On a normal day, under normal circumstances, there's no reason for a dad to drive like a maniac to get his pregnant wife to the hospital. But for David Weber, the day he put the pedal to the metal -- only to end up with two speeding tickets worth $1,000 -- wasn't normal. He was trying to save the life of his soon-to-be-born baby and his wife too when he got caught up in a police money-making scheme.
At least I'm hoping the cop who stopped Weber just wanted to make some money for his municipality. Otherwise it's hard to explain how the officer learned that Genevieve Weber's contractions could mean the death of their daughter and still decided to harass the stressed out parents.
The Webers were in a peculiar situation. Because of complications during the birth of their elder child, Genevieve had been told natural labor would be dangerous both to her and to their unborn child. So her doctors scheduled a C-section. But when contractions started on their own and she started bleeding out at just 38 weeks pregnant, the couple freaked.
I can't blame them. For MOST couples, birth isn't an emergency. A baby born on the side of the road (or gasp, at home!) will be just fine, but a baby involved in a car accident could be dead.
But this is no ordinary situation. And part of being involved in law enforcement is taking an oath to protect lives ... all lives. So I can't for the life of me understand why the first cop who stopped them for speeding gave David the $1,000 ticket, told him not to speed again, and told them they had to go to a hospital that was closer, but the Webers knew it didn't offer C-sections. What business was it of his WHICH hospital they went to?
Then the jerk, er, cop called ahead to another cop down the road, advising HIM to pull the couple over if he saw them speeding. The second cop gave him a ticket too, then made the couple wait an agonizing 15 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.
One small ticket? Fine. David Weber broke the law, even if it was with the best of intentions. But the officer had a responsibility to protect not just the driving public but this family too. The first cop could have thrown on his siren and escorted the family. A second cop should never have been involved. And David Weber shouldn't be struggling with a suspended license and a hefty bill (reduced by a judge to $400).
The only good news? Their little girl was delivered via emergency C-section, and everyone's healthy.
Do you think this dad was being unfairly harassed by the police? How do you think police SHOULD have handled this?
Image via Horia Varlan/Flickr
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Comments 31
he was definitely being harassed! the cop was in the right to pull him over to begin with, but after talking to the couple should have helped them. I would fight that ticket!
uh yeah those will be thrown out. Stupid cop should have ESCORTED them to the hospital if he was truly concerned for the public's well being... and FIRED...
i know everyone is saying the cop should have escorted the guy, but the thing is that just isn't done anymore. (well, maybe in smaller towns it might happen... but not in larger cities for sure). from my understanding, it's actually something that they no longer do because of liability.
(however, calling the cop up the road was kind of a scummy thing to do. but WHY didn't they just call the ambulance in the first place?!?)
The cop should have called an ambulance. Yes the guy deserved the first speeding ticket. You just can't. No matter your emergency. The couple should have called an ambulance from their home. And none of this would've happened.
Dirtiekittie, that is absolutely not true. When I was in labor it was 7:45 on a rainy Wednesday morning in Boston. We had to get from South of the city to MassGeneral hospital. Turns out that my labor progressed very quickly. There was bumper to bumper traffic. We spotted a police officer writing someone a ticket. We pulled over and my husband said that we needed some assistance. The officer asked us if he could drive or if we needed an ambuland. The officer then drove in front of us with lights flashing with us behind. I got to the hospital at 9cm. So yes this does still happen and in large cities. That officer was a life saver that day (also there were complications so it was very good we got there when we did).
Well, honestly, I see both sides of it. The cop was right to pull him over, and depending on how fast he was going the first time. Calling ahead to make sure the guy wasn't doing 150 MPH and risking the lives of others a mile up the interstate? Good police work, as far as I'm concerned, because obviously this guy decided to drive like a lunatic even after he got stopped the first time.
However, like everyone else said, I can't believe he didn't escort them to the hospital in the first place. That absolutely can and still does happen in large cities, at the discretion of the officer. We had a case here in NH a few months back, same thing, dad pulled over for doing over 100 MPH to get mom-to-be to the hospital - the cop escorted them to the hospital, but they still got the ticket. They fought it and the judge dismissed it.
They were definitely harrassed. I had something a little similar happen to me. My son was in the middle of a bout of bronchiolitis, and had a fever that just kept creeping up no matter what I did. I woke in the middle of the night and it was at 104.7. I packed him in the truck and we were on our way to the ER. It was 2am on a long, straight back street in our small town. NOT ANOTHER CAR IN SIGHT. I was driving 45mph in a 35mph zone. Can you blame me? We all know what can happen if a fever rages out of control! I got pulled over and was ready for a ticket. I explained the situation to him. The frickin' cop spent a good 10 minutes looking over and into my truck before finally just telling me to slow down and letting me go. Yes, I was speeding, and yes, I should have gotten a ticket. However, how did he know my son's fever wasn't rising to a life-threatening level the whole time he was casually checking out my truck?! A little discretion or an escort would have been great.
And part of being involved in law enforcement is taking an oath to protect lives ... all lives.
~~~~~
Even the other motorists on the road...
The guy should have called an ambulance.