Tulsa Woman Arrested for Gawking

[Coyote_Bandit]

She saw a car stuck in a tree following an accident and stopped to take pictures.

I suspect there were lots of people there gawking.

I also suspect that there was a cop on duty with an attitude.

http://www.newson6.com/story/15863014/tulsa-woman-arrested-for-gawking-at-accident-scene

[msongs]

1. police have quotas to meet or no promotions nt

[dipsydoodle]

2. Just gawking

or gawking without a licence ?

'cuse me Madam . Do 'ave a permit to gawk ?

[Sarah Ibarruri]

3. He didn't want to get caught behaving untowardly. Also...

"She was booked on two misdemeanor complaints: obstruction and resisting arrest."

Obstruction of what?

As for resisting arrest, cops bully people, then arrest them for 'resisting arrest.' That has to stop.

[MH1]

5. possibly, obstructing the emergency personnel from dealing with the accident

I think in this situation they have a right to tell people to leave, they have a job to do.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

8. They do. If that was the case, they needed to tell her to step away nt

[MH1]

4. according to the article she was asked to leave more than once, and refused

Based on the article, I see the cops' position on this. She could have been endangering others and if they asked her to leave she should have just gone.

[Coyote_Bandit]

11. Ummmm......

She was parked off the highway. And she was not asked to leave until she could not produce the press credentials she falsely claimed to have. The woman in question used to be a photojournalist and is a local blogger.

I suspect there is a lot more to this story than is being reported.

[bigmonkey]

15. You're assuming that the request to leave was a reasonable one.

It may not have been. The fact that a cop gets antsy about something is not sufficient reason.

[sharp_stick]

6. She pulled over on the interstate to take

pictures of a crash scene. Blocking access to rescue personnel and the like could make for a pretty dangerous situation and at the very least causing even more of a delay trying to get by/to the accident scene.

Personally I think that rubbernecking should be a hanging offense but I've had to drive on the Cross Bronx Expressway a lot in the last few months and have learned to despise people that slow down to get a better view of an accident.

[MADem]

12. Precisely. No sympathy from me--she'd have been better off taking pics out the window. NT

[dmallind]

7. I think more rubberneckers SHOULD be ticketed at least

People slowing down suddenly to a 5mph crawl to look at a wreck as if they have never seen a damaged car and a cop vehicle before risk our safety and add greatly to congestion. This woman stopped and got out on an interstate. Besides - if you were involved in a serious crash, would you want some prurient nosy cow taking pictures of you to gloat over?

[TwilightGardener]

16. To be fair, I slow down at wrecks, because it's a potentially hazardous scene--

emergency vehicles, people on foot, possible confusion, pieces of wreckage, etc. I am not going to zip by at the usual speed, even if there was no traffic slowdown at the scene.

[dmallind]

19. slowing down to a prudent speed is fine - when it's on your side of the highway at least

But all too often it's people slowing to a crawl to stare at something on the other side of a concrete divider.

[Ikonoklast]

9. She lied about being attached to AP.

She parked on the shoulder, possible blocking the movement of other emergency vehicles.

She could have moved on when asked to and parked elsewhere, as other photographers did, but she refused to do so.

That stretch of I-44 is a dangerous stretch through Tulsa, she was adding to the danger.

She sounds like a real piece of work.

[MADem]

10. She was an idiot. She lied to the cops, then didn't obey their lawful order to clear the scene for

emergency response vehicles.

She was stupid.

Tulsan Mary Bradshaw says she was stuck in traffic on I-44 when she saw a car dangling from a tree. The arrest report says troopers saw Bradshaw pull over and start taking pictures. When troopers questioned her, she claimed to work for the Associated Press.

She doesn't have credentials, so troopers asked her several times to leave, the report states. Bradshaw refused, and a trooper handcuffed her and took her to jail. She was booked on two misdemeanor complaints: obstruction and resisting arrest....

She would have been OK if she hadn't decided to ignore the cop while they were trying to manage the accident scene.

[JoePhilly]

13. Sounds dumb, but makes sense ...

Lots of accidents occur because of people becoming distracted by the accident, and the vehicles around it.

I saw such an accident first hand.

I was directly behind and accident, and barely avoided it. I got out and helped one driver, and another guy went to help the other driver.

