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Long Island Bus Driver Fired After Rescuing 3 Police Detectives During Hail Storm

George Daw, Nassau County Cops Stunned By Educational Bus' Decision

August 8, 2011 11:02 PM
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George Daw

George Daw says he was fired from his job driving a school bus for being a Good Samaritan during a recent violent storm. (Photo: CBS 2)

Jennifer-McLogan-headshot

Reporting Jennifer McLogan

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WEST BABYLON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — A Long Island school bus driver was called into his boss’ office expecting commendation. Instead, he said he was fired for helping three police officers stranded in a violent storm — and transporting them in his school bus.

School bus driver George Daw lost his job Monday in a firing flap that began during last week’s freak and violent hail storm. He was quite emotional when he spoke to CBS 2’s Jennifer McLogan.

“Who wouldn’t be? It’s crazy,” Daw said.

Daw snapped pictures as a near-monsoon moved through New Hyde Park. Traffic was stopped, cars were submerged and drivers panicked.

Daw finally freed his yellow SUV school bus — with his one single child passenger aboard — amid sudden cries for help from three Nassau County police detectives.

“Do I leave these three police officers, due to company policy?” Daw said. “I didn’t even second guess it. I told the child to jump in the back, these people are coming on board. I had to get them.”

Daw rescued and transported the police officers — their unmarked patrol car was a total loss. He said he continued to home base in Copiague, where he filled out an incident report. But instead of praise, he was handed a notice of termination, which said in part: “Employee endangered welfare of student he was transporting when he picked up three unauthorized passengers.”

It also said: “Employee made decision to drive through large body of water.”

“It’s not like I pulled off the road into a lake trying to endanger somebody’s life. I was caught in a storm,” Daw said.

McLogan asked to speak to Daw’s boss at Educational Bus, but she was told several times there was no one there to speak to her.

The three Nassau detectives and their commanding officer are flabbergasted at the firing.

“We are sorry to hear of any negative consequences that arose from his helping out my detectives,” Detective Lt. Raymond Cote said.

Daw suddenly finds himself unemployed, spending his days at home. He said he’s hoping for his job back, but not expecting his phone to ring.

Daw’s two sons are studying to be police and naval officers. He said if he had the chance to help first responders again, he would not hesitate.

Do you think this punishment is fair? Please offer your thoughts in the comments section below.

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  • itsnotme

    I’m sorry to go against popular opinion here but Mr Daw was a school bus driver, nothing more. His main responsibility was to get the child home safely. He’s not paid to ‘think’ or play hero to three (plainclothes?) ‘cops’ in an unmarked vehicle. Had he been transporting adults and they consented in helping out, I think it would have been a different story….
    But either way, he did a good thing and hopefully someone will recognize his character and give him a better job

    • HOW IN THE WORLD COULD YOU SAY THAT?

      NEXT TIME SOMEONE WILL JUST WALK BY YOU AND NOT BRING YOU THE EMERGENCY HELP YOU ARE IN NEED OF IMMEDIATELY…….

      HOW IN THE WORLD COULD YOU SAY THAT?

    • Anonymous Coward

      “He is not paid to think” … and there’s exactly the problem: people who say that the driver (or anyone) is not paid to think,and should merely be an automaton, mindlessly following orders. That, in fact, is EXACTLY the problem.

      The supervisor claimed that those three cops were “endangering” the child … yet, had those same three cops stopped and arrested the driver for some reason, they would have not just been in the same bus with the child, but most likely driven him or her to the police station in their car (absent the whole hail issue, of course) and nobody would have dreamed of accusing them of endangering the child by doing so.

      Looks to me like the company was looking for a reason to fire this driver. Probably because he thought too much.

    • Tom

      You sir — or madame — are a complete friggin idiot. Of course, that probably explains the “not paid to think” comment. After all, if you can’t do it, why would you expect anyone else to use common sense and reason.

  • Anne Hill

    can’t believe he would get fired for such a thing – his supervisors are clearly idiots & he should just move forward.

  • Rhiannon

    Clearly an example of the stupid, blind PC “zero tolerance” mentality infecting modern day society. The mental moron who decided on discharging the driver is nothing more than stuipid. Maybe the town should terminate its contract with this waste of a bus company.

  • Prospect AVE

    He should of kept the incident quiet.

    • WRONG!

      THE BUS DRIVER WOULD HAVE BEEN WRONG EITHER WAY…

      DRIVER IS REQUIRED BY RULES AND POLICIES OF THE BUS CO TO DISCLOSE ALL INCIDENTS NO MATTER HOW SMALL AND INSIGNIFICANT BACK TO HIS SUPERVISOR…..

      • Rob

        Quoting you: “DRIVER IS REQUIRED BY RULES AND POLICIES OF THE BUS CO TO DISCLOSE ALL INCIDENTS NO MATTER HOW SMALL AND INSIGNIFICANT BACK TO HIS SUPERVISOR…..”

