Cop Fired For Responding to Officer Down Call

Surely not how I would have treated officer Sedmak.

this is pure and simple bull shit!

Wow, this seems to be one of those topics that gets people really heated under the collar. I'm one of those that would prefer that the Officer respect his post and those that depend on him for possible backup, however, I say this with great reservation for the following incident that I experienced many years ago.

I was on a Southbound number 4 train heading into Manhattan when I pulled a disorderly man off at 86st and Lexington Ave. It was late in the evening and many things were going on all over the city. It was during the winter also so I had my winter gear on. The tunnels though were very hot from the trains. Well, to keep it short, I ended up getting into a struggle with this man and I called for assistance. The struggle went on for what seemed to be almost ten minutes when I felt myself beginning to faint from heat exhaustion due to my heavy coat. My buddy who had been far on the west side of Manhattan & was not supposed to respond to another train line, heard my call for help, left his post and showed up right in the nick of time. He was not supposed to, but he did at his own risk. I believe that I may not even be alive today had he not ignored the "rules" that night. I believe he was a gift from G-d to me that night.

Well needless to say that I never wore that coat again with the heavy poly insert. I got myself a thin breathable jacket that helped me stay warm and yet not contribute to heat exhaustion.

With this in mind I imagine that this Officer was better than a cup of cold water for the two Officers that were in distress. This however, does not excuse the violation of policy and rules of the University.

Can I tell of one other story that I recall. Back in the day we had one "gun-ho" transit Officer that always got involved in anything that the City put out over the radio. To understand the frustration that this was for the other guys on the transit force you have to understand that there were not many of us on any given night shift. Transit used different radios and frequencies from the City police. The two officers that were assigned to a vehicle where depended on to quickly respond to assistance of lone transit Officers along the rail lines. These post were many times many miles apart and so we knew that help would not come very quick if we needed it.

Well this one knuckle head who we called the golden boy, for never getting in trouble for his stupidity, often would become involved in city incidents leaving those of us on foot patrol with no real back up if we needed it. Those of us on foot patrol learned as time went on that if this golden boy was in the car, we needed to lay low and basically out of sight to avoid involvement in something that we might not have back up for.

So you see, as noble and well intended as this Officer's actions were, in the end I would come down on the side of the University's policy. His actions put his own small department and his fellow Officers in great jeopardy. I hope that we can see both sides of this controversial issue. The jurisdiction needs to be respected as well as those that depend on you. I have to add that this Officer should have had the type of trust in his command to have informed them of the incident coming over the radio and request permission to respond. This would have put everyone else on the shift on higher alert, not only for their post, but also for each other's safety.

In the end this Officer will have to live with his decision and its consequences.

Stay safe and be well.

I, too, am saddened at the termination decision. I hope there is an opportunity for a change in discipline. I do have to admit that there might be more than meets the eye to this event...including history that we are unaware. Devil's advocate position here..... Department's can not tolerate independant decisions that potentially forfeit the safety of the community. Imagine if every agency was staffed by scanner-nut officers who run to calls in neighboring jurisdictions when they deem it is necessary to do so. An hour with no knowledge of where he is what he was doing??? Nobody amongst us would find that satisfactory, regardless of how noble the reason. There are mutual aid systems in place to call for needed resources. Had this criminal somehow made his way to Rice campus while Sedmak was gone and unavailable, I think we'd have some more understanding for this being unacceptable. I will conclude this by stating again; I don't feel this is worthy of termination because of the reasons behind him leaving his assignment.

All great comments, I love to see the LEO community upset over such BS!!

Good job Ofc Sedmak. Sounds like Houston Police has a potential new recruit to hire!

Good job, Officer Sedmak. I would expect nothing less from a professional LEO such as yourself!!! I'm quite sure that every LEO that heard the "CALL" rolled on it. I would be surprised to learn that you would even consider your job back with that bunch of clowns. There are many great Departments in around Houston that would be honored to welcome you aboard! Godd luck and God Speed!!!!