Brickbat: Hot Dog

Memphis, Tennessee, police officer Ralph Confer has been charged with assault for attacking a medical technician at Regional One Hospital while on duty. The attack happened at the police holding area at the hospital. The med tech went there to borrow some equipment and found they were having a cookout. A nurse told her to have a hot dog. But Confer told her she couldn't have one. She returned a short time later and another employee told her to have a hot dog, but when she tried to fix one, Confer slapped it out of her hand and ordered her to leave out the back door. When she said she had to leave by the front door, Confer grabbed her arms, picked her up, slammed her to the ground, put a knee in her back and handcuffed her and put her in a holding cell. A nurse saw what happened and called her supervisor, who came and got her out of the cell.

Comments

[BigT]

Whose weiner was she fixing?

[Inigo Montoya]

So they will immediately shoot any actual dogs, but they will fight tooth and nail to protect a hot dog? I guess that is what is meant by the motto “to serve and protect.”

[Agammamon]

Look, like a K9, a cop's hotdog is a law enforcement officer regarding all interactions with the public but just a dumb hotdog when it comes to mistreatment by cops themselves.

[Cyto]

I guess somebody was bitter about having to chip in for the cookout....

[Crackers Boy]

And nothing else happened.

CB

[Still Curmudgeoned (Nunya)]

He got released from jail on a $100 bond. What else could you expect.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Relieved of duty (with pay) so you know they're serious.

[SIV]

She failed to obey the lawful command of a police officer. She's lucky. That can carry the penalty of summary execution.

[Longtobefree]

" . . . happened at the police holding area . . . "

Now there's an idea whose time has come. Perhaps we just need to include disarming them before we put them in a holding area?

[Fist of Etiquette]

He got charged because you can do that on a whim to civilians but police rely on medical personnel.

[Jerryskids]

A nurse saw what happened and called her supervisor, who came and got her out of the cell.

How does that work? Why didn't the nurse and the supervisor both wind up in the cell along with the medical tech? And why were they having a cookout inside the police holding area? Were they maybe all fucked up on the carbon monoxide fumes?

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Hot dogs can be cooked in a myriad of ways. While they called it a cookout, don't assume they were using a BBQ.

[Conchfritters]

It’s a good thing he didn’t ask her to take a blood draw from a guy in a coma who got injured in a horrific car accident.

[Quo Usque Tandem]

I thought surely, there has to be more to this story, so I looked up the local news reports. About the only thing I can add is:

"Then he threw her to the ground, put his knee in her back, and handcuffed her. Confer then put her in a holding cell. The victim told police she was never informed that she was under arrest and Confer didn’t explain her charges to her.

A registered nurse at the hospital called the officer’s supervisor to police holding. Shortly after, the victim was released from the cell.
The victim was given medical attention and suffered a hematoma to the top of her head, bruising on both biceps, bruising on her shin, and soreness to her hip and lower back."

So, from what we know, the LEO is pretty much just an all around asshole in uniform, but this does beg the question: don't they have to get some level of training and pass some type of competency exam in order to be hired in such a role?

[Cyto]

I'm gonna go with dude was going through some shit outside the job.

Maybe his wife left him, or is screwing around on him. Maybe mom has cancer.

Whatever, dude clearly was not acting rationally.

For the rest of us, having a bad day means maybe getting into it with your boss and losing your job, or getting in a fight at the bar and getting a battery charge. But police spend their entire lives having the ability to use violence to enforce their whims. So when one of them has a bad day like that, this is what happens.

Actually, this is probably the best version of this scenario. Other versions include beating the crap out of some random lowlife and then putting him in jail for assaulting an officer, or simply shooting someone for "furtive movements".

[Charles Easterly]

...but this does beg the question: don’t they have to get some level of training and pass some type of competency exam in order to be hired in such a role?

"...Police officers in Minnesota
and nationally are not adequately trained to de-escalate situations or to recognize their biases,
instead they are trained extensively on how to use force, which results in increased use of force
incidents." (page 5)

"One study argued that
while recruits with traits like intelligence, honesty, common sense, reliability and/or
conscientiousness are highly regarded, the police culture can quickly ruin an officer’s values.... Experts debate whether officers should maintain a guardian or a warrior
mindset. Guardians aim to protect community members, whereas warriors remain separate from
the community and fight crime.... This warrior mindset starts in training, especially in academies that emphasize following orders without questioning...." (page 9)

Excerpts from Bad cops or bad training? How police officer
training impacts use of force incidents.

[Don't look at me!]

That’s what you get when you put ketchup on a hot dog.

[mad.casual]

Except for having ketchup and hot dog in the same sentence, I approve this message.

Never. Put. Ketchup. On. A. Hot dog.

[Echospinner]

The only exception is something I remember as a kid mom would make. Coat them in ketchup then roll them in crushed corn flakes. Add a stick and bake. A crunchy home style corn dog. Was good then anyway and kids can participate.

The other thing I don’t get is mayo on a hot dog. And is that lettuce in the picture?

[Halykan]

You'll have to take my ketchup covered hotdogs from my cold dead hands!

[crufus]

Reading this made me hungry for a grilled hot dog with mustard and lots of ketchup.

[Necron 99]

Sadly, the courts have never ruled on "hot dog rage" before, so qualified immunity. FYTW

[OneSimpleLesson]

Funny but sad.

[darkflame]

Poe's law is strong with this one, unfortunately it's not so much Necron's intent, but more of the reality of the situation.

[Dillinger]

tragically ludicrous.

[Jerry B.]

If it was a doughnut, I could understand.

[Brandybuck]

Standard operating procedure for the police. Nothing to see. Move along.

[Ron]

Is this cop Farva from Supper Troopers, always over the top to prove himself.
And cops wonder why people don't trust them anymore

[Echospinner]

Damn just got back from the store and now I wish I had bought me some hot dogs.