You Said What? Move On to the Fish Fry, West Des Moines?

A month and a half after Patch told you about West Des Moines police on a doctor as she sped to a hospital emergency, readers are still weighing in.

“All parties made mistakes,” said the most recent commenter. “Learn from this, make the appropriate changes and allowances and move on. We have bigger fish to fry.”

Dr. Laurie Marie Kuestner had been called into Mercy Medical Center for an early-morning emergency and was driving above the speed limit. By the time she reached the hospital, police from several agencies were in pursuit and they drew their weapons when she exited the vehicle.

What do you think? What are the lessons to be learned from this experience? Tell us in comments.

The story, originally published on Feb. 15, is one of the most frequently read, along with a companion piece, an by that son of a cop, Patch Regional Editor Todd Richissin.

Readers also had plenty to say in response to that piece, in which Richissin described the fear of every son – or daughter – of a cop whose dad or mom works the night beat. Will their parents come home from their shift?

“As wife of an officer I can attest to the "some people will never know what it's like to be a cop" statement,” wrote Courtney Tompkins. “They go through so much and get second-guessed and criticized constantly for following protocol to preserve their own lives and the lives they are sworn to protect.”

Valley Junction businesswoman Christy Cobb, who owns , said the doctor’s conduct left her “speechless.”

“The physician needs to publicly apologize to the citizens whose lives she put in danger by driving too fast and not yielding to the officers; she owes an apology to her hospital and its staff for the unfavorable light she has shone on them and most of all, she owes an apology to Officer [Brent] Kock for her mean spirit and complete disrespect,” Cobb wrote.


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