By: Daiyu Tang
There is a particular kind of quiet you only get outside a hospital: the kind that is supposed to mean ‘This is a sanctuary, if you need help, we got help.‘ On January 13th, that quiet was replaced with something else entirely: the unmistakable sounds of gunfire, echoing from HGH’s concrete walls.
I’d received a tip from HGH leadership describing “Yet another out of control cop.” and CCTV footage that, in their view, shows an officer opening fire outside the hospital on someone already restrained, then being brought under control by another officer. The clip is grainy in places. Sadly, there is no audio track as with most of Hathian. But there is enough visible for some credible questions of what was going on.
Baby Shark
I watched and rewatched the clip, trying to ascertain exactly what was going on and after showing a few pictures of people to others I had some names. Here’s what I think I’ve discovered:
At approximately 18:48, an HPD Officer is seen apparently ordering one Carlos Montoya to put his hands on his head and get on his knees. This was confirmed with security.
One witness inside the lobby told us it was “the nice police lady” who drew her gun “as he (Carlos) was leaving”. Another doctor, who we understand had been watching from behind the glass, summed it up with the kind of exhausted disbelief that should never be normal in an emergency room: “They really do be just shooting a guy outside huh?”
The CCTV shows officer Doe shooting towards Montoya, the round striking pavement as far as we can tell.
The camera doesn’t give you hero angles. It gives you a panoramic ‘God glare’, a slice of pavement, and the kind of jittery framing that makes you think we’re about to watch the Blair Witch. One moment there’s a suspect outside HGH with a gun aimed at him. The next, a sergeant arrives and the whole narrative changes.
Sgt. Cesar Arnaud steps into frame with the energy of a man who has seen this movie before, (the one with rookie cops having a moment) and hates the ending. He doesn’t debate. He doesn’t negotiate. He takes over. To Montoya it seems to be shouted instructions. To Officer Doe, it almost appears a dressing down delivered via clipped orders that should lessen the potential for chaos. But this is Hathian…
Montoya drops to the ground, under cover of guns. Knees to the concrete. Fingers laced behind his head. For a moment the CCTV makes it look like the entire mess might end in the one way it’s supposed to when cops are involved in every other city. Cuffs, transport, paperwork, everyone goes home safe, crime is reduced (or at least investigated as part of due process).
Arnaud moves behind Montoya. His gun is holstered and he pulls out the cuffs. The routine is almost soothing in its apparent direction of no violence. Almost. Because the camera catches what routine can’t fix: the posture of Officer Doe. She doesn’t look like an officer covering an arrest. She looks like a storm looking for somewhere to land. Someone to strike. Like dear reader, we expect that when the cuffs are on, the story should be over. It is not.
The next moments aren’t clean. They’re too fast, too ugly. The suspect is restrained, but the atmosphere isn’t, even on the replay. And then Arnaud (tries) to hit the brakes. He shouts, not at Montoya, but now at his own officer. An eye witness reported to us it was something like:
“Back up! Enough! Put your gun away! Now!”
Arnaud to Doe
We imagine it here at the Observer as the voice you use when something is tipping into disaster and you’ve got one last shout of ‘ICEBERG DEAD AHEAD’ to avoid disaster (or at least lots of paperwork) and just like the Titanic, disaster is not avoided.
That is the moment the clip stops being ‘an arrest outside HGH’ and becomes something else entirely a superior officer trying to physically and verbally restrain his own. A sergeant forced to drag the situation back into procedure with nothing but volume and authority over a woman who appears to have gone slightly cracked.
It’s Not A Training Range
I am going to say something painfully obvious, because Hathian has a talent for making the obvious feel negotiable:
Hospitals are not training ranges.
Whatever you think of Montoya (if you know him dear Reader, please do send more details), whatever you think he has done, whatever you think he deserves, discharging a firearm to force compliance is some kinda action movie compliance. It is an escalation with consequences for everyone standing within earshot and for anyone inside who suddenly decides, rationally, that today is not a good day to come in for treatment. It can also ricochet. You either shoot someone presenting a threat to you and then you’ve done your training and prevented harm with a centre mass shot, or you use less lethal, or you back away and await for back-up. Right? Even Inspector Laptop Collector knows this and would approve of me writing it this way!
So when you are told by an eyewitness that words to the effect of: “FUCK YOU MISTSTUCK! FUCKING BLEED OUT AND DIE!” are shouted by Officer Doe as she takes a shot at the kneeling figure, you kinda know that, well, as our HGH witness states that this cop is one that might (or should not) be allowed back on duty. Medical clearance to return to work? Denied.
If you are HPD leadership and you are wondering why your credibility drips away faster than swamp sweat: this is why. It is one thing to have civilians claim you are out of control. It is another to have your own sergeant trying to pull the emergency brake on your own staff.
Officer Doe – Fit For Duty?
The Observer cannot answer that obvious question yet, even though it is definitely implied by the HGH that her return to work will be a challenge. But the question is fair! The Observer has reached out to the HPD for comment on Officer Doe’s motives, status and comments.
Were you at HGH on January 13th during the arrest outside the doors? The Observer is seeking witness accounts (staff, patients, bystanders) and any additional footage. As always: truth, not revenge; accountability, not theatre. Do you know the Officer? Any tips welcome.
