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You may recall in the press conference held by Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Daniel Martin's attorney he encouraged reporters to dig around in Paramedic Maurice White Jr.'s past. Tulsa World reporters Ron Jackson and Sheila Stogsdill did just that and at the same time looked at the work history of Trooper Martin.

It turns out Martin was the police chief of Fairfax, Oklahoma in Osage County from March 1999 to July 2000 where residents characterized him as a bully.

As for White, he was fired in June 2004 after 11-years with Muskogee County EMS. White was accused of unprofessional behavior.

I am sure there will be much discussion over the relevancy of such information in connection with the May 24 incident. As long as this high profile situation remained a hot issue, with charges and counter-charges on both sides, it should be expected reporters will look into the past of the two men, in an effort to give insight into who they are. I am just surprised someone didn't do it sooner.

On the surface, it would appear the skeletons in Trooper Martin's closet have more direct bearing on the confrontation between the two men than the previous accusations against Paramedic White. But you be the judge. Here are excerpts from the article:

Martin's tenure in Fairfax ended with a unanimous vote for his firing.

"Yeah, I remember him," store clerk Linda Burgess said. "That's a sore subject around here. He left quite an imprint on this community, and not a good one, either. He was a bully with an attitude.

"And he was always pulling people over and using the f-word."

EMS Director Terri Mortensen criticized White in a termination letter, citing his "unprofessional behavior" toward her and "misuse of authority over your subordinates." The letter listed other reasons for his termination:

Failure to complete run sheets in a timely manner.

Short notice on cancellation of teaching assignment.

Failure to schedule a relief EMT to cover his shift while he taught a class in a timely manner.

Forty of White's former co-workers wrote a letter to the editor of the Muskogee Phoenix in support of White's firing.

White was respected in other quarters. In Siloam Springs, Ark., he completed a one-year contract in 1992 as a paramedic for the fire department. Siloam Springs Fire Chief Jimmy Harris remembered White as "a good medic" and someone "pleasant to be with."

Gary Padgett, who supervised White as a paramedic in Harrison, Ark., in 1991, remembered him as "a pleasant young man" and a true professional.

Longtime Fairfax barber shop owner Linda Bevill described Martin as a bullish man who ran off teenagers from cruising Main Street and constantly accused residents of drinking alcohol during an endless stream of "unnecessary" traffic stops.

"He struck me as a man who probably didn't have any control over any part of his life growing up, someone who needed control and power," Bevill said. "I remember he even went and bought one of those portable police lights for his own car. He just needed to play cop even when he was off duty.

"He needed to be admired, but he could never figure out why people didn't like him. He just didn't have any feel for people. And he was always making something big out of nothing."

Former board of trustees member Ted Smith remembered Martin as someone who "didn't take orders very well."

Smith recalled one incident he witnessed in which two handcuffed teenagers were lying facedown on the sidewalk. Martin stood over one of the youngsters with his pistol aimed at the youth's head.

"The boys were already handcuffed and on the ground," Smith said. "Why pull the gun? ... Yeah, we had a lot of trouble with him. We're not surprised at all by what has happened. He just had an attitude.

"I always knew he'd be famous some day."

# posted by Dave Statter @ 8:05 AM