He and I controlled traffic until police and medical folks arrived. This was dangerous. The drivers passing by were distracted big time.

After the police came, he and I were able to "step off" ... the authorities took over.

And then I watched as a cop walked directly into traffic and held his hand up to stop the cars.

Car #1 stopped because the COP was standing in the rode. Car #2 was watching all the activity and did not stop. Car #3 was also distracted and did not stop.

Bang bang bang. The car that stopped is rear-ended by car#2, and car #3 rear ends car#2. The Cop was ok.

You NEVER stop traffic on an interstate. You NEVER get out of your car in an Interstate unless your car DIED.

And you NEVER stop your car at an accident and take pictures on an interstate, unless you want to die.

[Coyote_Bandit]

17. The woman

did not stop on the highway. She pulled off on the shoulder of the road. She was not impeding traffic nor was she interferring with rescue efforts.

I know someone who lives nearby and who was returning home from Oktoberfest and observed these events. According to witnesses at the scene the real offense was being mouthy to a cop. Apparently thw woman was not asked to move or leave until she could not produce press credentials.

[JoePhilly]

18. The shoulder is part of the highway .... lots of folks get killed ...

on the shoulder.

[Coyote_Bandit]

20. Here

you are allowed to park (or abandon) your car on the shoulder of the highway and it is not to be towed for at least 24 hours.

Drivers here are familiar with and expect parked and unoccupied vehicles on the shoulder of the highway.

[JoePhilly]

23. My father died when his car hit a car on the shoulder, so this is personal.

You do NOT stop on the shoulder to take pictures.

You stop on the shoulder because you have a critical automotive issue.

People who stop on the shoulder for any other reason deserve a ticket.

And your claim that "Drivers here are familiar with and expect parked and unoccupied vehicles on the shoulder of the highway" is incredible stupid because it assumes that all drives on that road are ""Drivers here" ... very dumb. You can not assume that all the drivers on ANY road fall into your category of ... ""Drivers here".

Very myopic.

[Coyote_Bandit]

26. I'm sorry about your father

but the law here permits drivers to leave their cars on the shoulder of the highway for up to 24 hours. If a vehicle remains abandoed for more than 24 hours it is tagged and then towed. There are no tickets issued because no law has been violated.

If a driver hits a vehicle that is abandoned on the shoulder of the road here they will be ticketed. Why? Because hitting a vehicle parked on the shoulder of the road requires the driver to leave the road and all designated lanes of travel. Unless they are taking evasive action that is viewed as losing control of one's vehicle.

While it may not be a good idea to park on the shoulder of the road it is not illegal. It is a common practice here which drivers are familiar with and can reasonably expect. Drive the highways here on any given day you will encounter many cars abandoned on the shoulder of the highway.

I would imagine that like most places the vast majority of drivers here reside here. This certainly is no tourist mecca. Any non-resident driver ought to expect that many laws and practices differ from those in the jurisdiction where he resides.

Whether parking on the shoulder of the road promotes driver safety is a very dfferent issue from whether doing so is legal and regularly practiced in the area.

[seabeyond]

14. she didnt have credentials and asked a number of times to leave.

probably a traffic mess and probably didnt want to have to be concerned about her safety either.

[SoCalDem]

21. Did they include a picture too?

[Skittles]

24. ABNER! ABNER!!!

:rofl:

[treestar]

22. The charges don't make total sense to me at this time

Obstruction and resisting arrest comes from them asking her to leave, but can they?

This question comes up in movie making, where the movie maker tries to tell people they must leave a public place.

What authority is there for a cop just telling you to leave and that's against the law? Or a movie maker?

[Enrique]

25. Nothing to see here

[Spike89]

27. Credentials?!?! Total nonsense

The government can not give or remove access to public spaces based on whether they recognize "press credentials". This is seriously anti-constitutional and pisses me the hell off that any progressive would think press credentials should have any bearing whatsoever on how the police act.

Now, past my rant it is totally appropriate for a police officer at the scene of an accident (or crime) to take charge of the scene for the safety of others and preservation of evidence. But press should not get a pass, but if they do, they must allow all press and by all press, that means everyone who claims to be reporting.

If you let the government decide which people are reporters, you gut freedom of the press. Freedom of speech is NOT just for reporters, it is a right all Americans inately enjoy.