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Dallas Cops In Hot Water Over Televised Arrest of Firefighter
The case of a Dallas firefighter wanted for discharging a firearm in a station just got a lot stranger with an internal controversy within the Dallas Police Department over the apparent staging of the firefighter’s arrest for a TV station.
FF Jesus Ventura was arrested Thursday on charges related to his discharge of a firearm on March 8, 2012 at a station on West Commerce Street. Now, in addition to an internal fire department investigation against Ventura, and the criminal charges, Dallas Police are launching an internal investigation into why 5 patrol officers with their lieutenant’s approval arrested Ventura while accompanied by TV cameras.
Uhhhhh, not sure what is the problem. He committed an act that warranted an arrest. So what if the news crew was there it still does not negate his actions.
Tood
I believe the problem was that the police unit that was supposed to make the arrest was in the process of negotiating the firefighter’s peaceful surrender while this other group was out freelancing, all for the sake of the camera…
The fire service equivalent – a structure fire response is dispatched – and a company who is NOT DISPATCHED and is (obviously) supposed to be in their own district doing their own thing shows up with their own game plan about how to fight the fire – all for the sake of the camera.
Some non-firefighters might say “not sure what is the problem… the fire went out, right?” – but we know better.
The problem is DPD still has to work with DFD. Seems that might create a lil tension between the cops and the firemen where cooler heads were hoping to show a bit of professional courtesy to the accused. We all make some boneheaded plays but there’s no reason us and the whole damn community has to see it while eating dinner on the 5oclock news. -1 to the PD who wanted their faces on tv at the expense of our brother, -1 to the accused if he did shoot his gun at the station, +1$10 to the DPD and DFD who tried to make the effort and brokering a deal…
Thanks Haywood
Good points. You know, the FF involved had something going on psychologically – that I think the public can understand (that’s not to say his conduct is acceptable – but the condition that brought it on is treatable). So maybe he doesn’t get a -1.
The cops who free-lanced to make the arrest – on the other – that was pure ego. They didn’t upstage the DFD – they upstaged their brother police officers who were assigned to the case. They should get a -2.
I have no problem when the press based on good reporting work happens to be in the right place, right time to catch a breaking story.
I do have a problem with staged “perp walks.”
Norwich, CT had a rash of folks turning themselves in being photographed walking into police HQ for a few months before the kibosh got put on it — clearly someone had been tipping off the newspaper when folks had arranged to come in.
It may be a public area (fair game), but the specifics of who and when is not public and should not have been leaked to the press for them to setup and wait with a camera.
Entertainment shows like COPS work under a different set of rules where they need to obtain written consent or blur the faces; unlike the News side of the TV which anything pretty much is fair game.