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Ambulance Driver Stops Crime, Gets Arrested

29 comments

AFTER TRYING FOR 10 MINUTES TO ELUDE POLICE Thursday afternoon, a criminal who had led them on a chase through Petersburg, Virginia, city streets at up to 80 mph speeds was brought to a halt by an ambulance that deliberately impeded his path.  The ambulance driver was rewarded by the Virginia State Police who then charged him with reckless driving.

Kevin Foster, 22, was driving a car with invalid license plates when a State Trooper attempted to stop him.  Instead of pulling over, Foster sped off and led the police on a high-speed chase through the city including going the wrong way down a one-way street.

Lt. Mark Talbott was driving a Southside Virginia Emergency Crew ambulance and saw the chase heading his way in an area that had a lot of pedestrians walking about.  He pulled his ambulance across the roadway in a manner that effectively blocked the dirtbag who was fleeing and his car crashed into the rear of the ambulance. 

petersburg a WTVR

WTVR

Foster then took off running, but after a brief foot chase the police caught him and have presented him with 10 criminal charges, including reckless driving, hit and run, stolen property and driving on a suspended license.

But the State Police weren’t done yet.  Several hours later, they charged Lt. Talbott with reckless driving.

WTVR-TV Ch. 6 Richmond has a good video report on the car chase and an interview with Lt. Talbott:
 

Firegeezer notes:  The Virginia State Police have a well-deserved reputation going back several decades for this kind of BS.

Also on FireGeezer…

Posted by on April 2, 2010 • Filed under: ambulances, crime, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,
  • http://firstduemedic.com The Gate Keeper

    Not that I agree wholeheartedly with the “ambulance drivers” actions, but this is certainly a case of darned if you do and darned if you don't.

  • fdnymedic

    why is he being caled an ambulance driver? how about EMT or paramedic…smh

  • cltfd

    Please tell me there is more to the story than this. There has to be, the VSP can not be that big of jerks.

  • NCIntermediate

    that is just wrong!!!!!!! Everybody knows that it takes a special breed of jerk to work as law enforcement in the state of VA. The actions of the “Ambulance Driver” prevented injury to bystanders… I sincerely hope that all charges against the driver are Dropped

  • Julie W., Paramedic, MI

    How sad it is when those in public service are reprimanded for assisting another public service agency and/or preventing the loss of innocent lives!! Way to go Virginia State Police!!

  • Joe

    Stupid! Period.

  • Mike

    just goes to show that the police are not your friends. They're not on the same team as the Fire and EMS. They are on their own team, and they only look out for fellow police. They could care less about brother firefighters and EMT's. They think they're on another level separate from them.

  • pprobst99

    stupid state police, he was helping them, but they cant say thanks on no they say here is a fine and 4 points on your license, how about hey thanks for protecting lives and stopping the fool. here is a award or something. ugh

  • Mid-Tenn

    Awesome. I bet the VSP Public Information Officer and Director of Public Relations are proud of your actions. Nothing like advancing your department's image in the public's eyes by performing such deeds as arresting other Emergency Service Personnel while on duty. I guess this particular day there was a shortage of Fire Dept Engineers that needed arresting for impeding the flow of traffic with their apparatus on an accident scene. I also love the big “shout outs” of grattitude that you frequently give to the interstate truck drivers who you routinely contact via CB radio in order get them to use their rigs as part of a rolling road block to aid you in your “pursuit.” Then again we know you don't actually “pursue” anyone as this is a violation of departmental policy when it jeopardizes the general public. After all, you reflect this on your reports as “attempting to catch up to.”

  • Howard Sprague

    It's high time that firefighters be given full law enforcement authority. Then they can arrest 'police car drivers' for:

    -Blocking fire hydrants with their police cars at fire scenes.
    -Blocking the street near fire scenes with their police car and abandoning the locked cruiser to go play hero thus preventing or delaying fire apparatus from reaching the scene.
    -Venting windows with their batons prior to fire department arrival.
    -Interfering with fire and rescue operations when roadways need to be closed to insure firefighter, civilian and 'police car driver' safety.

  • VA fireman

    This is nothing new. VSP Troopers are brain washed in the academy. While responding to a working fire (4th due), I came up to a red light with all lanes stopped. Instead of pushing people out into the intersection, I chose to go to the left of the stopped vehicles. This put me in the opposing lanes of traffic. Well, this clown saw me a proceeded to followed me for 13 miles (keep in mind, his was driving above the posted speed limit with no emergency lights activated). When we arrived on scene he tried to write me for wreckless driving (while I was trying to set up a rural water supply dump site). He informed me that only law enforcement vehicles are allowed to travel in opposing lanes.I told him that he needed to go check the Code of Virginia again. Needless to say, his Sgt. showed up and was less than pleased with “his” troopers actions.

  • bhh

    Fired, if he worked for me.

    The EMT, I mean.

  • DP Snarker

    Absolutely correct. He should have let the speeder go by and plough into the crowd. Then the ambulance service would have lots more work to do and could justify a budget increase.

