New York, 2:48 AM
Thu Nov 12
67 posts in the last 24 hours
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| posts about #horrorstories more → |
Cop Fail: Couple Investigated For Trying To Cremate Miscarried Fetus |
WTF |
Yes, Gentlemen Do Prefer Blondes |
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
Jezebel 
03/13/09
03/13/09
Anyway, maybe I'm just made of pioneer stock, but freezing it and making a big thing about cremating it seems kind of over-the-top. When my best friend miscarried in the toilet at her folks' house at 13 weeks, her mother flushed it down for her, too.
(You have a lot of cramping then you feel like you need to poop and then you feel this slippery mass slide out your vagina, for those of you who are curious.)
03/12/09
The heart beat doesn't usually start until 5 weeks, at which time the embryo is 1/17th of an inch long, the size of the tip of an ink pen. To say there were "fetus remains" in the freezer is misleading, and what was in there must have been labeled in a big tupperware container.
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These are jobs that exist because society needs them. Someone actually has to physically deal with those who use aggression against portions of, or the whole of, the community. From there, we make these workers preform many other functions, some that they are not prepared to take on.
We expect a lot from them, yet we rarely consider that they must deal at one moment, with the violent dregs of society, and the next with the average citizen - with professionalism. And what is professionalism, when you are being bitten or shot at? When a rich "untouchable" asshole is lying to you straighfaced? When you must collect body parts, and inform a family that their loved one has been killed?
If you think your office job is tough, imagine dealing with blood, aggression, and fear - only to spend the quieter hours in court or dealing with bureaucracy and office politics.
Maybe we should see how society functions without lawyers? Judges? Juries? Representative government?
All of these professions are reflections of US, and the power that we convene in them. A little understanding goes a long way.
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dead embryos > black dudes shot in the back, restrained on the ground, on the way to their weddings, etc etc
I finally get how CA cops work now, carry on.
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See what I did there?
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The cop in this threat is correct, based on the information they had, they DID act properly.
There were lots of mistakes made, but a police officer breaking into a home, based on a radio call of human remains is not one of them.
Yes cops screw up, but so do people in every profession and most professions don't have the mental trauma of dealing with what cops deal with every day.
How much money would each of you Jezzies have to be paid to risk your life EVERY DAY and do it in ill-fitting polyester?
Now, let's go back to focusing on the trauma of the mother and how said that there was not a mechanism in place to cause less difficulties in dealing with her miscarriage.
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read the second page of it, it states that the morgue/coroner's office both screwed up pretty badly (didn't know procedure, wrongly told them they needed a death certificate and then the coroner informed them they needed to notify the police)
i'm a cop. when you get a job over the radio there is often little to no information to go by and absolutely no context for the situation until you show up to the scene and try to figure out what happened. the article states that something the along the lines of 'human remains in freezer' was passed along to the authorities, no wonder everyone showed up in a frenzy. that's a pretty big deal no matter where you work (and I work in the bronx). of course, many of our worst radio runs often turn out to be a whole lot of nothing. but you don't hear something like that and no treat it as important until you find out otherwise. just my two cents i guess.
oh, and i'd also like to say that i'm by no means trying to imply that this situation wasn't traumatic for this couple. my heart really does go out to them. my point is that this post centers on the police and their 'horrible mistake' and sure i'm a bit biased but as far as procedure goes, fact is they didn't do anything wrong. it was just a giant miscommunication on everyone's part, and hopefully this incident will lead to clearer guidelines for all agencies involved.
03/12/09
03/12/09
okay, let's imagine this scenario then. say you're a police officer. you receive a radio run for an address and hear the phrase 'frozen human remains in freezer'. (by the way i'm not pulling this out of my ass, read the second page of the linked article. article states that's what the cops knew of the situation before acting) yes, great. let's call the apartment before taking any action and ask the person who answers, "excuse me sir, this is the police department. we've just been informed that you have frozen human remains in your freezer. we wanted to check in with you before we head over there" sorry for the sarcasm but that just doesn't make sense.
also, the linked article states the reasoning for entering the apartment without a warrant etc was 'exigent circumstances' which is procedure if law enforcement believes there is some kind of threat of death, etc. i personally disagree with this part of what happened assuming they thought there was a dead body (and not someone say getting killed that very moment) i don't think they should have gone in. but they still should have responded and investigated, definitely.
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because when you're working in a sector car, answering radio runs that simply isn't how things work. you drive around answering calls that come over the radio. central says 'sector A, respond to 1223 main street apartment 3D. possible human remains in freezer'
THAT'S IT. that's what you have to go by. you and your partner drive over there with no more context, no names or phone numbers, no idea if you're walking into a homicidal maniac's building or some BS, and you call for backup just in case.
i'm actually quite disappointed, so many people on here knocking police officers without any context of how it is to be one, and i'm here actually giving some insight about how this misunderstanding most likely occurred and every time i refresh i just see more 'stupid cops couldn't even get their GED' etc etc. we're not all blockheads, you guys.
(in fact we need more females! :p )
03/12/09