This story caught my attention, but not for the obvious reasons. Which, if you read this blog, should be no surprise.
No jail for Staten Island EMT accused of posting photo of murder victim’s corpse on Internet
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The former emergency medical technician who posted the photo of a West Brighton woman’s corpse on the Internet will avoid jail but must surrender his EMT license and perform community service after pleading guilty today to official misconduct.
There is no doubt that this was totally inappropriate behavior for an on duty EMT or paramedic. Even more so because Mark Musarella is a retired NYPD detective and should understand that something like this can screw up a prosecution. That he has lost his job and his EMT ticket is perfectly appropriate. Despite his heroic past as a police officer, this incident calls his judgment into question.
The part that I have a problem with is the criminal charges that were piled on here. Disorderly conduct? Official misconduct? Both are excessive, but it being New York City, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. The DA’s down there probably have the clown show known as Law and Order on endless loops so they can come up with creative new ways to make criminals out of people who make petty mistakes.
While I have a lot of sympathy for the mother of the victim, I don’t think that she has a good idea here,
The victim’s mother, Martha, told reporters she had been fighting to make it a felony for cops, firefighters and EMTs to post victim photos on the Internet.
“I’d love to see him go to jail, but it wasn’t going to happen under the current laws,” she said. “Unfortunately, the laws are still in the Stone Age. We need to get into the Computer Age.”
Maybe Martha Wimmer doesn’t really understand what a felony is, or should be. Maybe she doesn’t understand that many prison systems are so over crowded that violent criminals are released early. Either way, this should not only not be a felony, it shouldn’t even be a misdemeanor. There are plenty of administrative penalties, such as termination and loss of certification that serve to deter or if needed punish this sort of bad behavior. Than again, this might be the preface to the inevitable law suit against Musarella and his former employer. After all, someone has to pay, right?
Bad laws undermine the respect of lawful citizens for all laws. Not that will deter some attention whore of a politician from jumping on this “public safety crisis”.
This case is sad all around, from the original murder, to the stupid actions of Musarella, to the comments by the victims mother. The last thing we need is another law that will accomplish nothing but make criminals out of people for being dumb. I have no doubt that’s exactly what New York will get.
The DA’s down there probably have the clown show known as Law and Order on endless loops so they can come up with creative new ways to make criminals out of people who make petty mistakes.
I used to find Law & Order interesting and enjoyable. Then I realized that there was never any mystery — the bad guy was ALWAYS the white/rich/Republican/religious/conservative guy they initially overlooked. Boooooooooring!
Boriing and predictable, as are the self righteous speeches by Sam Waterson in every episode. You did forget one thing though Lissa. In any episode where a (white male) police officer was killed, it turned out that he was crooked or did something to invite being murdered. The only two “good” cops were the star detectives on the show.
[…] for First Responders to take photos of victims and publish it on the internet. TOTWTYTR has his own take on the matter, feeling that the punishment should fit the crime. While I agree that the prison system is over […]
I don’t see a problem making it a harsher penalty. Maybe not a felony, but at least a higher class of misdemeanor.