  • bhh

    He put himself and his partner in danger (from both the crash and an angry suspect), put his unit out of service and unavailable to help anyone, pedestrian or otherwise, and interjected himself into a pursuit without any training in such whatsoever. At best, he was a vigilante using someone else's property.

    Fired. And if there was a patient onboard, I'd want his card pulled too.

  • JoeShtRagMan

    The police should be ashamed of themselves

  • Chuck M.

    I thought only California had a hIGHWAY gESTAPO. I once wound up handcuffed in the back seat of a cruise for refusing to stage an Engine DOWNHILL and DOWNWIND of an overturned gasoline tanker.

  • VAFuzz

    To Mike and NCIntermediate:

    I am a cop in Virginia; I'm also a medic. These fools at VSP don't represent law enforcement as a whole… Hell, most police officers can't stand Troopers either. Here's to hoping the CA decides to nolle prosse the reckless charge.

    Personally, I don't think I would have stroked the medic, I would have just let his agency handle it internally.

  • VAFuzz

    That's probably why nobody likes working for you.

  • CBEMT

    I know. Having standards and accountability is such a drag. We should all just half-ass it and everybody does whatever they want.

  • VAFuzz

    Yes, half-ass it like immediate termination, instead of considering the totality of the circumstances. That's a fantastic way to do things.

  • rescuecaptain

    well i guess u have to look at it 2 ways.

  • Pingback: EMS Blog Rounds Edition 34

  • CBEMT

    The totality of the circumstances is he used someone else's vehicle to illegally John Wayne his way into a felony pursuit, endangering at least two lives on the truck plus anyone near him. What's to say someone couldn't be killed by the suspect swerving to avoid the collision with the ambulance, or ricocheting off of the ambulance into someone? He'd look pretty stupid then wouldn't he. Everybody there got lucky.

  • VAFuzz

    First of all, he didn't “John Wayne” himself into a vehicle pursuit… The pursuit came to him. And yes, he could have injured himself and his partner, the vehicle could have “ricocheted” into another person, he could have swerved into a bus full of nuns, or a flying ice cream truck could have stopped the pursuit by tossing scoops of chunky monkey onto the suspect's vehicle… We can play hypotheticals until we're all retired.

    The fact of the matter is, this gentleman made a decision in the midst of a shitty situation; he did what he thought to be the most appropriate course of action to protect the most number of people from danger. Was it the right decision? That too can be debated until we're all retired. Keep in mind, though, that anyone who has been in this line of work for any length of time has had to make difficult decisions whose outcome was uncertain. How many “near misses” have you had?

    The driver of the bus was charged with Reckless Driving – a criminal offense. As with any criminal offense, an element of the crime must be intent. What was his intent? To purposefully endanger the public at large, or to put his unit between what he thought was a dangerous situation and innocent bystanders?

    The point is, he should not have been charged. His agency can handle it however they want to internally; while I personally believe he should not be terminated, he like the rest of us chose who he works for and should know how they would react.

    While I wouldn't encourage anyone to become involved in situations like this as a matter of course, I believe that this particular situation doesn't rise to the level that the VSP and some EMS administrators have taken it. He made what he thought to be the best decision at that particular moment in time, and it worked out.

    Remember one of Murphy's Laws of Combat: If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.

  • http://www.firegeezer.com Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

    “Remember one of Murphy's Laws of Combat: If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.”

    That's a keeper :)

  • Battalion121

    Come on FEDS , its time to punish the fools that call themselves cops, this is rampant above the law BS.

  • Bob R

    Mike is right on the money with that. Unless you were there you don't know all the facts. Sounds like overreaction by the cops, and of course that wouldn't be the first time that has ever occurred. Sounds like the EMT/Paramedic used his own judgement in a situation not covered by any department SOP. If we're castrate everyone who does that O or give them a traffic ticket), there would be a lot of eunichs around.

  • MD-vol-FF

    There are always potential consequences to any action, but you need to let the guy with his boots in the mud make the call.

    What would have happened if fellow passengers hadn't intervened on the Detroit-bound flight on Christmas Day? After all, they had no training in hand to hand combat. Should they have been worried about being charged with felony assault? They had no way to know with absolute certainty that lives were in danger at the time. They made the decision they made because they thought it was the right one. They saved lives in the process.

    If you go and arrest everyone who steps up to the plate and save lives because it wasn't within their “authority” to do so, are you really sure you want to see the results?

  • MD-vol-FF

    There are always potential consequences to any action, but you need to let the guy with his boots in the mud make the call.

    What would have happened if fellow passengers hadn't intervened on the Detroit-bound flight on Christmas Day? After all, they had no training in hand to hand combat. Should they have been worried about being charged with felony assault? They had no way to know with absolute certainty that lives were in danger at the time. They made the decision they made because they thought it was the right one. They saved lives in the process.

    If you go and arrest everyone who steps up to the plate and save lives because it wasn't within their “authority” to do so, are you really sure you want to see the results?