        Point one: you are an idiot. Stop typing in all caps.

        Point two: He did, in fact, disclose the incident to his supervisor. Did you bother reading the entire article? Here, let me quote it for you.

        “He said he continued to home base in Copiague, where he filled out an incident report.”

        You see that? He filed an incident report, which, to me, means he notified his supervisor.

  • wow

    unbelivable. May this boss on day be stranded and left.

  • Nowal

    This is horrible. Stepping up to HELP not HARM someone and get slapped in the face for doing so.

    I already forward this story to NY1. Hopefully, they can intervene on his behalf.

    • SPREAD THE WORD!

      THATS GREAT, NOW LETS GET ALL OF THE PARENTS FROM THAT SCHOOL INVOLVED AND THE COMMUNITY INVOLVED SEND IT OUT TO ALL NEWS CHAINS, TV, RADIO,. PAPER, ETC……

      • Mista

        Call the company 631 842 7373 ask if they have any positions available, they do ,I called 30 mins ago, then ask if you can have the Daw route, the lady went nuts on me and said it was the wrong company and hung up, but I wanted a job?…..

  • Linda

    Is this person who did the firing a foreigner that doesn’t know the rule of Common Courtesy in the US of A ? Where the heck did this person come from ? Fire this imbecile and give the bus driver his job back and God bless him.

    • AMERICA GONE DOWN THE DRAIN!

      WHAT MAKES YOU THINK IS A FOREIGNER?????

      THESE ARE OUR OWN AMERICAN IDIOTS WHO DROPPED OUT OF HS RUNNING THIS FREAKING COUNTRY AND BUSINESS!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Globalist

      Common sense and common courtesy, caring for your fellow human beings, etc. is not “American”. It is universal humanity. Any considerate human being anywhere in the world would have done the same thing in Mr. Daw’s situation regardless of his nationality.

  • wombat1417

    “We are sorry to hear of any negative consequences that arose from his helping out my detectives,” Detective Lt. Raymond Cote said.
    What a dopey piece of lip service.
    DON’T JUST BE SORRY – GO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!!!

    • COPS WHERE ARE YOU NOW???

      MAKES ME THINK, OF THESE IDIOT COPS, WHERE ARE THEY NOW??? WHY AREN’T THE POLICE DEPT NOT STANDING UP AND FIGHTING FOR THIS POOR MAN WHO HELPED THEM OUT IN THEIR TIME OF NEED???

      MAKES ME SICK TO MY STOMACH, MAKES ME NOT WANT TO HELP THEM OUT NEXT TIME UNDER ANY SITUATION IF I WAS THAT DRIVER…….

      • Enough Already!

        Would you please stop SHOUTING?

        It doesn’t make your comments look more important; it makes you look ignorant.

      • Jeffrey Shallcross

        how do you know if the cops have done anything with this issue? Just because it is not in the article, im sure this is far from over.

    • Emma

      I dont believe the negative consequences were because he helped your detectives. I am very happy your detectives were assisted in a time of need. And I dont think you or your detectives need to feel sorry or bad.
      It is a shame that Mr Daw chose not to notify his employer and waited until they discovered it via finding the vehicle was damaged
      He is now reinstated although I am not convinced that was the right thing to do.
      Again not because he helped the detectives but because he failed to notify the company.

  • Carrie

    another example of the “zero tolerance” mentality that has taken over the country. His boss is one of the growing number of people who don’t know how to do critical thinking, can’t interpret a rule or law with any flexibility because that takes thought.

  • smh

    I can understand the policy for everyday situations. The driver has to protect his young passenger from strangers who may “claim” to be detectives (read: no uniforms).

    In this case, he should have got a pass. At most, suspend him for a day or two. Firing him was outrageous.

  • splatt2

    I can’t believe the stupidity of the decision. I know that the “rules” are made to protect the children on the bus (in most situations), BUT, why can’t supervisors sometimes take a step up and make a judgement call based on an individual incident. Is it because they are just too COWARDLY to step up and make a decision on their own or is it because they are just too damn LAZY to do it?

    • too stupid and ignorant!!!!!!!!!!!!

      they are none of that, truth be told, they’re just too stupid and ignorant!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Richard

    There is rules and regulations for everything, but sometimes there are exceptions to the rules. It shows that his boss has know concern or caring towards his fellow man. Makes me wonder how someone so uncaring could be put into their position. I hope the city or state steps in and corrects such a grave injustice.

    • DUMMER THEN DUMMER

      RICHARD, IS EASY, IS CALLED KISSING ASS TO GET PROMOTED EVEN IF YOU’RE UNQUALIFIED AND STUPID BRAINLESS IDIOT…!!

