Watauga police officer tried to block motorcyclist in chase, re...

A North Richland Hills accident report on a collision involving a Watauga officer indicates that the officer tried to block a speeding motorcycle instead of taking evasive action, as the Watauga department has ...

[Blue LaRoux]

I get so aggravated at criminals who suffer consequences of their illegal actions and then whine about it.

He broke the law, he took off, he was stopped by police. Not a conventional way to be stopped, but HEY! He was fleeing!

Dumbass even said "He used his car as a deadly weapon." What does he think his cycle was, made of marshmallow?

[Nona Yobiz]

Blue LaRoux = imbecile

[Blue LaRoux]

"Blue LaRoux = imbecile"

Why? Because I expressed my opinion about whining criminals?

Nona Yobiz <-- immature

[Walt]

Was the motorcycle passenger wearing a helmet? Driving is a privilege not a right and diligence for your passenger/s safety must met. Fleeing from the police and riding without protection is not using due diligence for the safety of your passengers, let alone your self.

Place blame were it is due.

[shovelheadrider8 1]

The Watauga police officers are to blame for this accident. They are totally responsible for the passengers injuries, which are quite serious. They did not act professional in this situation at all. I hope that the passenger, Cynthia, sues the hell out of them. Police are trained for these type situations. Where were these so called police officers trained? I hope they loose their jobs!!!

[Godzilla]

shovelheadrider81 wrote:

The Watauga police officers are to blame for this accident. They are totally responsible for the passengers injuries, which are quite serious. They did not act professional in this situation at all. I hope that the passenger, Cynthia, sues the hell out of them. Police are trained for these type situations. Where were these so called police officers trained? I hope they loose their jobs!!!

It's lose, not loose... and the officers should have shot first and asked questions later for this moron on a cycle.

[sophie]

Godzilla wrote:

<quoted text>
It's lose, not loose... and the officers should have shot first and asked questions later for this moron on a cycle.

I totally agree with you..

[Craig K]

Yep. You are all correct. Trying to kill someone is pretty fair since they were speeding.
Get over yourselves.

[chris]

This time justice was served and the passenger was at the wrong place at the wrong time. I don't approve of high-speed pursuits over non-criminal infractions. This time it ended in a twisted form of justice, but has ended many times in innocent by-standers (could be your wife, kids, mom or dad etc.) being killed or disabled. This all over a $100 fine and at worst the motorcyclist killing himself by running red lights. I personally don't see why the motorcyclist didn't pull over as he wasn't wanted. How often do you heard of a motorcycle crash killing someone in a car. There is numerous yearly fatalities related to high-speed pursuits and one innocent person killed is too many. Sometimes you have to think damage control and most of these high-speed motorcycle pursuits are all about ego's. Try google for high-speed pursuit fatalities

[chris]

Here is just a small portion of the info involving pursuits.

Police pursuit records provide some frightening statistics. First, the majority of police pursuits involve a stop for a traffic violation.(8) Second, one person dies every day as a result of a police pursuit.(9) On average, from 1994 through 1998, one law enforcement officer was killed every 11 weeks in a pursuit,(10) and 1 percent of all U.S. law enforcement officers who died in the line-of-duty lost their lives in vehicle pursuits.(11) Innocent third parties who just happened to be in the way constitute 42 percent of persons killed or injured in police pursuits.(12) Further, I out of every 100 high-speed pursuits results in a fatality.(13)

Research indicates that pursuits become dangerous quite quickly. For example, 50 percent of all pursuit collisions occur in the first 2 minutes of the pursuit, and more than 70 percent of all collisions occur before the sixth minute of the pursuit.(14)

Although the public sympathizes with the law enforcement community's position on pursuits, they do not want to be placed in harm's way. Public support for pursuits decreases as the severity of the offense that led to the chase decreases.(15) One study found that 58 percent of people interviewed reported that police act correctly when they pursue a motorist who does not stop.(16) When asked if the police act correctly when the pursuit endangers public safety, support decreased by one-half to 29 percent. Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of respondents said that they felt police overreact sometimes or very often when pursuing motorists who do not stop.(17) To decrease the dangers associated with pursuit, agencies must increase training and ensure that they have clear pursuit policies.

[sport rider]

i guess some of you have forgotten that you live in a free country "innocent until proven guilty" and all that crap.

would you react differently if the "criminal" was driving a minivan, ran the light, then the police officers shot both occupants? of course you would, but in this case the officer took it upon himself to a road side judge, jury and executioner and some of you support him in that decision.

i hope the next time you roll a stop sign a cop unloads his service pistol into your car, maybe that would help you gain some insight into this situation.

