let go," "fired," etc. KWES in Midland confirms he is no longer with the department!

I think the public/chaser/spotter/media pressure was an overwhelming factor.

Hopefully, this guy did not find work in northwestern Kansas!

W.

 

[Scott Taylor]

Indeed! There are a couple of links to the story in the original thread, for those interested in reading about it.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Glad to hear that! And hope you're right, hope he doesn't come to Kansas.

 

[Jason Foster]

Be respectful on both sides

That's good news for Brian, as I'm sure that also means all charges will be dropped. Of course, now the question is, does Brian have a civil case against the County?

Eitherway, at least it demostrates that even officers must be resonable and respectful to those they interact with. Let's return the favor to other officers and give them the respect they need and deserve and not let this isolated event reflect badly on us, or them.

 

[Mike Peregrine]

We don't actually know why the deputy was fired at this point. Typically, firing cannot occur over a single incident. It's my guess that this was one in a series of warnings that he had already received, or that he had already established a pattern of being hot-headed. Trego County will probably be sure to snatch him right up!

 

[Jeremy Bower]

The deputy being fired really hasn't surprised me considering the amount of publicity Brian's arrest received. I don't think anyone really knows at this point what Brian will do. I'm sure we haven't heard the last of this situation yet and I have a feeling at some point we may here from the deputy as I'm sure a t.v. station somewhere would love to get his thoughts on tape.

 

[rdale]

I don't think anyone really knows at this point what Brian will do.

The case wasn't dropped - although the firing is a good sign - so I assume Brian will continue to prepare for defense...

 

[Warren Faidley]

Typically, they will not drop the charges until the accused agrees not to pursue a legal course against them.

He has a great case for a suit, although I don't think they would have let the deputy go before everything was settled. Very odd. I guess we will have to wait for the facts.

W.

 

[Bill Tabor]

Well, I suppose it's a good thing. He was being a dick even if the law was on his side.

 

[Robert Rohloff]

The sheriff could very quickly get rid of him, most deputies serve at the pleasure of the sheriff. I doubt there was any pleasure left in having him around....................

 

[Robert Tarling]

The sheriff could very quickly get rid of him, most deputies serve at the pleasure of the sheriff. I doubt there was any pleasure left in having him around....................

Let's all hope that the case gets dropped too now

Best wishes,
Bob.

 

[joel ewing]

Well, I'm going to isolate myself a great deal here from the rest of the pack, so here goes.
To start off...I really don't know any of the facts of this case, so grant me some slack please while I plead ignorance. What I'm basing my preliminary opinion on is what I saw from the one little vid clip where the officer was making folks leave a certain area...a public park road I guess it was, during a tornadic event. The chaser that was in the center of the "fracas" had evidently been asked to leave once...and either refused, or gave the cop some backtalk.
Here is where I evidently differ from many of you. I really didn't think that cop was being a prick....he was being FIRM. In fact I believe this cop was being pretty darned level headed in doing his job. He didn't appear to get overly flustered...in fact, he looked like a veteran of the force to me....a guy who has dealt with this type of thing on a daily basis..as most all lawmen have. He didn't seem to mind that there was a vid cam on him, he didn't mind having his name called out on the vid...and he didn't seem like he was anywhere near beating someone's butt. He just looked to me like a guy who meant what he said...and he even gave a second warning prior to taking things to the next level.
If I'm seeing things clearly here...I'm actually think it's a travesty that this guy lost his job...if this is the sole reason that he got fired. This guy has / had a job where he has to make decisions based on his training and his gut. Was he wrong on making you all move along?? Or..was the chaser being a bit of a prick as well? No officer will ever bat 100%. Nor will any of the rest of us.
Is it at all possible...and of course I wasn't there....that the officer wanted to move you guys out of the road because there was a chance...maybe....that others would be prone to stopping there as well...which would possibly create a bottleneck...which during severe weather could become very problematic??
Joel in Tucson

 

[mike scantlin]

Is it at all possible...and of course I wasn't there....that the officer wanted to move you guys out of the road because there was a chance...maybe....that others would be prone to stopping there as well...which would possibly create a bottleneck...which during severe weather could become very problematic??
Joel in Tucson

no. bottleneck? in a public rest area park?!? IN BFE? thats about as close to impossible as anyone could get.

i agree with most of what you said. but you lost me right there.

 

[Dave Kaplow]

Is it at all possible...and of course I wasn't there....that the officer wanted to move you guys out of the road because there was a chance...maybe....that others would be prone to stopping there as well...which would possibly create a bottleneck...which during severe weather could become very problematic??
Joel in Tucson

It is not only possible, it was the deputy's stated reason for demanding that Brian and his group leave the area. But look at what you've written, this is a long chain of sometimes very weak suppositions: if this, then maybe that, possibly leading to something else, etc. The fact remains that there is no law against using a roadside rest area to view and tape storms. The police cannot simply arrest anyone they want to simply because they believe the person's actions might under certain conditions possibly lead to some kind of trouble down the road. This is America, and we do not do that, not even when severe weather is approaching. Cops are supposed to arrest people whenever the law is broken, not whenever they want to, regardless of good intentions.

But I'm not at all convinced that it was good intentions at work here. Whenever I see an officer trying to assert his authority like this on very flimsy grounds, I do not think of it as being "professional", on the contrary it is just another example of a headstrong cop using his badge to browbeat and intimidate. No law was being broken, and Brian was relaying useful info to the NWS. The cop used very poor judgement and let his ego get in the way of his obligation to uphold the law. He deserved to be fired, and he was, and the bottom line is that both the town's police force and the public are better off for it.

 

[joel ewing]

Well, like I said right out of the gate...I only saw that little short clip of the event. I wasn't there.
I was physically attacked by a cop years ago. I'd gotten into a hard-core fistfight at a fair with a big burly carnival worker (not recommended). Once the fight was broken up, one of the the cops thought I called him a f-n pig. In reality, it was my buddy who was explaining to the other cop that the "f'n pig (meaning the carny) started the fight" Within a split second I had a cop with billyclub all over me. The other cop had to pull him off, and it didn't happen instantly.
So, when I hear about rogue cops.... my ears perk up more than most folks that have never experienced this type of thing. In the vid clip with the chaser, I just don't see what the big deal is.
As far as clogging up the roads in a park area in BFE......are you kidding me? How long you been chasing? I'm sure you've seen how a totally empty gravel farm to market road can fill to overcapacity within a few minutes time.
And yes, this is America. I've lived in it for almost 54 yrs, so I know. And every so often, some of us will run into a bit of an overzealous law officer. But after a lifetime, yes literally a lifetime of fighting this and that..I've learned to pick my battles. And what I'm saying now is that given what I saw in the vid clip....I would have probably just grumbled out loud a bit..or perhaps shut my mouth entirely...and driven on down the road a bit.
One thing seems to be sure....that only when all of this is finally over will both particpants be able to look back and determine if any of this was all worth it.
Regarding my fight at the fairgrounds years ago...it NEVER occurred to me to engage in a lawsuit against the officer or his department. Nor did it ever occur to my folks to do so either. I simply bent my nose back into place, straightened my front teeth a bit (all true), then walked back to the car with my buds...where we popped a few more beers and passed around a fat one. No big deal.