Cop fired after helping fellow officers in distress - Polidicks

[quote]It was a Saturday on campus when David Sedmak, a Rice University police officer, heard "Officer down, officer down!" on his scanner: Two members of the Houston Police Department had been shot downtown. Sedmak rushed to the scene to help his fellow officers. But Rice didn't see Sedmak as a hero. Instead, the university fired him, citing "dereliction of duty." The university said in a statement that its officers often assist other law enforcement agencies when the need arises. But Sedmak erred, it said, by not informing the university police dispatcher about where he was. [b]"Sedmak left his post when only two other officers were on duty and failed to notify his supervisor of his whereabouts for nearly an hour, which could have endangered the safety of our students and campus," according to the university.[/b] The May 7 episode that led to Sedmak's controversial dismissal began when Jesse Brown, 20, was seen with a pistol as he tried to buy a ticket at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Houston. When HPD officer Fernando Meza, working an off-duty job at the station, confronted Brown about the weapon, Brown shot him in the hand. Soon after, Brown shot another officer, Timothy Moore, in the leg. Sedmak said he arrived on the scene and prepared for a confrontation with the armed suspect. Several HPD officers came in after him and took cover behind his patrol car. Brown, who had been accused of shooting a 3-year-old girl, her grandfather and another man on Halloween in San Francisco, then shot and killed himself as Sedmak and the other cops closed in. Both Meza and Moore were at a news conference Monday to show their support for Sedmak, a former Galveston police officer. The Houston Police Officer's Union presented him with a $2,500 check to help as he looks for new work. Sedmak was stunned by the dismissal. "My only concern on that day was to render aid to these two officers," he said. "Quite frankly, I couldn't believe that after being in law enforcement for nearly 17 years that I was being relieved of my duty for running an assist to an officer."[/quote] [url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110607/us_yblog_thelookout/cop-fired-after-helping-fellow-officers-in-distress]Source[/url] [quote] [b]"Sedmak left his post when only two other officers were on duty and failed to notify his supervisor of his whereabouts for nearly an hour, which could have endangered the safety of our students and campus," according to the university.[/b][/quote] Boy that campus must be like the wild west.

Oh God, the horror! A university police officer abandons his guard shack for an hour to save a fellow officer's life! Dear God, how many jaywalkers do you think walked by his post? There could have been a drunk fratboy or two strolling out for a morning walk! Or maybe... maybe students ran, not walked, to class to avoid being late! :ohdear:

You know how many times I saw a cop do anything at my elementary school? Once, because someone looked suspicious. You know how many times I saw a cop do anything at my middle school? Zero. You know how many times I saw a cop do anything at my high school? Zero. You know how many times I saw a cop do anything at my college? Zero. Nothing was put in danger unless this was some sort of super inner-city, gang-ridden, crime-laden university where criminals lurk around the grounds like sharks. Which it's not.

[QUOTE=SPESSMEHREN;30318433]Oh God, the horror! A university police officer abandons his guard shack for an hour to save a fellow officer's life! Dear God, how many jaywalkers do you think walked by his post? There could have been a drunk fratboy or two strolling out for a morning walk! Or maybe... maybe students ran, not walked, to class to avoid being late! :ohdear:[/QUOTE] Or maybe, just maybe, although you'd have to believe in the [b]worst[/b] of human nature, some students... [i]walked on the grass![/i]

I think his higher ups wanted an excuse to get rid of him.

So a cop will get fired for helping a fellow officer, but a cop that does something bad like beat someone already in handcuffs and on the ground, they got off free.

You realize that it IS still protocol to inform the higher up when you're doing something, regardless of how important it is

[quote]"Sedmak left his post when only two other officers were on duty and failed to notify his supervisor of his whereabouts for nearly an hour,[/quote] They are fully justified in punishing him for it. Is firing him excessive? Maybe. Was it really that bad that he left his post without telling anyone? Perhaps. But you can't go around saying that punishing him for this was unfair.

[QUOTE=NikoChekhov;30318607]I think his higher ups wanted an excuse to get rid of him.[/QUOTE] Avatar fits.

He went to assist officers that were hurt in the line of duty. This is a dick move by the university. If the College Board members son had got shot, and he helped, he would be a hero.

