Texas Police Officers Suspended For Rejoicing About Fire

[LVT]

Texas Police Officers Suspended For Rejoicing About Fire
Police Responded To 129 Calls At Club Last Year

POSTED: 11:03 am PST March 8, 2005
UPDATED: 12:22 pm PST March 8, 2005

AUSTIN, Texas -- Jokes about a burning nightclub have drawn suspensions for five Texas police officers and four dispatchers.

snip...
Documents indicate the seven-year department veteran said he immediately thought of the song "Disco Inferno" and sent a message from his patrol car to fellow officer Josue Martinez that said "burn baby burn."

snip...
Martinez replied 37 seconds later: "Hey ... LOL (laughing out loud). Those were my exact thoughts," according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Later, an officer asked, "Please tell me if Midtown is burning?"

more...
http://www.thekcrachannel.com/news/4264660/detail.html

[okieinpain]

1. sounds like the place had a bad reputation. can't blame them if

that is the case.

[neuvocat]

4. Maybe so, but still...

the joking over the burning down of a club frequented by blacks looks pretty bad.

[tubbacheez]

6. I can understand the emotion they felt.

But their actions were unprofessional at best, and a outright breach of their departmental rules at worst.

Police have a hard enough time earning the trust of many minority communities. These offhand remarks by on-duty personnel could undo years of careful community policing and public relations.

It's difficult being a cop. It's even more so when the community is hostile or untrusting.



Bottom line, in my view: None of the parties in this story are any better off as a result of these comments.

[tx_dem41]

7. Great post, Tubba...

and a belated welcome to DU. :toast:

[tubbacheez]

10. Thanks! :) n/t

[tx_dem41]

8. Self-delete

Dang double post.

[okieinpain]

9. true. can't argue with that.

[redqueen]

25. Very well said.

A belated welcome to DU from me as well...

:hi:

[tubbacheez]

26. thx, it's great to be here w/ all of you :) n/t

[alwynsw]

2. And all this time I thought that one of our strengths

was American's ability to laugh at anything. Now it cause for disciplinary action.

[tx_dem41]

5. Yeah, a business burning down is soooo hilarious.

:eyes:

[alwynsw]

12. Ya just don't get it

What's the harm in letting off steam? As I see it, the club was the target of opportunity for a hmorous release for folks who put their safety and lives on the line on a daily basis.

Was it in poor - very poor taste? No question about it.Was it cause for disciplinary action? I don't think so.

[FlemingsGhost]

14. And what of the firefighters who fought the blaze?

As THEY risked THEIR safety and lives, they played "straight-man" in scorching comedy act.

A real laugh riot, wouldn't you say?

[alwynsw]

15. Develop a sense of humor, albeit the dark side of humor

and get back to me.

[FlemingsGhost]

16. Fight a fire. If you got the balls.

Next time there is a violent shootout, I'll have the scanner buzzing with cop jokes, okay?

[alwynsw]

17. Have done. I do.

Ever hear of Morton Thiokol in Henderson, NV? That was one of the better sites where I've worked the aftermath.

Your point?

If we can't laugh, we're doomed. Psychologically speaking, of course.

[salin]

18. so the following is funny? "

At one point during the flurry of messages, records show dispatcher Susan Negron wrote, "I have some extra gasoline if they need it."

An officer also typed "John confirms Midtown is on fire, there is a God," according to CNN.

The Star-Telegram reported that White messaged another officer: "My nite is made. I just had a lady ask me if it was burning. I said yep. She was upset. I was enthralled."
---
Hey, 129 calls to the place in a year, I can certainly understand the cops viewing the place as a nuisance... but these comments are gleeful - and leave the public whom they serve (presumably the community in which this fire broke out, and presumably those tax payers pay the salaries of these cops)... wondering... is this how we are viewed? If I am in peril, and they view me as a source of humour through derision, are they really going to help me? Or are they just going cheer on my peril and possible demise?

[alwynsw]

19. I've never stated or implied that I thought the incident was funny

What I have stated and implied is that we use humor in stressful situations, be it "good" stress or bad stress.

