My son, Ben, found this videotape on YouTube of an extraordinary car chase and chase by a police officer in Tigard, Oregon where the officer first crashes into another car and then into a home.
As we have previously discussed, there is a continuing debate over the dangers of high-speed chases by police and the circumstances in which an officer should participate in such a chase.
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An investigation by law enforcement cleared this cop despite the extreme speed and lack of siren in a residential area. The citizen was cited for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.
Earlier this fall in Tigard an officer in an accident with a 0.238 blood alcohol level and “domestic issues” is returned to full duty following an internal investigation.
The siren is heard for about 1.5 seconds prior to the collision. That is not enough time for the civilian to hear it and react by getting out of the way. Police protocols were definitely not followed in this instance.
This is an interesting video … it seems to me the civilian was making a left hand turn without a signal but I don’t hear any siren noise after the cop turned right at the light which means the civilian didn’t know he was there … the perfect storm
Given the officer struck the other vehicle on the inside of a left turn, I feel pretty confident in asserting that the officer killed or crippled the other driver.
Grossly inappropriate driving for such conditions.
Immediately following my viewing of this video an ad popped up inviting me to become a police officer. Not the best lead in.
This seems normal….
Articles on the innerwebs indicate the officer was responding to an emergency at a residence, however, the articles do not indicate what the emergency was. I’m not sure this is a clear-cut case of the police endangering the public in a “high speed chase” over a stolen car or traffic violation.
Wow. That officer is lucky to be alive. High speed chases are a danger to society, especially when the arty being chased has not committed a deadly crime.
We had two deputy sheriffs killed here a couple of years ago. They forgot the first rule of pursuit. Do not chase a sports car on a mountain road when driving a Ford Crown Victoria.
I am appalled at the number of departments that do not have a clearly spelled out policy on pursuits. They depend on officers learning everything they need to know in the two or three day pursuit driving segment of training at the Police Academy.
In the heat of the moment and high adrenaline levels, common sense often goes out the window.