Cop fired after helping fellow officers in distress

[LaRue Medlin]

Just saw this on Yahoo,,, BS in capital letters!



Rice Univ.

It was a Saturday on campus when David Sedmak, a Rice University police officer, heard "Officer down, officer down!" on his scanner: Two members of the Houston Police Department had been shot downtown. Sedmak rushed to the scene to help his fellow officers.

But Rice didn't see Sedmak as a hero. Instead, the university fired him, citing "dereliction of duty."

The university said in a statement that its officers often assist other law enforcement agencies when the need arises. But Sedmak erred, it said, by not informing the university police dispatcher about where he was.

"Sedmak left his post when only two other officers were on duty and failed to notify his supervisor of his whereabouts for nearly an hour, which could have endangered the safety of our students and campus," according to the university.

The May 7 episode that led to Sedmak's controversial dismissal began when Jesse Brown, 20, was seen with a pistol as he tried to buy a ticket at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Houston. When HPD officer Fernando Meza, working an off-duty job at the station, confronted Brown about the weapon, Brown shot him in the hand. Soon after, Brown shot another officer, Timothy Moore, in the leg.

Sedmak said he arrived on the scene and prepared for a confrontation with the armed suspect. Several HPD officers came in after him and took cover behind his patrol car. Brown, who had been accused of shooting a 3-year-old girl, her grandfather and another man on Halloween in San Francisco, then shot and killed himself as Sedmak and the other cops closed in.

Both Meza and Moore were at a news conference Monday to show their support for Sedmak, a former Galveston police officer. The Houston Police Officer's Union presented him with a $2,500 check to help as he looks for new work.

Sedmak was stunned by the dismissal. "My only concern on that day was to render aid to these two officers," he said. "Quite frankly, I couldn't believe that after being in law enforcement for nearly 17 years that I was being relieved of my duty for running an assist to an officer."

Kevin Lawrence of the Texas Municipal Police Association agreed. "You don't fire a guy for this unless he's a chronic disciplinary problem," Lawrence said. "You call him in, you counsel him and you put him back out there. If he's a good cop, he's a good employee. You use this as a training opportunity."

(Rice University's Lovett Hall: Pat Sullivan/AP)

 

[Bud Williams]

He should have been counseled, but not fired. There must be other factors not mentioned.

But didn't the supervisor and other officers on duty hear the same call on the radio?

There is more to this story, I'm sure...

 

[Mark K 2]

I experienced a similar situation. I had a team of three medics stationed at a certain place during an industrial ammonia leak call and civilian evacuation. One of the medics took off on his own to help another team. The wind shifted an that team had to change position, but couldn't find the third team member. He was "lost" for over 90 minutes. I was never so PISSED OFF in my entire administrative career. I would have fired him if I wasn't short of staff at the moment. I never forgot it and never promoted him.

 

[Robert Caffyn]

I feel Bud is right on this one. There's more to the story. Bob

 

[Richard L]

I certainly don't feel he should have been fired for responding to an "Officer Down" call, but he did leave his post without permission and did not inform the dispatcher of his location...which appears to be the real reason he was fired?



One of the General Orders of a US Army guard is: "Not to leave your post until properly relieved". That one of the basic rules of any Security position. Unless there is more to this story, I think firing was a bit too much.



...Rich

 

[TomT]

Since I actually work at the university in question I have to weigh in. There is much more to this story then it appears. He is not being fired for assisting a fellow officer. He is being fired for leaving an area he is paid to protect and not notifying anyone that he was leaving. This is a small campus with a limited amount of officers on duty and cannot afford it's officers leaving the campus whenever they feel like it. Should he have been fired for this one incident? Probably not but from what I hear this was not the first time the officer had been reprimanded for leaving his post.

 

[LaRue Medlin]

that's nice to know Tom, you know there is always more to the story......................

 

[Richard L]

I suspected there was more to the story. This officer probably had multiple incidents of leaving his assigned patrol area, or not reportng his location in the past...and that is why he was fired.



...Rich

 

[H D]

Whole story or not, I find it a politically stupid move to fire him for this incident given the situation. A strong reprimand and a "final chance" would probably have been more appropriate and politically sensitive given the situation. Had they done that, one more incident, even being late to duty by one minute, would have been grounds for firing and the headlines would not read as if he was fired after what many would consider to be a noble cause, even if not in proper procedure. All they needed were a couple more weeks of tolerating his (assumed) negligent behavior to avoid this becoming a story.

 

[TomT]

I believe he already had his 2 strikes. He may make it sound like he was the only one around to respond but we are talking about a city that has it's own personnel plus the sheriff's department, metro police, constables and lots more. He was probably 1 of a 100 that responded to this particular incident.

 

[Richard L]

TomT,

I agree. I bet that the entire Houston Police force did not respond to the Office Down eport. Police departements know that these kinds of emergency calls often just a ploy by crooks to do a robery on the other side of town, knowing that police are off on a wild goose chase. That's why there is no such thing as the "Calling All Cars" type of reponse any more. Dispatchers want to know who is in the area and wil dispatch the necessary reenforcements needed which still maintains adequate police coverage throughout the city.



I know it may sound cold to ignore an Office Down all, but security demands that you remain at your guard post to insure that this is not just a diversion.



...Rich