Don't You Think That You Were a Little Too Rough, Officer?

Darren Hunt, a reporter for the ABC affiliate KVIA-TV and his cameraman, Ric Dupont were arrested Monday by an El Paso police officer for interfering with a traffic investigation in progress. The two were preparing to cover an accident on Interstate 10 when Sergeant Raul Ramirez, of El Paso Police, detained the two briefly. Watch the footage below, then see if you agree with my opinion of the whole thing:





Sergeant Ramirez, in my opinion, is in the wrong here. He didn't even give the reporter a chance to move himself to his truck. He's overzealous to uphold the law, even as he denies Hunt- and subsequently Dupont their rights. What Ramirez should have done is just tell both parties toi move back at a safe distance, then allow the cameraman to shoot, and the reporter to do the reporting. Instead, as we can see, the KVIA personnel became the news- and the officer is now on desk duty.

Talk about a public relations nightmare for the El Paso Police. The entire world watching one of your officers do an acting audition. Did Ramirez arrest the two because he was stressed out? Hey, a lot of officers get stressed, but they don't go the lengths this officer did (yes, I know, a lot of officers do...). Then there's Ramirez's conduct, which was unprofessional. But then, the question is should he be fired? I say no, but he needs to be reassigned. Rightfully, an investigation by the internal affairs office is ongoing, and Ramirez will likely face some kind of disciplinary action.

Copyright (C) 2009 by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.