TAMPA, Fla. (May 3) - A sheriff's deputy was suspended for manhandling a sobbing woman who was speeding to a hospital to see her ailing father and didn't want to wait for him to write a ticket.

After Deputy Kevin Stabins stopped Melissa Langston a second time in the hospital parking lot, video from his cruiser's dashboard shows him yanking her from her car and slamming her against it.

"Please let me see my dad, " she cries as he handcuffs her. "If it was your dad ..."

Stabins cuts her off, saying, "Now you're not going to see him, 'cause you're going to jail."

Stabins, 29, was suspended for five days without pay for using excessive force. Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee signed off on the suspension Tuesday, and Stabins will begin serving it on May 22.

Charges against Langston, 37, were dropped.

"I think (Stabins) understands that he was wrong and could have handled it better," Gee told The Tampa Tribune for Thursday's editions. "On both sides, really, it could have been done better."

Stabins first stopped Langston after clocking her driving 63 mph in a 35-mph zone near University Community Hospital in November.

The video shows her telling the deputy that her father had suffered a heart attack and had driven himself to the emergency room.

Stabins returned to his car to write a ticket, but after several minutes, she drove into the hospital parking lot. After a short pursuit, she brakes, and he strides up to her, saying, "That was not smart."

"I need to get there. I'm sorry but -- oh, my god!" she says.

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EDITORIAL FROM MR. TRAFFIC:

 

Every day, emergencies happen in every city in the world. The sound of siren's through our streets means someone is in trouble.  When a loved one is stricken, of course we want to rush to help them. But in this case, the woman doing almost DOUBLE the speed limit through the streets of Tampa, Florida not only posed a danger to herself, but to every man, woman and child that she passed. 

The officer was doing his job when he pulled her over. When she explained why she was rushing, he did what most any peace officer does.....detains her to stop her from continuing to be a menace to the public.  Could he have tried to calm her down? Perhaps.....but she took off and then posed a BIGGER risk to herself and to the police.  People give these excuses to the police EVERY DAY!!!  She handled it badly.  Most times in the same situation, the officer cites the motorist and tells them to slow down and get to the hospital one minute later!

 

That the officer was suspended was OUTRAGEOUS!! Thankfully, he was not charged. 

When an emergency arises....it is the motorist's responsibility to TRY to keep calm and not endanger others because of their situation. Her emergency was not YOUR emergency, and had she hit and hurt YOU.....you would NOT be telling her.."It's ok....I understand!"