As I said earlier. The joking was in poor taste, but I don't see it as grounds for suspension. I do see it as grounds for a serious ass chewing for the method of communication and the fact that it evidently got so far out of hand that the general public learned of it.

I'm reminded of a commonly repeated quote from a WW II concentration camp. While the inmates were lined up on the yard and the guards were indiscriminately shooting and beating prisoners, Sal says to Ruben, "Does blood have lumps?"

Ruben replied, "No."

Sal replied, "Thank G-d. I haven't been shot. I've just shat my pants."

[redqueen]

24. See post #6.

There's usually no harm, if you're not on duty in a profession which has enough trouble maintaining respect and cooperation as it is.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

21. Context is everything. I'd imagine that the officers in question

weren't black since racism is raised in the article. I'd also imagine that if the club caused THAT many problems, Austin could have pulled their liquor license. The article states police had calls of public intoxication. Imagine THAT! At an Austin nightclub where people are drinking.

And gun incidents? In a state where gun laws are lax, I'd imagine guns will be drawn when people get drunk and rowdy.

Having a sense of humor is a good thing, but when that humor is displayed while responding to a call with statements such as "Burn, baby, burn." then I would imagine it betrays the public trust or at lease creates a question that police and emergency services did everything they could when responding.

If they had made their jokes AFTER the emergency and not during, and not within ear shot or eyeshot of the public, I'd venture to guess it would not have resulted in discipline.

[tubbacheez]

3. Lemme guess...

... this must be the "Lucifer" approach to public safety: to get so caught up in one's job that one wishes evil upon innocents just to get the job done easier.




And I remind anyone tempted to say, "B-b-b-but the nightclub wasn't innocent!", that our societally accepted means for determining guilt involves a trial by jury that results in a conviction for a crime.

[pretzel4gore]

11. remember fox 'news' anchors rejoicing over hurricaine

threatening cuba a couple years ago? typical bushevik behavior

[Skittles]

13. some sick humor is a natural defense on the job

but they must be smart enough to keep said sick humor PRIVATE

[tubbacheez]

27. Exactly.

Humor isn't the grounds for discipline. Counterproductive behavior is.



My boss would fire me on the spot if I said something that hurt an existing relationship with a client. She wouldn't care how much I needed to de-stress.

It's a simple matter of professionalism. A professional takes care of himself. A professional keeps his tools sharp, including his mind and emotions. If I need to de-stress, it's my responsibility to let my superiors know and then cooperatively come up with appropriate action (e.g. a vacation, a different assignment, additional training, etc.).



Now the police and the local community have a slightly different relationship than my company and its clients. The police and community are stuck with each other.

There's no competing police force vying to serve this community. There are no competing communities vying to hire this police force.

This means the police-community relationship is even more crucial than my company-client relationship. My company could potentially get a new client to replace the one Tubbacheez pissed off (just prior to his sudden departure).

The police in this story now have to go out and do the same, already dangerous, job with less local support than they had before.

The senior officers in this case seem to understand that.

[Turley]

20. I'd have probably done the same

Not that I'm a cop but 129 calls in one year? That's every third night. That's a public nuisance. That's a waste of taxpayer money.

Really folks, if someone is running an establishment that is generating a police run one night out of every three, isn't the community a lot better off if it burns to the ground? Aren't there other entrepreneurs in the community who can run a nightclub without it turning into a nuisance?

[tubbacheez]

29. Granted, but there are still better solutions to the problem.

I totally understand why the comments were made. That doesn't mean they're justified or rationalized.



Now that the community has heard these comments, and suspect the police of racism, the task of closing down the club for overuse of public resources will be immensely more difficult.


If the club was that bad, it would've been far smoother to close it down first, and keep the de-stressing comments internal to the police department.

[ryan_cats]

22. Ha ha, funny guys.

Ha ha, funny guys, I bet they're a riot when some bystander gets shot.

[SmokingJacket]

23. When I read your post I knew it was a black nightclub.

Call me cynical -- but that's why they were joking about it.

[MileHiStealth]

28. Actually, I think it was a tan nightclub ... with green trim ...

on edit, I guess now it is a black nightclub, well actually
more of a grey-black, with a kinda charcoal texture, um ....
with rust colored pipes sticking out here and there ...