When a North Carolina firefighter switched on the siren atop his Chapel Hill Fire Department truck to get a driver he suspected of being impaired to pull over, he probably didn't expect to ignite a constitutional debate.
But that's exactly what has happened. The woman Fire Lt. Gordon Shatley pulled over on his way back from a call was Dorothy Hoogland Verkerk, a professor at the University of North Carolina and former town council member who is arguing use of the fire truck and siren - which are not authorized for law enforcement actions - gave the color of government to what might otherwise have been a lawful citizen's arrest. And although a lower court upheld Verkerk's arrest, an appellate court remanded the case with instructions to consider whether it was an illegal search and seizure.
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3 comments:
Another JERK fireman who thinks they are above the law. Salisbury has quite a few of them.
Just like the citizens of Salisbury. Above the law whiny jerks.
@12:59 What is everybody's complaint with fire fighters? He was trying to keep from having to scrape her, or somebody she hit, off the road because she was drunk. He did not try to arrest her or detain her, he talked to her and suggested she get someone take her home. She agreed, then drove away so he called the police. I don't see where he was in the wrong.
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