Here's something you might be interested in.
I'm in New York visiting friends, and an argument broke out (I know, I know...they usually occur when I'm around, but this one wasn't my fault. Honest).
A couple debates the sentence of a guy fleeing from a cop on his motorcycle. He had a warrant for his arrest on some smaller charge, and during the chase, the cop car somehow flips over and the officer dies. The guy on the motorcycle is later caught and is sentenced for many years for "killing an officer." Now, as much as I'm happy about this loser being locked away, I felt it was a harsh sentence. The guys intent was to flee the scene, not kill an officer.
There was a case in Mira Mesa, where someone was fleeing from cops. The officer following ran a red light and hit another woman in a car, killing her.
I have no problem if there's a law on the books that states if you flee from the police, and someone is hurt because of what the OFFICER FOLLOWING YOU DID, then I have no problem with this.
It's like I said when a cop got suspended for two weeks when a woman he pulled over was rushing to the hospital. She said her dad was dying, and called her from the hospital parking lot, and she feared he couldn't make it inside. The cop didn't buy her story (and quite frankly, who can blame him? cops hear all kinds of stories). When the officer kept telling her to shut up, and basically pulled her over a second time and cuffed her (right outside the hospital), it was a PR mess for the police.
I said at that time, a law should be passed. It can state that if a cop pulls you over, and you have an emergency, the officer will listen. He will then give you a police escort to the place of your emergency (I'm assuming, 95% of the time, that will be a hospital). It may also be to your house, if your wife is going into labor or some such thing. If the officer gets there, and it turns out you were lying, you will be fined $10,000. Now, pass a law like that, people will think twice before lying to a cop. And police officers will be nice enough to listen, instead of just assuming you're lying to get out of a ticket.
I read a NY paper this morning, and I see this story; which is a perfect example why the law should pass:
Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats was pulled over in Plano, Texas. He had run a red light, but said something about his mother-in-law being rushed to the hospital. The officer wasn't buying it (who could blame him? after all, it's an NFL player you're talking with). As the cop held him, in a hospital parking lot, his mother-in-law died inside. The officer is now being placed on administrative leave.
I feel bad for the officer, although, he also drew his gun. And, it's hard to wonder how that was necessary. But if you have some big dude that's screaming and causing a scene, that's probably the way he felt he should react.
Let's pass this law soon, before someone dies in a car, while an officer is yelling about seeing a driver's license.
I'm in New York visiting friends, and an argument broke out (I know, I know...they usually occur when I'm around, but this one wasn't my fault. Honest).
A couple debates the sentence of a guy fleeing from a cop on his motorcycle. He had a warrant for his arrest on some smaller charge, and during the chase, the cop car somehow flips over and the officer dies. The guy on the motorcycle is later caught and is sentenced for many years for "killing an officer." Now, as much as I'm happy about this loser being locked away, I felt it was a harsh sentence. The guys intent was to flee the scene, not kill an officer.
There was a case in Mira Mesa, where someone was fleeing from cops. The officer following ran a red light and hit another woman in a car, killing her.
I have no problem if there's a law on the books that states if you flee from the police, and someone is hurt because of what the OFFICER FOLLOWING YOU DID, then I have no problem with this.
It's like I said when a cop got suspended for two weeks when a woman he pulled over was rushing to the hospital. She said her dad was dying, and called her from the hospital parking lot, and she feared he couldn't make it inside. The cop didn't buy her story (and quite frankly, who can blame him? cops hear all kinds of stories). When the officer kept telling her to shut up, and basically pulled her over a second time and cuffed her (right outside the hospital), it was a PR mess for the police.
I said at that time, a law should be passed. It can state that if a cop pulls you over, and you have an emergency, the officer will listen. He will then give you a police escort to the place of your emergency (I'm assuming, 95% of the time, that will be a hospital). It may also be to your house, if your wife is going into labor or some such thing. If the officer gets there, and it turns out you were lying, you will be fined $10,000. Now, pass a law like that, people will think twice before lying to a cop. And police officers will be nice enough to listen, instead of just assuming you're lying to get out of a ticket.
I read a NY paper this morning, and I see this story; which is a perfect example why the law should pass:
Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats was pulled over in Plano, Texas. He had run a red light, but said something about his mother-in-law being rushed to the hospital. The officer wasn't buying it (who could blame him? after all, it's an NFL player you're talking with). As the cop held him, in a hospital parking lot, his mother-in-law died inside. The officer is now being placed on administrative leave.
I feel bad for the officer, although, he also drew his gun. And, it's hard to wonder how that was necessary. But if you have some big dude that's screaming and causing a scene, that's probably the way he felt he should react.
Let's pass this law soon, before someone dies in a car, while an officer is yelling about seeing a driver's license.