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Oklahoma Highway Patrol: Examiner coverage sparks petition drive to fire raging trooper
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Update: I've published the story on today's press conference by trooper Daniel Martin's attorney, Gary James.
Original story follows.
For more than two weeks I've followed the bizarre story of a raging Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper who interrupted an ambulance run and assaulted the paramedic on duty while a terrified patient waited.
After reading my stories and seeing the videos, Theo Karantsalis, a Miami, FL teacher and freelance journalist decided to do something about what he perceived as a dangerous cop.
He created a petition drive to fire OHP Trooper Daniel Martin, shown here applying a choke hold to EMT Maurice White. The incident happened May 24 near Prague, OK, and has created a firestorm of outrage.
Karantsalis has gotten hundreds of signatures at his petition site Fire Highway Patrolman Daniel Martin .I was fascinated by the idea of someone in Miami taking the time and energy to work on a situation in Oklahoma.
In an email interview, I asked Karantsalis why he chose to launch the petition drive. He replied
; ..this is how one affects change! Ten years ago, I couldn't imagine reaching out to people on such a scale. One thing I teach students at school is that regardless of where one lives, he or she now has access to a soap box with the world as their audience.
Personal involvement with a Miami race riot spawned by a police-community confrontation inspired Karantsalis to stand up and have his say.
; ...where I work in Liberty City was ground zero for a race riot in 1980 after a white police officer attacked and killed an unarmed black man.I teach all of my students in Miami’s inner city that we are equal and that we have to speak out when injustice occurs. After I watched the video of the trooper attack the EMT, I knew right then that I had to start a petition for his removal.
Karantsalis said he caught a wisp of a conversation about the incident at a local coffee shop. He turned to the web, where he said he became inspired by my series of stories, which he called "excellent reporting." (And my thanks for those kind words!)
Hundreds of people have flocked to the site to sign the petition, he said. And they're doing more than just clicking on a box. "People are writing from their hearts" in long comments, Karantsalis said.
He asked my help in letting you know that you do not have to donate in order to sign the petition or add your comment. He's using a standard template on that site, he said, and he's concerned that people think they're donating toward a legal effort or have to give money.
What Karantsalis wants, he said, is not your money, but your signatures, your comments, and your support on this controversial case.
Karantsalis tells his students that they should "keep learning", he said. And, he stressed, he believes in "free and accessible information."
He hopes to empower his students to learn that they can, and should, always tell their own stories. After all, he points out, his petition is about to "go viral"--and tyhat proves that the world listens when people communicate about issues important to them.
Links to my prior three stories, including videos, are at the right-hand side of the page.
Civil Liberties Examiner J.D. Tucille asks: Why should cops be treated with more respect than paramedics? It's a good read and points out something else--why should a cop's ego be more important than a patient enroute to the hospital?
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