There are no winners in Daviay Legrand tragedy -- themorningcal...

Great artiicle! I agree, there are no winners in this tragedy. And the chilling effect the decision to fire the officer will have on ALL emergency responders is something I do not think was thought through.

The City has set a very bad precedent.... Had it been a "principled stand," everyone involved would be punished. Rather, they took what they perceived as the easy way out, in an attempt to mollify a constituency that is unlikely to vote anyway...and in doing so threw away the career of a brave young officer for the sake of expediency.

Amen Pam. You hit it right on the head.

accidents will happen regardless, their unpreventable.
to alter in any way, shape or form the attentive response of are police, fire and emt personnel. would definitely compromise public safety. I for one believe are mayor should try to concentrate his efforts on just trying to be a mayor. and the police stand behind officer Guth. the cities survival is at stake, and that should be every ones #1 agenda.
allentown city council, this situation is very important, and truly this is your shining moment.
your decision re enstating officer Guth, is want we law abiding, taxpaying citizens of allentown want and deserve.

want should be what. proof reading is difficult first thing in th morning.

At last, someone gets it !...Thank you Pam for finally saying what has rippled through the police department members since the day Officer Guth was suspended pending termination.

The mayor who in my presence told officers Guth and Buckwalter, "this is a terrible accident, everything will work out fine" the chief who in my presence said that everything will be ok.

They fail to not only live up to their word, but show by their actions that they do not care about their employees, that the only thing that matters is public perception.

The accident was just that, a terrible accident. Emotions will be on the surface for a very long time. Nothing will bring Daviay back, and nothing will clear the horror and memories from Officer Guth's mind or Officer Buckwalter's or anyone who was there that terrible night.

Another thing will live on, and that is the fact that the Mayor and the Chief of Police are not true to their word and every cop on the street has to think about that as they go to work each day.

Kevin,

I appreciate you adding your perspective to the discussion. In light of your comments the dismissal of Officer Guth is even more troubling.

If being responsible for an accident which results in the death of a child is not valid justification for removal of an officer during his probationary period I don't know what is.

If the city does not dismiss him no officer will ever be able to be let go during their probationary period, ever. Also, can you imagine what an insurance liability this guy would be if he was left on.

What is with this constant critic stuff Pam Varkony? Planning a run for Mayor? While you are probably the best option your party can come up with I think Allentown can do a lot better.

What are your ideas? What are your plans? Where is your passion and pride?

Dear Regular Joe,

Maybe we read the article differently, but I did not read where she criticized anyone, including the City.

I did read where some of the ramifications for the City's emergency services workers was explored, in a way that I had not seen in any of the coverage before this.

Are you a nervous Democrat who would resent her candidacy? You tip your hand, sir.

Perhaps you could re-read the article and address the points it makes, and not resort to off-topic ad hominem attacks on a thoughtful, well spoken writer who is merely encouraging a dialogue.

Thanks in advance.

Kevin Smith wrote:

At last, someone gets it !...Thank you Pam for finally saying what has rippled through the police department members since the day Officer Guth was suspended pending termination.
The mayor who in my presence told officers Guth and Buckwalter, "this is a terrible accident, everything will work out fine" the chief who in my presence said that everything will be ok.
They fail to not only live up to their word, but show by their actions that they do not care about their employees, that the only thing that matters is public perception.
The accident was just that, a terrible accident. Emotions will be on the surface for a very long time. Nothing will bring Daviay back, and nothing will clear the horror and memories from Officer Guth's mind or Officer Buckwalter's or anyone who was there that terrible night.
Another thing will live on, and that is the fact that the Mayor and the Chief of Police are not true to their word and every cop on the street has to think about that as they go to work each day.

....as does every firefighter, every EMS worker....

I am glad no one was so vindictive when the Mayor had a minor accident, with a City vehicle, that was a clear motor vehicle violation .... likely caused by weather conditions....i.e. an Accident.

