# Driver stopped for DUI by Tampa fire engine



## MMiz (May 22, 2010)

​*Driver stopped for DUI by Tampa fire engine*

TAMPA, FL -- Tampa fire engine 8 and its crew were returning from a call Thursday morning when Captain Jack Atkisson noticed a car weaving in and out of traffic.

Atkisson said the driver appeared to be impaired. "She pulled back over onto I-275 and almost sideswiped a truck," Atkisson said. "That's when I knew we had to do something to get her off the road."

*Read more!*


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## piranah (May 22, 2010)

one of the private ambulances pulled a DUI over once lol said..."XX to dispatch can you send state PD to my location we have one in custody".....the trooper ripped them a new one like you wouldnt believe...stupidity is amazing


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## jjesusfreak01 (May 22, 2010)

I suppose if they are imminently endangering those around them (ie, swerving wildly), I might consider it, but as a general rule trying to pull over a drunk driver would be a bad idea for EMS crews. I would consider it similar to making a citizen's arrest, and who knows, they might need medical attention.


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## fortsmithman (May 22, 2010)

jjesusfreak01 said:


> I suppose if they are imminently endangering those around them (ie, swerving wildly), I might consider it, but as a general rule trying to pull over a drunk driver would be a bad idea for EMS crews. I would consider it similar to making a citizen's arrest, and who knows, they might need medical attention.


We might do that.  In my service a little over a third of our members are territorial corrections officers who can make arrests outside of correctional facilities if it's an indictable offence such as impaired driving.  as well one of our members is also a municipal constable.  Then again we don't have any enforcement equipment so what we would do is just report it and maybe follow at a safe distance, because we don't know if the driver has weapons and the mental state is.  Here in canada we don't have felonies and misdemeanors we have summary conviction and indictable offences as well as dual procedure offences which can be tried as summary conviction or indictable offence.


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## jjesusfreak01 (May 22, 2010)

I can imagine that your department might also have a specific policy on this type of issue, that is, restraining a patient/criminal until leos arrive or pulling over a dangerous driver. If my boss said, "never do that", I think there's a good chance I wouldn't try.


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## Mountain Res-Q (May 23, 2010)

The Law Enforcement capacity of EMS (or Fire) should be likened to that of a Security Guard... "Observe and Report".  IMHO pulling a car over as if you were LE is not only a bad idea for safety reasons but could very well be illegal (impersonating LE, and all that).  I've had Ambulances locally that will tail a suspected DUI, updating Dispatch as a real cop responds.  They are the ones with the training and obligation to deal with this.  We all say "how stupid" whenever a cop is in the paper, being called a hero for running into a burning building or when a cop attempts some other rescue without the proper gear or training (i.e. into a fire without nomex turnouts or the safety's that Fire trains with) so I would have to respond in like manner to this Engine Crew.  If you really what to get the drunk off the road, you are driving a huge azz engine... there are easier ways to run them... eh... I mean, assist them off the road...  j/k


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## lightsandsirens5 (May 23, 2010)

Well I'm glad it turned out alright for them. Before people start tearing into them like a pack of hyenas into a wounded wildabeast calf as seems to be the standard response on here to anything some folks dont like, I would say that it is a pretty hairy situation and would require on the spot decision making. No protocol is going to be able to cover this and I think it is best left up to common sense.

So good on the TFD officer for making the proper call after weighing his options.


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## FLEMTP (May 24, 2010)

Mountain Res-Q said:


> The Law Enforcement capacity of EMS (or Fire) should be likened to that of a Security Guard... "Observe and Report".



Something I'd like to point out... not all security is "observe and report".. .in fact many states have the same authority as law enforcement while on duty... 


I think that they made the right decision. I think any time someone is creating a situation that puts the general safety of the public in jeopardy (such as the subject in this story that was arrested) fire and EMS should make an attempt to intervene.

I had a situation the other night, we were called for a general illness in the drive thru of a restaurant at 2am... we were on top of the call.. got there and not one.. . but TWO employees flagged my unit down stating that the person in the drive through was passed out cold and could not be woken up...the drive thru was not the type you could pull out of the lane and leave.. so we pulled in the wrong way of the drive thru, blocking their exit, and one of our other responding units blocked the vehicle in from the rear... no way the person could leave. We then made sure PD was on their way, and made sure there was no medical emergency.. then stood by and watched while PD hauled this person off to jail for DUI.  

Same result as the situation in the story... but without the "pulling over" of the vehicle.

PD was fine with our actions.. and I can articulate that the person leaving would have created a huge hazard to public safety.. regardless of the cause of their "unconsciousness" whether it be drugs, alcohol or a medical condition, it was obvious that if the person became unconscious in the drive thru and could not be aroused by bystanders... then they should not be in a position to just "drive off" should they suddenly become conscious...and then suddenly become "unconscious" again or be so impaired by their condition that they cause injury or death to someone else.


