No Value for human life?

I was deeply hurt this morning when i read the story about an autorickshaw driver who paid a costly price for jumping the signal - the price, his father's life. The old man couldn't wait and he died en route to the hospital. Interestingly and ironically the police say the cop who stopped them and demanded to see the papers and prevented the sick man from reaching the hospital in time was only doing his duty. Since when has our police force become so duty-conscious? Assuming that the cop in question was really making an attempt to enforce the law which he strictly believed in, couldn't he assess the situation and act accordingly as any sensible human being would? The old man in the auto was there fighting for life and how could one turn a blind eye to it? I'm not condoning the autodriver's offence; what he did was wrong - wrong in the eyes of the law. But, What should be taken into account here is the motive or the intention for the crime. You and I in the same situation would have jumped many signals to reach our loved one safely to the hospital. Can't the police force relax rules during emergencies? Or has the force become so mechanical and dehumanized that the rule book is more importnat than human life? A sensible, really duty-conscious cop would not have detained them but ensured that they reached the hospital well in time. When will our police force change?