Arlen:

I agree it was certainly intended to appear balanced an impartial but the final points are clearly critical and offer no alternative solutions.

This was very weak.

All things considered, I see little, if anything that could have been done by the city when faced with this situation.

What are your suggestions.

Finally, why do we tolerate any sort of whining about moral and peoples feelings in our police department.

I wish I could justify a bad day at my job due to my feelings being hurt.

The honest truth is the garbage men in Allentown accept a greater risk to their lives than the police do but we would be up and arms if they got up and only did half their job one morning.

Regular Joe wrote:

Arlen:
I agree it was certainly intended to appear balanced an impartial but the final points are clearly critical and offer no alternative solutions.
This was very weak.
All things considered, I see little, if anything that could have been done by the city when faced with this situation.
What are your suggestions.

My "suggestion?" Stand by your emergency workers in a time of crisis, when clearly no harm was intended... Stand up, declare it a terrible tragedy, keep your officer (and the allegiance, dedication, and security of all of your emergency workers) and move on.

Dear Regualr,

"The honest truth is the garbage men in Allentown accept a greater risk to their lives than the police do but we would be up and arms if they got up and only did half their job one morning. "

Up until the above, you had a moral leg to stand on.....then you blew it and demonstrated you are more than likely a partisan bomb thrower after all.

By the way, it's "morale."

Finally, Regular....

"All things considered, I see little, if anything that could have been done by the city when faced with this situation."

May I be so bold as to edit the above? If you wanted crwedibility, and respect for an honest and heartfelt opposite opinion, you may have said....All things considered, I see little, if anything, that could have been done by the City that would pleas everyone.

Had you said the above, left out your paretisan sniping, and stuck by your guns with an opinion some might not have agreed with but was honestly held, you would not have looked...well, ridiculous.

Thanks

Arlen wrote:

Dear Regualr,
"The honest truth is the garbage men in Allentown accept a greater risk to their lives than the police do but we would be up and arms if they got up and only did half their job one morning. "
Up until the above, you had a moral leg to stand on.....then you blew it and demonstrated you are more than likely a partisan bomb thrower after all.
By the way, it's "morale."

I agree 150%! I was trying to generate a response but nonsense like that does not deserve a response.

Yes there will be a winner in all of this, the scumbag of a laywer that files the lawsuit on the family's behalf

I know that it would very difficult to lose a child, but in reality, there is a winner, the mother!! She may have lost a son but she gained a load of cash and she really does not seem that upset about her son, look at her face, a picture tells a thousand stories

Pamela,

Thank you for a good article and reminding us that we need to be standing by our emergency workers. Had the officers not responded in a timely manner we would be just as insulting towards them. They cannot win either way. They risk their lives everyday to deal with the sick, injured, and in this case, scum of the earth. A little boy was in the wrong place at the wrong time. If we are not going to support them in a crisis then why do we deserve their protection and assistance?

big d wrote:

I know that it would very difficult to lose a child, but in reality, there is a winner, the mother!! She may have lost a son but she gained a load of cash and she really does not seem that upset about her son, look at her face, a picture tells a thousand stories

You are out of your mind. She's not "winning"--she lost an innocent child.

Personally, I cheer on Ms. Legrand's claim for legal compensation. No, it cannot make her whole, but she did suffer a legal harm for which our society offers a "remedy." (Well, a jury will decide that for sure.) I don't care if that offier was trying to save lives; he acted negligently and killed someone.

The city should have purchased insurance for this kind of thing. The city should just deal with it.

In the U.K., the is no such thing as a vehicle accident, only "vehicle collisions" as there is always some reason why the collision occurred. In this case, there was no accident, just an Officer who wasn't operating his vehicle properly and to the requirements deemed legal by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Of course the attorneys will sue for wrongful death, Guth is responsbile for the death and injury of other persons. DA James Martin injected his own opinion into the process by denying this the opportunity to go to criminal trial. Guth is negligent in the death of another person and deserves to be fired period.