Cops Hold Pregnant Woman At Gunpoint For Speeding To Hospital
First, Iowa cops blew out her tires; then, they held her at gunpoint for speeding to the hospital to give birth.
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Ben Kohnen told WHO-TV that when his wife, Rachel, went into labor with her fourth child on Tuesday, something was different.
[su_r_sky_ad]”She says, this is not like the others, this is happening right now,” Ben Kohnen explained.
He admitted that he was going about 30 miles over the speed limit when Manson Police officers tried to pull the couple over.
“He starts following me and he turns on his lights an my wife says we can’t pull over. The baby is coming now,” Ben Kohnen recalled.
Rachel Kohnen said that she told her husband not to stop.
“I think I was screaming, ‘ Oh dear God, we can’t have the baby in the car,’” she said.
The couple called 911, but acknowledged that it was probably difficult for dispatches to understand the expecting mother between contractions.
And as the couple approached the outskirts of Fort Dodge, officer were prepared to use force.
“They had thrown out the tire spikes and so all four tires, I run over those and all four tires go flat,” Ben Kohnen said.
The couple said that they were both forced to the ground and held at gunpoint.
“I was in the middle of the highway having contraction with guns pointed at me,” Rachel Kohnen noted.
M D Reese October 16th, 2014 at 3:59 pm
You’d think that the cops would have been able to figure it out before throwing her to the ground.
William October 16th, 2014 at 4:14 pm
Bad judgment on the part of the driver. Thirty over endangers him, the mother, baby, and other motorists. It would have been so simple to just pull over. There are protocols in place to help this situation.
searambler October 16th, 2014 at 7:35 pm
“…once the police figured out what was going on, they escorted the couple to the hospital.”
I assume you mean ‘drove them to the hospital’, since they had four flat tires…
William October 16th, 2014 at 8:59 pm
Just quoting the linked article.
tiredoftea October 16th, 2014 at 4:15 pm
Yes, the militarization of our police forces are shown,. once again, to be everything but helpful, tolerant or compassionate in serving us. Shoot first, understand later, or never.
William October 16th, 2014 at 4:19 pm
I don’t see anything about shooting or militarization of Police in this story.
tiredoftea October 16th, 2014 at 5:15 pm
Spike strips are pretty much the equivalent in this case. Iowa is not on board with the trend towards military style policing? What is the point, what is the urgency in dangerously disabling a vehicle without the likelihood of it being filled with criminals?
I have a lot of respect for the things you post here, and what you’ve shared about your career, so I’m not picking a fight, or implying that you were part of the problem. I am simply concerned that these types of interventions are mostly unwarranted and part of a dangerous trend in policing that has gone on for too long.
The scary increase in SWAT operations for all but the most mundane policing, the trend towards shoot first, the trend towards acting as if neighborhoods are filled with “enemies” that require surveillance rather than protection. These are all things that are driving our society apart.
William October 16th, 2014 at 6:06 pm
Spike strips are not the equivalent. Spike strips are hollow, like a hypodermic needle. They facilitate a slow and controlled deflation of the tires. The urgency in disabling the vehicle is simple. The officer has no idea who is driving it. All he does know is that a driver going 85 mph without due regard for others is a potential risk to others. If somebody was driving 30 over in your neighborhood you would have a right to demand something be done.
I too am concerned with what police agencies have become. The shaved heads, the mountain boots and the Rambo mentality. I am also concerned with the “them vs us” mentality. The pendulum has swung back and forth over the generations. We have reviled the cops of the 1968 DNC Chicago riots, Ferguson, and celebrated the heroics of the 911 and Boston bombing first responders.
That said, no harm can come from the careful scrutiny of our police departments.
Good cops don’t mind criticism and scrutiny. In fact they welcome it and celebrate it. It means we still live in a democracy.
I am and remain reluctant to condemn any vocation based upon the actions of the minority.
tiredoftea October 16th, 2014 at 6:10 pm
We are substantially in agreement and I have no issues with your larger concerns.
But, about the spike strips at that speed and a likely clear DMV license check, I’m not so sure.
William October 16th, 2014 at 6:14 pm
The DMV check only comes back to the registered owner. It doesn’t actually tell you who is driving the car, or if it has been stolen. Your thought process is however right on track. Having dispatch call the registered owner sometimes sheds light on the incident.
tiredoftea October 16th, 2014 at 6:24 pm
Her being enormously pregnant might have been a clue to the well trained eye!
whatthe46 October 16th, 2014 at 5:40 pm
i wouldn’t have wanted to risk an accident driving at that rate of speed. and babies have been born in worst places. with those spike strips, they’re lucky the car didn’t flip. glad all worked out.
lois patuto October 16th, 2014 at 7:46 pm
I really think he could have pulled over screamed the truth at the cops and had a police escort.
Wouldn’t blame the cops.
burqa October 16th, 2014 at 11:43 pm
What?
They didn’t open fire or toss in flash grenades?
Musta been a bunch of librul cops….
rg9rts October 17th, 2014 at 6:37 am
I love the part where they try to make her get on her knees while dropping her load!!! LOL reminds me of men in black LOL