[QUOTE=Doom14;30318512]You know how many times I saw a cop do anything at my elementary school? Once, because someone looked suspicious. You know how many times I saw a cop do anything at my middle school? Zero. You know how many times I saw a cop do anything at my high school? Zero. You know how many times I saw a cop do anything at my college? Zero. Nothing was put in danger unless this was some sort of super inner-city, gang-ridden, crime-laden university where criminals lurk around the grounds like sharks. Which it's not.[/QUOTE] Uh, are you motherfucking kidding me? Are you honestly fucking saying the officers at schools don't do anything? Do you know why they don't do much? Because no one would dare do anything with an armed and trained officer around. [editline]7th June 2011[/editline] And well, this news story...he left his post and went against what he was supposed to do, he didn't notify his supervisor, just because it was unlikely anything bad could have happened doesn't mean he can just leave his post without telling anyone. Point is, he should indeed have gotten in trouble, but I don't think he shoulda been fired for it. [editline]7th June 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=crackberry;30319096]He went to assist officers that were hurt in the line of duty. This is a dick move by the university. If the College Board members son had got shot, and he helped, he would be a hero.[/QUOTE] Is his son in the university? If so, then yes he woulda been a hero because he was doing his fucking job at his post

[QUOTE=Doom14;30318512] Nothing was put in danger unless this was some sort of super inner-city, gang-ridden, crime-laden university where criminals lurk around the grounds like sharks. Which it's not.[/QUOTE] Rice University is where JFK made his famous "We choose to go to the moon" speech.

[QUOTE=OvB;30319290]Rice University is where JFK made his famous "We choose to go to the moon" speech.[/QUOTE] Yep.

[QUOTE=Tetracycline;30319175]Uh, are you motherfucking kidding me? Are you honestly fucking saying the officers at schools don't do anything? Do you know why they don't do much? Because no one would dare do anything with an armed and trained officer around. [/QUOTE] If someone is crazy enough to want to shoot up a school then having the fucking national guard paroling the halls in Humvees wouldn't stop them from doing it.

Fucking [i][b]rice.[/b][/i] [img]http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen/images/refimages/grains/rice_select/rice_white_long_grain.jpg[/img] :argh: Wait shi-

[QUOTE=Acesarge;30319908]If someone is crazy enough to want to shoot up a school then having the fucking national guard paroling the halls in Humvees wouldn't stop them from doing it.[/QUOTE] It'd stop them from being successful

Well, I do see why he shouldn't get off completely free for it, since he DID leave his post. However, those other officers may have died if he didn't. That should not be ignored by any means.

[QUOTE=Tetracycline;30319175]Uh, are you motherfucking kidding me? Are you honestly fucking saying the officers at schools don't do anything? Do you know why they don't do much? Because no one would dare do anything with an armed and trained officer around.[/QUOTE] Wow, calm down there matey. I didn't mean "they didn't do anything job wise." Sorry if I chose poor wording in that regard. What I meant was, do anything in regards to a crime. Never did I see them draw their guns, detain students or get involved in any serious conflict save the occasional fight between students. A guard being off-campus for a hour is no worse than having him confined in the bathroom with digestive problems for the same amount of time. The university took this case way too seriously and didn't give any merits to the fact he went to assist an active crime, rather than walking around what was probably a very secure campus.

His employer is a prick. Some murderer tries to kill 2 Police Officers and he responds, but is fired because he left his post. I kinda hope the Police Department offers him a job.

Wow, so he gets dismissed from his job because he wanted to help? What kind of world are we in? :smith:

god forbid a university officer left campus to help a real officer who knows how many muggings and school shootings could have gone on without that [b]single officer[/b] there to protect the students and staff

What that's stupid poor cop.

I love people like the ones who decided to fire the officer They live in a caged world and don't know how reality fucking works

[QUOTE=TheTalon;30321480]I love people like the ones who decided to fire the officer They live in a caged world and don't know how reality fucking works[/QUOTE] I love how this guy ignored simple protocol like informing your superior as to what you're doing. He didn't need to ask permission, he just needed to say "Oh, by the way, I'm leaving my post" not just leave for an hour.

[quote]Sedmak said he arrived on the scene and prepared for a confrontation with the armed suspect. Several HPD officers came in after him and took cover behind his patrol car. Brown, who had been accused of [B]shooting a 3-year-old girl, her grandfather and another man on Halloween [/B]in San Francisco, then shot and killed himself as Sedmak and the other cops closed in. [/quote] WHAT [editline]8th June 2011[/editline] the [editline]8th June 2011[/editline] [B]FUCK[/B]

so rude of him of trying to save a life while those drunk frat boy terrorize the uni

Firing him was definitely excessive. At [I]most[/I], he should've gotten a warning.

[QUOTE=Ninja Duck;30318651]So a cop will get fired for helping a fellow officer, but a cop that does something bad like beat someone already in handcuffs and on the ground, they got off free.[/QUOTE] Probably because they informed their superiors in advance before doing it.

[QUOTE=DemonDog;30323454]Firing him was definitely excessive. At [I]most[/I], he should've gotten a warning.[/QUOTE] How do we know this is his first slip up?

[QUOTE=Bigby Wolf;30324420]How do we know this is his first slip up?[/QUOTE] You really are trying to fight the current, aren't ya? Anyway, I feel bad for the kid. He chose to do the right thing which was aid other officers in need of help. I do hope the city's PD offers him a job.