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## PotatoMedic (May 24, 2010)

Call me the floater that is a pain in the *** but what does this have to do with EMS?  

Yes it is an interesting story that shows bad judgment but again it has nothing to do with EMS.


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## medic417 (May 24, 2010)

FireWA1 said:


> Call me the floater that is a pain in the *** but what does this have to do with EMS?
> 
> Yes it is an interesting story that shows bad judgment but again it has nothing to do with EMS.



True seems that the leader of the site has violated his own posting rules.  h34r:


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## MrBrown (May 25, 2010)

Yet another example of the fire service attempting to drum up business because boggle and watching telly dont look good tothe mayors


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## Mountain Res-Q (May 25, 2010)

MrBrown said:


> Yet another example of the fire service attempting to drum up business because boggle and watching telly dont look good tothe mayors



LOL

First they do such a good job at prevention that they have no fires left to justify thier budget.  Solution?

They branch out into Rescue, taking things like Rope Rescue, Swiftwater Rescue, Dive Rescue, and the like away from Rescue Squads and SAR.  But, they need more call volume still to keep those budgets fat.  Solution?

Try to deter EMS from being a legit Medical Service and turn it into just another service the Fire Department offers.  What do you know...  now their call volume is 80% medical, 10% rescue, and 10% fire!!!  But wait... they need more...

They have the uniforms... they have the vehicles... they have the lights and sirens...  now we can give them all guns, handcuffs, and ticketbooks... and their budgets will grow and grow as they pull over DUIs, raid drug labs, and protect us all from WMDs...  

Me thinks their evil plan for world domination is working...  :glare:


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## CAOX3 (May 25, 2010)

MrBrown said:


> Yet another example of the fire service attempting to drum up business because boggle and watching telly dont look good tothe mayors



Were you beat up by a group of angry firemen when you were younger?

You might want to speak with someone about all your pent of fire department frustration.


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## Aidey (May 25, 2010)

I can not imagine going so far as to pull someone over. We (my partner and I) have honked the horn, or more rarely flashed the lights at a driver to get their attention when they are doing something stupid. They were situations where I would have honked the horn in my personal vehicle, like someone trying to merge on top of us. 

We have only once turned on our lights and left them on (briefly) because of an erratic driver...and that was because the guy was going the wrong way down a one way, right at us. After we turned on the lights the car turned (the wrong way down another one way) and we turned them off and called the guy in to our dispatch with a partial license plate. Unfortunately about 5 minutes after that the car entered the freeway on an off ramp and killed himself and 2 others in a head on collision. 

We did wonder what would have happened if we hadn't turned on our lights, but in the long run us seeing him pulling out of the bar parking lot into the street gave the police enough evidence to go after the bar pretty hard.


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## firecoins (May 25, 2010)

The fire engine stopping a motorist is certainly not the best option but its better than a tree stopping the motorist or oncoming traffic for that matter.


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## FlightMedicHunter (May 25, 2010)

The more I read the reactions on this website the more I realize that you guys are a little out of touch with reality.  The guy saw a woman woman weaving dangerously on Tampa's busiest interstate highway.  What if she ran in to your wife and kid and killed them?  Jesus,,,,all he did was get her to pull over with his lights and then called PD.  Why would you guys knock him or his department of the fire service in general?  This sight seems like it's full of a bunch of old house wives who can't wait to be judgmental and stir crap up.  I don't care what vehicle I was driving,,,,if I thought the lady was gonna kill someone I would try to get her to get off the road too.


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## FLEMTP (May 25, 2010)

Aidey said:


> I can not imagine going so far as to pull someone over. We (my partner and I) have honked the horn, or more rarely flashed the lights at a driver to get their attention when they are doing something stupid. They were situations where I would have honked the horn in my personal vehicle, like someone trying to merge on top of us.
> 
> We have only once turned on our lights and left them on (briefly) because of an erratic driver...and that was because the guy was going the wrong way down a one way, right at us. After we turned on the lights the car turned (the wrong way down another one way) and we turned them off and called the guy in to our dispatch with a partial license plate. Unfortunately about 5 minutes after that the car entered the freeway on an off ramp and killed himself and 2 others in a head on collision.
> 
> We did wonder what would have happened if we hadn't turned on our lights, but in the long run us seeing him pulling out of the bar parking lot into the street gave the police enough evidence to go after the bar pretty hard.



How is it the fault of the bar? Did they force the man to become intoxicated? Did they force him to get into a vehicle and drive off? If you want to go by that same logic... then you should be "gone after" just as "hard " as the bar for not stopping him when you saw him driving the wrong way.

damn liberals...


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## medic417 (May 25, 2010)

FlightMedicHunter said:


> This sight seems like it's full of a bunch of old house wives who can't wait to be judgmental and stir crap up.  .



LOL.  I like that.


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