While I admit to a long list of annoyances and petty grievances something that does excessively steam my clams is the news show “tease.” I speak of the little announcement and video clip that one expects, or at least hopes, will precede a news report.
When such a tease is given prior to a commercial there is an expectation that sometime soon after the program returns the report that was teased will play. But so often, the report will not return in the segment following a commercial and yet another tease will precede another commercial and at times even another sequence of tease-commercial will ensue.
Now it is easy to understand that a tease is used to entice viewers to continue watching the news program. However, it seems to me that if the teased piece isn’t shown after the first tease-commercial that these folks are just jerking me around. I usually say “to hell with it.” I did today stay, because of my interest, this afternoon watching two tease-commercial sequences.
This was on CNN’s “Situation Room” with Wolf Blitzer. The tease in question was for a video in which an Oklahoma state trooper pulled over an ambulance because its driver allegedly failed to yield right of way. The ambulance was carrying a patient to a hospital although the vehicle was not running with lights and siren.
In the video, the paramedic supervisor who was riding in back got out after the trooper pulled over the ambulance driver and an argument began between the cop and the paramedic. The trooper took a belligerent tone throughout the traffic stop, almost immediately cussing the ambulance operator for not letting him pass, and later the family of the woman being transported came up on the scene. A scuffle involving the paramedic and the trooper briefly took place. The trooper finally let the EMTs continue to the hospital where he issued the driver a warning. The local DA declined to file charges.
Not knowing what the patient was being taken to the hospital for it isn’t totally easy to judge the outcome. My feelings — provided the delay didn’t cause the patient any undue stress or endanger her — is all’s well that ends well.
My opinion, informed as it is inasmuch as my past experience in emergency care includes time as an EMT, is that operators of emergency vehicles are bound by the law to follow traffic regulations even during dire circumstances. Having not seen what all took place precipitating the stop, I can’t say if the ambulance in question actually broke any laws.
Just because an emergency vehicle isn’t running lights and sirens doesn’t necessarily mean the auto isn’t “running hot” or on an emergency run. To give one example, an ambulance might not use a siren while taking a person with chest pains to the hospital in order to lessen the chance a patient will be scared even more than they already are. They probably should use emergency lights in such a case though. Also, a police unit might not use lights and sirens in some situations such as approaching on a crime in progress.
It does seem both the trooper and the riding paramedic went way more off the reservation (pardon the pun since the ambulance apparently belonged to the Creek Nation)and could have acted more professionally. They could have harmed the patient and they obviously damaged their public posture.
As for Wolf Blitzer, quit being cute with your teases.