Beerball Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 "officer down" call This makes sense to me: Kevin Lawrence of the Texas Municipal Police Association agreed. "You don't fire a guy for this unless he's a chronic disciplinary problem," Lawrence said. "You call him in, you counsel him and you put him back out there. If he's a good cop, he's a good employee. You use this as a training opportunity." Opportunity lost unless there is more to this story than we know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 It was a reasonable firing. But don't feel too bad. He'll probably get a job quickly with the HPD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Senator Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 "Reasonable firing???" Not sure I can agree with that, Doc. Guy rushes to the aid of two fellow officers shot by a crazed lunatic also accused of shooting a 3-year-old girl, her grandfather, and another man last Halloween in San Francisco? The guy should get a raise. WTF is wrong with Rice????? On a side note, one of my favorite lines about Rice is from one of my favorite JFK speeches (the 'We choose to go to the moon' speech, delivered at Rice on 9/12/1962). JFK, referring to seemingly insurmountable challenges... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-KbQTnIDbQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 It was a reasonable firing. But don't feel too bad. He'll probably get a job quickly with the HPD. No, it wasn't reasonable at all. He should have notified dispatch, but that doesn't warrant firing the guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 His job was to protect the Rice campus. HPD's job was to backup their officers. The University has every right to fire him for what he did, and there likely may have been other incidents that weren't reported. But again, he'll likely get a job with the HPD so don't feel too bad for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted June 11, 2011 Author Share Posted June 11, 2011 His job was to protect the Rice campus. HPD's job was to backup their officers. The University has every right to fire him for what he did, and there likely may have been other incidents that weren't reported. But again, he'll likely get a job with the HPD so don't feel too bad for him. Would your opinion change if you knew that finals ended on 5/4? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 The report on the radio that I listened to was that he radioed in twice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Would your opinion change if you knew that finals ended on 5/4? If his contract stated he had to stay on-campus, no. Look, I'm not saying that what he did wasn't commendable. I just understand the University's position and I think he'll land on his feet just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 If his contract stated he had to stay on-campus, no. Look, I'm not saying that what he did wasn't commendable. I just understand the University's position and I think he'll land on his feet just fine. The concept of "mutual aid" seems to be lost on you and, evidently, on Rice U. Judging by the size of their "department" there is no doubt (let me emphasize here... no doubt) that Rice relies on the city of Houston for police back-up, lock-up and legal proceedings for crimes committed on their campus. I hope and am confident that HPD is above it, but it wouldn't be out of the realm that there's going to be tensions and repercussions in the "town-gown" relationship over this. It was a totally ****head move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kegtapr Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 From the sound of the article I'm making the assumption the university police are fully trained law enforcement like those of the SUNY system and not just campus security. If they are not, it would change my opinion as he wouldn't be equiped to deal with that type of situation. But going off my assumption, what a boneheaded move to fire him (unless of course he has a long history of poor judgement). Yes, he was wrong not to inform dispatch and he was probably even wrong to go there unless he was requested for mutual aid. Given that, it's not like he left his post to go out to lunch or meet a chick for a little romp. He probably had to make a split second decision to help a fellow officer and responding to that type of call takes big brass ones. Had he not been fired, he could have been disciplined in private, the media would have never known and the university wouldn't have egg on it's face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 From the sound of the article I'm making the assumption the university police are fully trained law enforcement like those of the SUNY system and not just campus security. If they are not, it would change my opinion as he wouldn't be equiped to deal with that type of situation. But going off my assumption, what a boneheaded move to fire him (unless of course he has a long history of poor judgement). Yes, he was wrong not to inform dispatch and he was probably even wrong to go there unless he was requested for mutual aid. Given that, it's not like he left his post to go out to lunch or meet a chick for a little romp. He probably had to make a split second decision to help a fellow officer and responding to that type of call takes big brass ones. Had he not been fired, he could have been disciplined in private, the media would have never known and the university wouldn't have egg on it's face. "Officer Down" is a de facto request for mutual aid from any fellow officer nearby. It's just understood among anyone who's ever worn a badge. There isn't time to run this up the chain of command. The academics just can't appreciate that. Their mindset is theory. An officer's mindset is what's happening in reality in front of him/her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv's Neighbor Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 His job was to protect the Rice campus. HPD's job was to backup their officers. The University has every right to fire him for what he did, and there likely may have been other incidents that weren't reported. But again, he'll likely get a job with the HPD so don't feel too bad for him. Depending on the wording of the Mutual Aid Agreement, he may have done the right thing. Not informing his Dispatcher may have been an oversight, brought on by the apparent urgency of the situation, but I think there may have been issues prior to this, that may have led to the firing. The Dispatcher needs to know aproximately where his recources are, at any given time, so that he/she can respond to a subsequet call(s) for service. Both sides would seem to have a case! Given the economy, many employers would just as soon fire a person, and attempt to replace him at a lower pay rate, than simply counseling him and moving on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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