Firefighter Was Arrested While Trying To Save Victims Of Horror Car Crash And People Are Outraged

A firefighter was arrested while responding to a vehicle accident, and as a result, he filed a claim against the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

On February 4, 2014, Jacob Gregoire, accompanied by his captain and an additional officer, arrived at the scene of a traffic collision and parked the fire engine on the highway fast lane, behind an ambulance.

In Chula Vista, it was usual procedure to put the fire engine between the ambulance and any approaching vehicles in order to safeguard it.

However, a police officer approached the firefighter and stopped him from helping the victims of the collision.

The officer was arrested while attending a car crash. CBS News 8

Gregoire claimed that when the CHP officer arrived, he was unloading equipment from the fire truck.

The policeman then threatened to arrest Gregoire if he didn't move the fire engine.

Gregoire informed the police that he would need to talk to his captain, at which point the officer handcuffed and arrested him.

Gregoire remembered how things went down.

He said: "It was odd, a surreal situation. At the time, I thought my career was over. It was tough, being seated in the back of that CHP car."

Gregoire lodged a complaint against the CHP after the incident, stating: "I’m not looking for compensation, I’m looking for policy change."

In 2014, Anne Steinberger, a spokesman for the City of Chula Vista, informed the San Diego Union Tribune: 

The footage shows him being led away in handcuffs. CBS News 8

"The city continues to meet with CHP and supports ongoing efforts to ensure situations that happened on Feb. 4 do not happen again."

According to court records from the case file, Gregoire was detained for around thirty minutes before being allowed to go. 

Dave Hanneman, the fire chief, said at the time: "To detain one of our firefighters in the middle of an incident is ridiculous."

"My engineers and all the crews did exactly what they're trained to do."

In an effort to collaborate more effectively, the police and fire departments jointly issued a statement at the time, characterizing the arrest as "an isolated incident" and stating that it will "be a topic of future joint training sessions."

Unsurprisingly, people got angry when the incident's footage appeared again.

One commented: "When firefighters are on scene and rendering aid, they control where they park their vehicles for everybody's safety."

Another posted: "Why are people against police reform when they do nonsense like this?"

A third wrote: "A car is flipped over, people severely injured and the cop decides to arrest the man helping them."