  • Dave

    A cop never leaves duty they are always on duty 24 7 365,hence this protects the kids even more by them being there.Hence the kids would have even been safer with them on board sounds like one hell of an wrongful termination law suit Id love to be the lawyer handling it Mr Daw will end up owning Educational bus and what an education it will be!!!!

  • Alfonso Mollica

    1. Police have the right and power to commandeer a vehicle, whether a child was on it or not.They could have motioned for him to assist and then no one could have said anything.
    2. What kind of world do we want to live in where abject fear of not following company policy to the letter should override our basic humanity and good judgement?
    3. If he came upon a traffic accident, is he supposed to drive by and let someone suffer? I’ve small children and while i’d hope that the bus driver was a responsible person to their well being, i’d also hope that he had the humanity to think on his own, especially in this situation.

    the guy should get his job back, back pay, a commendation and an apology, not necessarily in that order.

  • Ml sprague

    I belive it unfair and unjust. I wonder if the guy that fired the schoolbus driver, would like help if they were in that situation. I belive this matter should be bought befor a supprem court. The school company needs to be delt with, police officers help us in time of need risking life and limb. I belive the driver should have his job back. They needed his help and he was there, I see no problom with him helping them. I PRAISE THE BUS DRIVER, Im proude of you for helping, god bless you. I will pray for you

  • Richard Shepherd

    The actions of his boss is exactly what is causing our once fabulous country to be in the shape it’s in. forbid anyone to help another in distress. What ever happened to Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?

    • Michael Knight

      I agree, what happened to ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you? That’s gone, and the top brass obviously don’t give a damn!

      • COMMON SENSE ANYONE?

        WORSE YET, WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO PURE COMMON SENSE???

  • ProFromDover

    No good deed goes unpunished. The driver’s superiors ought to be fired instead, morons!

  • Barry Levine

    A comment on Jeff Benson’s comment. The slob that did the firing should be promoted TO TOILET BOWL MAINTAINER AND GIVEN A RAISE TO MINIMUM WAGE.

  • Tom Witmer

    Seriously? What knuckleheads!!

  • Barry Levine

    It is always “wrong” to disobey company policy but what is a guy to do when he sees that people are desperate for help and he is the only one around to prevent a tragedy. I have heard some of the trash people (people?) that I worked with tell a story of how they could have prevented something horrible but passed up the oppurtunity because they di not want to get involved.
    But, as it is said in the vernacular….what go around come around….that is the street lingo expression.

    • karlson

      I’m confident that the public outrage over this will have the bus driver reinstated. He was perhaps in violation of “the rules”. But in an emergency, you don’t always follow the book or go by it.

  • LORELEI

    BEING WRITTEN UP WOULD OF BEEN SUFFICENT

    • karlson

      What? What writeup? The guy did good. He should get an award from Nassau County PD and they should initiate the campaign to get him his job back. Writeup is for doing something wrong. Essentially the police could have commandeered the bus. And because this wasn’t articulated, it’s essentially nuanced. Instead of the police helping themselves, the bus driver helped them.

      • WHERE ARE THE POLICEMAN?

        The police in uniform or not can order any vehicle to stop and assist them in what ever manner deem possible. Had the driver reported the incident as having been ordered by the police to stop and assist he wouldn’t have gotten fired!!!

        police lie all of the times, and I am sure that had the bus co. asked those police officers if they had stopped the bus driver that they would have lied so as to NOT get that driver in trouble.

        Those police officers know the law and rules and policy concerning school bus drivers and kids safety so they would have covered for the driver, like I said police lie all the time, they are NOT saints or perfect……

  • Laurice Maher

    How can you endanger the welfare of a child by picking up 3 detectives. If anything, I would think that child would be safer.

    • just curious

      What if those plain clothed man were armed dangerous criminals who had just escaped out of jail or just committed several murders in the town, and your only child was on that bus all alone with that driver?

      Would you still feel the same way about the whole thing?

      • KPMc

        What if my aunt had testicles?

      • Michael H.

        Oh I know the answer to this one! She’d be my uncle, right?

        just curious,

        Your hypothetical is an asinine attempt to defend the bus company in an indefensible situation.

      • Anonymous Coward

        Given the level of background checks (or lack thereof) involved, I would be much more concerned about my child being alone on a bus with a single bus driver than I would be with the same child being with three people bearing police identification.

  • glenn

    Only if Mr Daw’s employers had as much compassion as he has, this debockle would have never taken place. Shame on you bus company and go chase yourselves!!! So there!

  • bw

    How did he put the child in jeopardy? Police should be able to board a school bus for G**** sake. If I was Mr. Daw, I would hire a good attorney and sue the s*** out of this company. This was during a roadside emergency and cops are there to help in emergencies.

  • Jeff Benson

    This math is very simple, police are allowed to enter a school bus for official business. HOWEVER, they’re always on duty whether on the clock or not.

    This clown that fired the school bus driver need not be fired, demoted to driving a school bus.

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