Trooper Placed on Leave After Pulling Over Ambulance, Fighting With EMT

June 16, 2009— -- An Oklahoma state trooper who got into an an altercation with an ambulance driver that was captured in a dashboard camera video has been placed on paid administrative leave and is facing questions about whether his actions were appropriate.

During a routine police call May 24, Trooper Daniel Martin passed an ambulance but minutes later returned to pull it over.

Martin was upset because he said paramedic Maurice White failed to yield and even made an obscene gesture.

But White had a different account of the incident.

"He was assaulting a paramedic in the act of carrying out his duty. At this point the trooper became even more enraged," he said.

The video shows the medic getting out of the ambulance to ask the trooper, "What's wrong? What's going on?"

"I'm gonna give you a ticket for failure to yield," Martin replied. "You don't need to give me no hand gestures now. I ain't gonna put up with that s--t;. Do you understand me?"

White had a patient in his ambulance at the time of the incident and tried to explain that to the officer.

"We got a patient in this," he told the officer.

By this point the patient's family, who were following the ambulance, had gathered and began shooting video of the incident with a cell phone.

"I'm getting evidence," one of the patient's relatives said.

At one point, the video shows the officer grabbing the paramedic's throat. Meanwhile, the patient's family watched what was happening and tried to get help.

The patient can be heard screaming in the background during one part of the video and the patient's sister jumped into the ambulance to calm her down.

"Imagine a woman strapped to a gurney with an IV/EKG and you're hearing your family members screaming outside," White said. "That was torture for this lady."