JAN. 2025. Blues Vol 41 No. 1

GUEST COMENTARYpolice

GUEST COMENTARYpolice law newsDaniel CarrNYC Subway Fire CaseDid a police officer in New York City idly stand by and watch a womanburn to death on a subway car while he did nothing? ”I’ve gotten a lot of heat for mytake on this case.Comments and honest disagreementare encouraged.WHAT HAPPENEDOn December 22, 2024 a Guatemalancitizen (SebastianZapeta - who was in the U.S.illegally) is accused of setting awoman on fire - while she slepton the subway.The images and video of womanon fire are horrific and Zapetahas been arrested and chargedwith murder.THE CONTROVERSYCell phone video of the crimehas emerged and immediatelythere was outrage over the policeresponse. One police officerin particular has been demonizedand is the subject of intenseonline hate.I posted several Notes onSubStack and I have not had thismuch push back since the RogerFortson case.Instead of responding to hundredsof hysterical Karens - hereare my full thoughts on thiscase.WHAT REALLY HAPPENED?The officer has been accusedof “doing nothing”, “walkingslowly”, “ignoring” her, and“lacking humanity”.I agree that the video does notlook good, but during a minute-longclip - the cop in questionis in the frame for less than3 seconds. Perhaps, more informationis needed before we callfor him to “turn in his badge.”WHAT THE COP ACTUALLY DIDPolice officers smelled smokeand went towards it. Officerssaw the woman - fully engulfedin flames, standing in the subwaycar.At that point multiple officersran to locate fire extinguishersand one officer was tasked withsecuring the crime scene andinforming dispatch of what wasoccurring.So, the cop in question got onthe radio and informed dispatchWARNING VERY GRAPHIC VIDEOof the location and the emergency.This would have triggered theFire Department and EMS to bedispatched.Officers on scene located afire extinguisher and put out thefire - before the Fire Departmentarrived on scene.THE DEBATEIt is absolutely reasonable toquestion and criticize the actionsof police officers during thisincident.But, we first must agree on thebasic objective facts and then adiscussion on if the officer(s) didthe right thing can take place.Claiming that the cop “didnothing” is just not helpful orhonest.SAVE HER!Many critics of the officer holdthe same idea - that the cop did20 The BLUES - JANUARY ‘25

not pull her out of the subway,smother her with his jacket, orotherwise try to extinguish theflames.I understand that criticism. Iagree with most of it. I wouldhave liked to see the cop DOSOMETHING - even if any effortsabsent a fire extinguisher wouldhave been moot.THE QUESTIONThe question that gained methe most internet hatred waswhen I asked, “What did you expectthe police officer to do?”That’s an honest question buthundreds of people were offendedthat I even broached thesubject.For those familiar with mywork - I often criticize policeofficers. This is an importantexercise if we want to improvepolicing. BUT! When I criticizea police officer - I am specificon what action I disagree with.Then, I backup my opinion byciting the law, policy, or trainingthat the officer violated.If I cannot locate a law, policy,or training that the cop violated- then the real issue is oftenfound higher up than an individualcop.If the goal is to improve policingit is essential to pinpointwhere the problem is.So, for argument’s sake - let’sassume that the officer did the‘wrong’ thing (by calling the FireDept and looking for an extinguisher- instead of trying to putout the fire and rescue her.)Did the officer violate the departmentpolicy and training?• If so, the officer should be thesubject of an internal investigation.Did the officer follow policyThe MONSTER - Sebastian Zapetaand training?• If so, the issue is administrativeand the policy/trainingshould be corrected immediately.THE ANSWERNYPD Transit Chief JosephGulotta and NYPD Police ChiefJessica Tisch made public statementsand said that the officerson scene “secured the scene”and “put the fire out” with fireextinguishers - in accordancewith training and policy.• Those saying that the officershould have acted against thedepartment policy and trainingare often the first to excoriate anofficer for not following trainingand count every sustained policyviolation as a serious and unforgivableoffense.MY TAKEI’m a retired cop - not a retiredfirefighter. I know nothingabout fire suppression. Most copsreceive zero training on how tohelp a person fully engulfed inflames. I am advocating that weget cops additional fire-suppressiontraining, issue fire suppressantblankets, stash more fireextinguishers in subways, etc…This was such a massive fire - Iunderstand why any cop in thissituation would think that anyeffort to “smother” the personand put out the fire with a jacketor something would be ineffective.If the immediate thought was -the ONLY way to save this womanis to find a fire extinguisher.I get it. That is not an unreasonableidea when faced in theweight of the moment.FINAL THOUGHTSIt’s easy to demonize a singleofficer that is visible for 2 secondson a viral cell phone video.Perhaps that helps those behinda screen to cope with this awfultragedy. But, it’s otherwise futile.I am asking that we all takea step back, think bigger, andif the goal is to improve policing- then the criticism must belogical and aimed at the actualproblem.We can disagree on police policyand the instant decisions thatcops make during intense situations,but let’s not forget who thereal enemy is - the monster whoset fire to a sleeping woman onthe subway.Police Law Newsletter is areader-supported publication.To receive new posts and supportmy work, consider becominga free or paid subscriber.The BLUES - JANUARY ‘25 21