Lest we all think that we have to travel to the prisons in Iraq to find Americans wearing uniforms who don’t give one flying patootie about the health and welfare of other human beings, we can all take great comfort in the fact that we need only to turn our attentions to The State of Connecticut.
I stopped once to assist in a situation where a driver had struck a man who was running across Route 84- a major highway, either 3 or 4 lanes wide all depending on where you are. It was dark, they struck the guy. The guy was in very serious shape, major head trauma. ( and, at fault. It’s against the law to cross a highway like that ).
The Troopers wouldn’t approach the injured man in any way, nor would they render any aid or give me any supplies. Consequently, I had this man’s blood up to my forearms on both arms, trying to stop the bleeding. The sum total of their contribution was to stop traffic. One of them did, however, call for an ambulance but not right away.
Appalling.
There is no proof that the story cited above is a lie, an urban legend or a vendetta with no basis in reality. It happened.
It will likely happen again. How very awful. Anyone had similar encounters with State Troopers throughout the USA?
I am not interested in having wall-to-wall cursing or awful spewing, so I posted this here. ( besides, I’m not a participant in the Pit at all ). I’m asking for first-hand experiences, not urban myth or heresay. 
Cartooniverse
Help me out. Are you citing something which you personally experienced? The OP doesn’t make it clear if you’re speaking for another or relating an event of your own. The claim that State Troopers refused to render aid is far-fetched, IMO.
The cite is a recent event.
What I experienced, in Connecticut, dealing with Connecticut State Troopers, happened roughly 4 years ago, when I had an active EMT card.
They wouldn’t even give me gloves, and I imagine ( as is the case in NY State ), all troopers carry gloves on their person, to protect themselves. They kept their hands clean. The driver of the car that hit the guy, and his pal, were kneeling over him trying to cover him with a blanket. It was pretty damned cold out, it was nighttime. They didn’t know what else to do.
It was pretty awful. Reading this AP story brought back my experience rather vividly.
Hm. Is it possible that they didn’t approach because of possible contamination issues? I know it’s a stretch, but maybe the didn’t have gloves or something…?
Note: I am simply playing devil’s advocate here. IMO, the story in the OP is awful, and the above should not be construed as any sort of support for the Trooper’s actions.
It is possible, however unlikely. Medical emergencies aside, I cannot imagine a single State Trooper out there who would not carry Nitrile gloves as a method of self-protection. They frequenly place their hands upon people who are bloody. It is in the nature of the job. ( That’s not a slight against law enforcement. I’m in no way implying that the blood is flowing because of anything the Trooper did. ).
Therefore, and knowing what I knew at the time was SOP for NY State Troopers, I find it unlikely if not impossible that both Trooper had no gloves on their person.
They were simply not interested. As was the case in the link I cited. Apparently that Trooper had lots more important things to do than deal professionally and politely with a 911 caller.
What is very sad is that once the media bru-ha-ha settles down, that person will still have his job. He’ll still be saying and doing the same things in the same ways. That’s kind of how it works with civil service jobs. That poor young man’s family may well be outraged but the article states that the comments made in no way delayed medical response.
There was a time when parents were supposed to point to police officers and tell their children that no matter what, they could always trust the officers and get help from them, if so needed. Those days have passed us by, as is evidenced by said link.
Oh, one more thing. In re-reading my own OP, I failed to mention that the section of Route 84 I was travelling on with my family was between Waterbury and Hartford, Connecticut. Route 84 passes through other states, and I am sorry I was not clear earlier as to this detail.
Did the guy pull through? Or did their lack of co-operation result in the victims death?
Around here they’ll park their abandoned squads along the highway to make it look like they’re shooting radar at traffic. Causes people to slow down but they speed up again as soon as they pass the empty squad car. I think this is total BS. Disrupting the flow of traffic like that could cause an accident and if there is an accident within sight of the squad 911 might not be called bacause the people involved in the accident might be waiting for the (presumedly manned but empty?) squad to come to them or notice the accident.
Damn, that sucks! My state’s state cops have even taken to carrying defibrillator. In TX, I’ve seen EMT stickers of some highway patrol vehicles. I’ve had run ins with a few assholes from my state and TX, but I can’t help but think that they would assist in those situations.
Tennessee law enforcement can be trigger-happy, but never indifferent.
Remind me to avoid Connecticutt!
Guess what guys, police officers are people. And believe it or not there are varying degrees of competence with which ordinary people perform their jobs. There are great engineers and poor engineers, great lawyers and abysmal lawyers, great doctors and bad doctors. To make a generalization about State Troopers in general is both wrong and indeed goes against the “fighting ignorance” mantra that this forum holds so highly. I fail to understand why so many otherwise smart people on this forum seem to find tactics such as anectdotal evidence and single case stories appropriate ways to portray an entire group of people.
When I was 15 I was at a pay phone and a black man came up to me and put a gun in my back, he asked for all my money. As it was I only had $2, so I said, “alright all I have is $2.” He said okay and took it. How appropriate would it be for me to start a thread saying, “Oh, those law abiding black people.” It wouldn’t be appropriate at all, and I’d probably face severe repercussion from the moderation staff here.
It’s one thing to say “bad State Troopers need to lose their jobs” and quite another to start a thread with a snarky generalizing title like this one.
And we also don’t know what the SOP for the Connecticut State Troopers is. I know in some districts fire fighters aren’t allowed to render emergency medical care anymore because of lawsuits that have been filed against the Fire Department. I was staying with friends in another state a few months ago and a local news short detailed how it was now SOP for police and fire departments in that county to only call for EMT assistance as law suits had been filed against the fire and police departments when their emergency care caused some damage (the case involved a man suing over broken ribs after being given the heimlich maneuver by a city policeman.)
Amen. I got a flat once on 840, and at least three State Troopers stopped to ask if I needed help.