What is the World Coming To?

[epicSocialism4tw]

Texas man arrested after rescuing swimmer
Authorities allege David Newman interfered with emergency personnel

The Associated Press
Updated: 9:33 a.m. ET July 5, 2005


SAN MARCOS, Texas - A man who rescued a swimmer caught in swirling river currents found himself in trouble soon afterward when he was arrested by authorities who claimed he was interfering.

Dave Newman, 48, disobeyed repeated orders by emergency personnel to leave the water, police said. He was charged with interfering with public duties.

“I was amazed,” Newman said Monday after his release on $2,000 bail. “I had a very uncomfortable night after saving that guy’s life. He thanked me for it in front of the police, and then they took me to jail.”

Abed Duamni, 35, of Houston, said he had just finished eating at a restaurant Sunday when he decided to go for a swim in a nearby river. Duamni said he didn’t see any signs warning swimmers of dangerous currents.

Newman said he pulled Duamni out of the water, swimming under a waterfall and over to the shore opposite from the restaurant. He could hear law enforcement personnel telling him to come back to the other side.

According to police, Newman smirked and seemed annoyed by officers’ requests. He stood in the water for about 15 seconds before swimming downstream.

“When he came across the river, the officer stuck out his hand like he’s going to help him out of the water, and he put cuffs on him,” said John Parnell, pastor of St. Augustine Old Roman Catholic Church in Fort Worth.

© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
© 2005 MSNBC.com

URL: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8471301/

[epicSocialism4tw]

You would think that the officer could get over the power trip for a moment.

[Atlas]

Some guys become cops just for the ego trip. The small town cops are the worst. They make about $300 a week and just have attitudes from hell. The only reason they are cops is because of the power trip they get out it.

{ATTENTION} before giving me the third degree Let me say that NOT ALL cops are like this.................... just most of them.

[epicSocialism4tw]

Some guys become cops just for the ego trip. The small town cops are the worst. They make about $300 a week and just have attitudes from hell. The only reason they are cops is because of the power trip they get out it.

{ATTENTION} before giving me the third degree Let me say that NOT ALL cops are like this.................... just most of them.

To take that job in the first place you ave to be comfortable with loading regular people down with punishment for disobeying laws that are sometimes unfair or meaningless.

There are policemen in a town I drive through every weekend that stop you at 7 miles over the limit and give you tickets in an imaginary work zone that I have never seen any evidence of work taking place in outside of the signs that say 'work zone, traffic fines double.' My girlfriend got a ticket for going 7 over there and had to pay over 300 dollars. Rediculous.

[broncogary]

To take that job in the first place you ave to be comfortable with loading regular people down with punishment for disobeying laws that are sometimes unfair or meaningless.

There are policemen in a town I drive through every weekend that stop you at 7 miles over the limit and give you tickets in an imaginary work zone that I have never seen any evidince of work taking place in outside of the signs that say 'work zone, traffic fines double.' My girlfriend got a ticket for going 7 over there and had to pay over 300 dollars. Rediculous.

Rediculous. Mock, do you agree? hmmm...

[TotallyScrewed]

Although it's unfair to the good ones and I apologize to them...

The cops are not that much different from the criminals; both love the power and lording it over you. One of the more impersonated professions by the criminal mind.

[Garcia Bronco]

But...but...police are your friends. Frickin Pigs.

[Garcia Bronco]

You know what they say about Texas...it's a whole other country.

[Beantown Bronco]

To play Devil's Advocate for a minute....around here, there are plenty of stories of people getting into trouble in the water only to have a friend or relative jump in and try to save them. More often than not, that good samaritan gets into trouble as well and now the EMTs or police have two people to save.

It's one thing if no "professionals" are around to help and it's all on you to save the person. But if there are trained individuals on your tail, you'd be smart to let them do their job.

This guy probably shouldn't have been arrested, but the police have to do something to deter this kind of behavior. Again, I'm not saying people shouldn't act if they are the only hope; they obviously should. But if trained personnel are right behind you and you are potentially hampering their efforts, bad things usually happen.

It worked out well for everyone this time, but more often than not, we'd be looking at two drowned individuals.

[Tredici]

~~~Abed Duamni, 35, of Houston, said he had just finished eating at a restaurant Sunday when he decided to go for a swim in a nearby river. Duamni said he didn’t see any signs warning swimmers of dangerous currents. ~~~

This is the idiot who should've gone to jail.

[-Slap-]

Law enforcement is certainly a thankless job. You risk your life for relatively low pay. You're reviled as power hungry by people who get traffic tickets, even if they're breaking posted ordinances. One cop makes a questionable decision (none of us were there), and less than ten posts later people are extrapolating that cops are essentially the same as criminals.

[bendog]

It's texas. nough said.

[Billy Clyde Puckett]

~~~Abed Duamni, 35, of Houston, said he had just finished eating at a restaurant Sunday when he decided to go for a swim in a nearby river. Duamni said he didn’t see any signs warning swimmers of dangerous currents. ~~~

This is the idiot who should've gone to jail.

