Last week Gov. Brad Henry signed legislation to protect medical personnel from assaults, creating a felony charge against anyone who assaults an emergency medical care provider or emergency medical technician who is performing medical care duties.
The penalty would be up to two years in prison under the new law.
So was it just jealousy or irony that the first ones to assault paramedics under the new law would be members of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol?
OHP Trooper Scuffle Caught On Videotape
Posted: May 27, 2009 7:11 AM CDT Updated: May 27, 2009 10:46 AM CDT
http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=10428746BOLEY, OK -- Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers get into a fight with a paramedic and it is all caught on videotape.
The incident happened near Boley in Okfuskee County.
In the video, you see OHP troopers pushing the paramedic and grabbing his neck.
The fight happened during an emergency call when a patient waiting to be taken to the local hospital was in the back of the ambulance.
Officials say OHP troopers became upset after the paramedic failed to yield while the troopers were rushing to a call of their own.
The troopers claim the paramedic assaulted one of them before the camera started rolling.
The video was shot by the patient's son. He says he continually asked the troopers to stop, so his mom could be taken to the hospital.
"We're like telling this dude. 'Man, my mom is in the back.' My step-dad was like 'man my wife is in the back, can we do this at the hospital,'" said Kenyada Davis.
KTUL adds this:
"This highway patrolman pulled over my mom's ambulance because he was mad we didn't pull over and he's trying to arrest the EMT from taking my mother to the hospital," Davis is seen saying on the recording.
Davis continues to record as first, one trooper can be seen talking to one of the paramedics. A couple of minutes later, another trooper is seen confronting another paramedic and attempting to arrest him. The paramedic can be seen shoving the trooper at which time the scuffle breaks out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCw0XjHNzZ4