Nobody is saying theres a halo of protection with law in place. If that was the case, Police would not be needed. My point is that you saying the officer is wrong, is in of itself, wrong to say. The video clearly shows the officer waited for sufficient gap in traffic before he entered the highway. The fault is 100% of the motorists. Sometimes people in LE get hurt, it comes with the territory and is something I accept as part of being vulnerable on the motorcycle and in my patrol vehicle. We are likely first on scene, and likely at a time when bad things happen with no amount of preparation that will prevent it. The negligence on the part of the vehicles approaching can happen anywhere, anytime and being afraid to do my job for fear of getting hurt makes me a lot less effective in my job. Nobody is saying one should step out in front of a bus to stop the vehicle, but also in this crash, the officer did nothing of the sort and didn't encourage it as you are implying by saying he was relying on some false protections. The officer did nothing even close to putting himself unnecessarily in danger, other than getting up that day and going to work in his capacity.
Motorcycle Officer Ran Over- RAW VIDEO
- Thread starter cbpdogboy
- Start date
tx-leo@coptalk.net said:
When we, cops, screw up, we need to acknowledge that and use it as a teachable moment. The fault isn't %100 with the motorist - it could not have happened if the cop had not come to a dead stop in the middle of an active traffic lane. How much fault is the driver's and how much is the cop's is up to a jury to decide. The fact that an accident occurred proves that the gap wasn't sufficient.
Monday morning quarterbacking is a good thing, until people over-extend and start assuming facts that aren't in evidence. If you study incidents in which cops get hurt or killed, accidentally or intentionally, typically they contributed to it in some fashion.
Stendec said:
It doesnt happen often but you hit it head on with that. I agree completely. This could have been avoided from what the video shows. It does make me wonder what there standard procedures are as a moto cop to shut down traffic.
tx-leo@coptalk.net said:
And I could avoid getting shot by calling in sick, too, or by applying smart tactics while solving the problem. You should have known when you signed on that the job wasn't risk-free. We try to impress the babes with how dangerous it is to be a cop, when in reality there are many, many more jobs that are far more dangerous. We tend to be our own worst enemies, when we do stupid cop tricks like not buckling up, not maintaining an adequate level of fitness, not wear our armor, drive like nuts, or stop our scooter dead center of an open expressway lane.
There's a point where boldness turns into foolishness. And just because something has been done many times doesn't mean that it's the right way to do it. A cop may cut corners on a thousand different domestics or stops and get away with it, but eventually luck, or fate, gives out.
Right, it's easy for folks to tell someone else over the INTERNET what they SHOULD have done instead. I say, find something else to critique like what your local elected official is doing, instead. The problem is, most of the negative comments towards the officer would never be told to his face that are placed in a few posts in this thread from some of the members because its unwarranted, including your " stupid cop trick" comment which would likely get you punched in the face. That would be like you telling a fireman that falls through a roof fighting a fire, that because he was walking on the roof of a house that was on fire, that he was doing " stupid fireman tricks ". I'm sure that would work out just as well for you.
Obviously, my points are not getting through so there's no need to keep posting about it from my perspective. I'll stick with my " the cop got run over by idiot drivers", you stick with your " Cop tricks ".
tx-leo@coptalk.net said:
Punching the agency's training officer in the face would definitely fall into the "stupid cop trick" category, and considering I'm also the agency's lead DT instructor, you'd get a chewing out after you staggered up from the ground, because smart cops know punching people in the face is a good way to break fingers and knuckles, open cuts from suspect's teeth and make for bad mug shot photos that the press just love to use to show how brutal we are. I tell cops every day what they do right, and what they do wrong. It's cops like you, who think they know it all and can do no wrong, that are the constant bane of my job. :roll:
I've walked on enough roofs to know that you probe the sheathing and test the footing before you go charging onto it.
Live and learn. Or screw up, so others can learn from you.
Sorry for awakening this dormant thread, but since it happened not that far from here, I'd like to add my opinion and what went around in this line of business.
Legally, the cop was allowed to do what he did. But based on his training, the cop did make a mistake. Dutch police and other rescue services have very stringent rules and procedures, and this was not a textbook maneuver. It looks like one (the bike is put in a fend-off position) but the cop stays on the bike, loses all vision to oncoming traffic (which has a blocked view because of the truck that was driving on the right lane and can only pull in the left lane quite late), is parked in the middle of a lane, basically waiting for the rest of the emergency services to arrive.
End of the story is that this cop ended up having the worst injuries of all wounded people involved in this crash, and the crash that caused this cop to escort this ambulance.
Legally, the cop was allowed to do what he did. But based on his training, the cop did make a mistake. Dutch police and other rescue services have very stringent rules and procedures, and this was not a textbook maneuver. It looks like one (the bike is put in a fend-off position) but the cop stays on the bike, loses all vision to oncoming traffic (which has a blocked view because of the truck that was driving on the right lane and can only pull in the left lane quite late), is parked in the middle of a lane, basically waiting for the rest of the emergency services to arrive.
End of the story is that this cop ended up having the worst injuries of all wounded people involved in this crash, and the crash that caused this cop to escort this ambulance.
wooter said:
The only thing he did wrong was stay sitting on his motor. Big mistake but the cause of the crash was the idiot motorists.
DaveCN5 said:
Can you elaborate more on the private funding? If MSU is a state university, presumably tax dollars would have to be involved somehow. Granted, some "operating costs" are paid via student tuition, but I'm curious if the University has some other method of funding the University Police. /dcb