Yes - Our tax dollars are paying for his stupidity.

[Billy Clyde Puckett]

To play Devil's Advocate for a minute....around here, there are plenty of stories of people getting into trouble in the water only to have a friend or relative jump in and try to save them. More often than not, that good samaritan gets into trouble as well and now the EMTs or police have two people to save.

It's one thing if no "professionals" are around to help and it's all on you to save the person. But if there are trained individuals on your tail, you'd be smart to let them do their job.

This guy probably shouldn't have been arrested, but the police have to do something to deter this kind of behavior. Again, I'm not saying people shouldn't act if they are the only hope; they obviously should. But if trained personnel are right behind you and you are potentially hampering their efforts, bad things usually happen.

It worked out well for everyone this time, but more often than not, we'd be looking at two drowned individuals.

Since we only have a short story that was written by a staff writer of some newspaper who did not witness the events, it is hard to tell who is right and who is wrong in this situation. My inclination is to rag on the writer in this case as he has obviously written a story without total objectivity, but that is the case in almost every news report we see.

[Hotrod]

~~~Abed Duamni, 35, of Houston, said he had just finished eating at a restaurant Sunday when he decided to go for a swim in a nearby river. Duamni said he didn’t see any signs warning swimmers of dangerous currents. ~~~

This is the idiot who should've gone to jail.

Ha! that was my first thought. If stupid was a crime this dude might have gotten the needle.

[Tredici]

Ha! that was my first thought. If stupid was a crime this dude might have gotten the needle.

Slap his Momma, too. Didn't she teach him - don't go in the water for an hour after eating?!

I mean, don't most of us eat a big, old, greasy, fried, Texas style lunch and then get up and look at some mosquito infested, brown, muddy, murky Texas style river and think - Hey! I know! A swim! -- But carefully check for any dangerous current signs first, of course.

[Billy Clyde Puckett]

Slap his Momma, too. Didn't she teach him - don't go in the water for an hour after eating?!

I mean, don't most of us eat a big, old, greasy, fried, Texas style lunch and then get up and look at some mosquito infested, brown, muddy, murky Texas style river and think - Hey! I know! A swim! -- But carefully check for any dangerous current signs first, of course.

Yep and no big, old, fried, Texas style lunch is complete without a few Lone Stars.

[epicSocialism4tw]

Slap his Momma, too. Didn't she teach him - don't go in the water for an hour after eating?!

I mean, don't most of us eat a big, old, greasy, fried, Texas style lunch and then get up and look at some mosquito infested, brown, muddy, murky Texas style river and think - Hey! I know! A swim! -- But carefully check for any dangerous current signs first, of course.


That river is gorgeous and cold. It's in East Texas hill country.

[Rock Chalk]

I was just there last weekend. How odd.

[epicSocialism4tw]

Law enforcement is certainly a thankless job. You risk your life for relatively low pay. You're reviled as power hungry by people who get traffic tickets, even if they're breaking posted ordinances. One cop makes a questionable decision (none of us were there), and less than ten posts later people are extrapolating that cops are essentially the same as criminals.


I dont agree that all cops are the same as criminals. I have worked with one woman at a volunteer organization that I thought was a great example of a human.

On the other hand, a friend of mine from high school became a cop after selling marijuana and cocaine, vandalizing several cars and buildings with regularity, stealing whatever he could get his hands on, and committing insurance fraud by taking his car out to a field and burning it after reporting it stolen.

I was given a speeding ticket one time when I was certain that I was not speeding and had been monitoring the speedometer moments before. I tried to explain to the officer that he must have gotten my car confused with another but he did not want to hear it. I asked to see his radar and he refused. My only recourse was to (as a young 20 year old) verbally berate the guy for being a crooked cop. He didn't take that very well!

[-Slap-]

On the other hand, a friend of mine from high school became a cop after selling marijuana and cocaine, vandalizing several cars and buildings with regularity, stealing whatever he could get his hands on, and committing insurance fraud by taking his car out to a field and burning it after reporting it stolen.
I guess the county the friend lives in must have been hard up for police recruits. In most departments you have to pass a background check and psychological profile and a guy with that extensive a criminal history would probably have been rejected.

[Hotrod]

That river is gorgeous and cold. It's in East Texas hill country.

I was in that area a couple of years ago. The 'hill country' thing makes me laugh more like mole hills but actually a beautiful area. Lots of strange deer that I guess the rich folks in the area brought over from Africa or something then they escaped and are now wild.

[epicSocialism4tw]

I was in that area a couple of years ago. The 'hill country' thing makes me laugh more like mole hills but actually a beautiful area. Lots of strange deer that I guess the rich folks in the area brought over from Africa or something then they escaped and are now wild.

I think that those are Pronghorns.

You should see West Texas. You would understand why it's called hill country.

[Hotrod]

I think that those are Pronghorns.