"those who would barter freedom for security deserve neither"

[Outraged]

The video on YouTube clearly shows the cop endangering the lives of public citizens and using his patrol car as a "deadly" weapon. He should be criminally charged with attempted murder (two counts) and felony menancing for putting citizens lives at risk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch...

[Idiots that outrun cops]

The idiot should have stopped when he was supposed to instead of putting the passenger's life at risk. He could have easily wiped out by himself due to the way he was driving to get away from the cop. The passenger needs to sue the driver of the motorcylce who didnt have a valid license or insurance.

[Les Claypool]

Poor choices for all involved. I'm a biker too and there's no reason to run from the police ESPECIALLY with a passenger.

[a sport bike rider myself]

The cop might not have realized the guy on the bikes speed or direction clearly. It was night time and the adrenalin was flowing. Dont forget the rider of the bike is a dirt bag with a long history and should not have been running, especially with a passenger!!

[even-steven]

I'm not advocating the cop's actions, but why is it you stupid ass sport bike riders think it's acceptable to drive liek dumb asses weaving in and out of traffic causing accidents (average sport bike rider causes at least 1 accident a year due to stupidity driving in traffic) then when the law gets tired of playing chase they do soemthing to stop you and you cry like little babies.

lets discuss the law shall we? the speficied "dumb ass" ran the light, refused to stop, and thougth it was fun to run from the cops. Asside from endangering his own life (which is worthless anyway) he endangered the life if his passanger w/o her consent. He's to blame for what happeend not the officer.

that said, the officer knew where the guy lived and he could have jsut waited around the corner till the "dumb ass" came home then arrested him safe and sound. but they didn't do that. He did something i don;t think he shoudl have done, but again the "dumb ass" was refusing to comply with orders to stop. What if he had a gun and was kidnapping the girl? How would the cops know this? There are numebrous times where a traffic stop for speeding turnes into a persute only to discover it was drugs, or something worse. so in the end the cops had NO way to knwo why he was running and had probable cause to stop him at all costs due to any number of things he coudl be running for.

the "dumbass" should have stopped PLAIN and simple.......

crying saying the cop this or that is stupid. if your going to "ACT" like a "Dumbass" then expect to be treated like one. guy woudl have gotten a $75 ticket and no problems, but he chose to be stupid. i just wished HE had died. i hate 90% of all sport bike riders because they usually drive like complete dumb asses and endanger other's lives while they think it's cool or funny.

What doe sit come down too? When your asked to pull over by the cops, pull your butt over and be respectful. you'll be supprised by the return respect offered by the officer.......(P.S. no i'm not a cop)

[Yoni]

It seems that a lot of comments on this board are defending the officer's actions. I'd like to re-iterate sport rider's comment...

If running from the cops is so 'bad' and they have the right to do what the office did -- it's 100% comparable to shooting at any fleeing vehicle in order to stop them. I'm amazed nobody got killed, chances were likely about the same as being shot in the chest.

Such an action taken by anyone else than an officer would lead into a murder wrap. I'm sick and tired of unprofessional behavior by cops - to protect and serve means you're supposed to rise above and not let your emotions get to you - it's not you against them.

And finally - to anyone saying he 'got what he deserved before he was going to kill someone else'-- let's see, motorcycle against a car - he'll get himself killed rather than anyone else. Letting the biker run would've caused no risk to public safety.

Cheers,
Yoni

[povol]

Piece of sh&* citizen meets ego driven cop.Recipe for disaster every time.Im sure that all municipalities have no chase rules unless a felony has occured.Running a red light is not a felony,at least where i live.Even though i have no sympathy for the rider,the cop was in the wrong and there will be a huge settlement involved.Another classic example of thinking with your balls instead of your brain.

[Bite Me]

Yep, Just goes to show us that Idiots and Morons walk among us. They can wear a bandana or a badge, in this case, both.
No one is perfect, but most of us are sane.

Yo "Even Steven", Sounds like you have a problem with motorcycle riders, Which are you, Idiot or Moron ?

[KDR]

The morons are the people making the comments that "they got what they deserved" Have you lost your F'n minds?!?

This is a very serious matter of police brutality & in my mind - attempted murder by the a$$hole cop who hit them on purpose. The police were not arguing about releasing records & cruiser cam videos for fun. Its because they both LIED to their department AND the rest of us about what really happened. Now that the Star Telegram has legally pursued the videos .. it tells the real story - the kid, although used very bad judgement by fleeing, was hit - BY A COP - on purpose! He never ran a red light.

Watch 'em for yourself.
http://www.star-telegram.com/407/story/251382...