Perhaps you’ve seen the infamous video of an OHP Trooper roughing up a Creek Nation EMT. I dare say plenty of Okies are unsurprised. The State of Oklahoma has never been very kind, and hardly respectful, of the Creek Nation. Just a few days before that video was shot, the OHP had confiscated two truck loads of tobacco products headed to the Creek Nation shops. Oklahoma has fought hard to deny the treaties made with the various native tribes since before statehood. This merely echoes federal policies.
We note, first of all, this amounts to a very sinful failure to observe the Covenant of Noah, via unilateral abrogation of treaties between sovereign nations. Treaties amount to covenants sworn before God, and He takes that seriously. Niggling and quibbling around the edges until you eventually take a bite out of the center of the thing is de jure proof of bad faith. Our nation has sinned, and Oklahoma is a major party to that sin.
However, the smaller issue is important for those of us striving to please God. By all accounts, the Trooper is a decent guy, as most OHP officers are. People are people. Whether he was actually a good moral man remains open to debate, but at that moment he had a serious attack of the stupids. If we ignore, for a moment, the very ugly relations between the OHP and the Creek Nation, this whole thing was quite petty. Acting professionally would have meant following the ambulance until the patient was transferred to the hospital, then calmly discussing the alleged infraction. By no means was the radio exchange justified.
It’s possible there are other pertinent facts not yet released. As a former police desk sergeant myself, I would have removed Trooper Martin from duty until superiors could review the case. Such an incident indicates a patrolman needs some time to think it over, and I would not have allowed him on patrol again until I was satisfied the agency would not be further embarrassed by such foolishness. Cameras are everywhere, these days. Ethics means acting professionally as if you were being watched, even when you are sure you aren’t. Morality is a standard yet higher, because it assumes God is always watching. Keeping your temper, even when you have to defend yourself, remains a professional standard in my book.
So we are left now realizing even supposedly good cops can get stupid, and threaten life and safety totally without any justification. You don’t have to hate policemen to realize you can’t trust them at all. They are not necessarily the enemy of the rest of us, but we must never forget the systemic tendency for them to regard us as their enemy. Be relieved when the State does the right thing; never be surprised when it’s agents treat you as less than human. It’s what you should expect.