You should see West Texas. You would understand why it's called hill country.

I think Im messing this all up. It was in Kerville (sp) and they had all kinds of deer about the size of dogs running around. Axis deer and others ???

[epicSocialism4tw]

I guess the county the friend lives in must have been hard up for police recruits. In most departments you have to pass a background check and psychological profile and a guy with that extensive a criminal history would probably have been rejected.

He is in the city that is the top Police destination in the area. He had no criminal record because he was never caught and punished for anything I mentioned above. I know the guy well, and he has a criminal mind for certain.

[Crushaholic]

To play Devil's Advocate for a minute....around here, there are plenty of stories of people getting into trouble in the water only to have a friend or relative jump in and try to save them. More often than not, that good samaritan gets into trouble as well and now the EMTs or police have two people to save.

It's one thing if no "professionals" are around to help and it's all on you to save the person. But if there are trained individuals on your tail, you'd be smart to let them do their job.

Yep. It worked out this time, but there's a reason why emergency personnel are trained to do this sort of thing.

[Rock Chalk]

I guess the county the friend lives in must have been hard up for police recruits. In most departments you have to pass a background check and psychological profile and a guy with that extensive a criminal history would probably have been rejected.
Actually Slap, criminal history doesnt get you rejected from being law enforcement. Not even felonies. It makes it harder, but qualified applicants may still apply even convicted felons.

Applicants are far more likely to be rejected based on psychological profiles than background checks. Cant have crazy ****ers with guns AND authority.

[epicSocialism4tw]

Yep. It worked out this time, but there's a reason why emergency personnel are trained to do this sort of thing.

I agree with that response, but to arrest the guy and make him post a $2000 bail is a little bit arbitrary. It sounds to me like the officers went a little overboard.

[TotallyScrewed]

Like I said: they're not all bad and I don't want rag on all cops or public professionals.
I personally know some good ones who go well beyond duty and are great people and I 100% agree that it's a thankless job, so is my job. Yep, they're risking their lives. BUT they do get off on it, even the good ones.

The criminals are mostly smart enough to how it works...

Kill a citizen and you might get off or get 20 years, out in 6-9.
Threaten a cop and your wormchow.
Kill a cop and we'll expend $$$$$ maybe $$$$$$ to extradite your arse and then your wormchow.
Kill a white girl or sell her off to sex-slavery and her mom will cry foul on camera but that's about where the official concern ends.

Sooo the criminals typically just run from the police and us, citizens, rather than the police, are often in far more danger from the bad-guys.

Sure, I've had to defend myself from a wrongful tickets; long stories...but suffice it to say the "system" protects the "official" parties. None of that endears me. I've also been harrassed because a car "looks" like it could be driven fast. When the traffic cops know to wait for back-up and maybe two back-up cars...something is outta whack. Usually it starts with the small town stygma.

BUT I freely admit that I've been GUILTY of a number of violations, moving and otherwise, and mostly wasn't caught.

[Garcia Bronco]

I really don't think we need anymore facts...the guy didn't listen to the officer. Then the officer's ego wanted to arrest the guy. That's it. It's dumb and a complete waste of public resources. The officer should lose his job for wasting taxpayer green.

[Crushaholic]

I really don't think we need anymore facts...the guy didn't listen to the officer. Then the officer's ego wanted to arrest the guy. That's it. It's dumb and a complete waste of public resources. The officer should lose his job for wasting taxpayer green.

Not listening to the cops usually gets you into some type of trouble. Maybe he shouldn't have been arrested and made to post bail. At the very least, he should have been given a stern warning about why this good intentioned soul could have made the situation worse.

[Tredici]

That river is gorgeous and cold. It's in East Texas hill country.

Well, since he was from Houston it wouldn't have surprised me if he was taking a dip in one of those stinky, stanky, disgusting bayous everyone thinks are in someway endearing to the city.

(Sooner or later I will go far enough to get Alec all riled up. Didn't mean to disturb the llama...)

Hahahhahahhahahaha.

[epicSocialism4tw]

Well, since he was from Houston it wouldn't have surprised me if he was taking a dip in one of those stinky, stanky, disgusting bayous everyone thinks are in someway endearing to the city.

(Sooner or later I will go far enough to get Alec all riled up. Didn't mean to disturb the llama...)

Hahahhahahhahahaha.

i'll echo that sentiment, Tredici.

Houston is a dump. It smells terribly, the people are rude and arrogant, you are virtually guaranteed at least one good mugging when you go downtown...not a good place to be.

[Garcia Bronco]

Not listening to the cops usually gets you into some type of trouble. Maybe he shouldn't have been arrested and made to post bail. At the very least, he should have been given a stern warning about why this good intentioned soul could have made the situation worse.


It's still taking things too far on the part of the officer. And that was my point. Listening to a police officer isn't always the right thing to do, but that's spliting hairs

[bendog]

http://www.barneyfife.com/