Mvcrash

Roadway/highway design and signage has more of an effect on drivers than one would think, even Cops. Cops are REQUIRED to pay attention to many things while driving, civilians ar NOT and should not. You don't need a radio, cops do. You can always look straight ahead and concentrate on the roadway, Cops can't. Two different worlds driving a uniform police car and civilian car. By law, civilians are supposed to pay attention to NOTHING but their driving, by law cops have to pay attention to EVERYTHING plus their driving.

Cop was starting off from a traffic light one afternoon behind another car. Both windows open, light turns green, she starts, Cop starts, someone yells HEY OFFICER, Cop turns his head, she stopped, Cop rear ended her. Cops fault? Absolutely, three days off ? Absolutely. Intentional? NO.
A Crime? No.
I am NOT defending the cop, just providing another view and something to think about.

God speed to the family of the victim.

Mvcrash

I want to hang out with you.

dynodonn 

I've noted that the bike lane/road design was one factor in this collision, and one can only hope that eventually the local DOT will take measures in improving the design in making it more safer for cyclists.

It's frustrating in seeing the ways that law enforcement are exempt from doing certain practices that they will in turn cite the civilian population for doing, along with the poor track record of this particular agency's self investigation efforts.

rydabent

genec

And it would probably take the undertaker a week to get the smile off your face for the funeral.

dynodonn 

Not a chance, especially with someone younger than my granddaughter, or the thought of meeting her parents who maybe younger than my children.

Booger1

They (the local news) have reported that the cop had made 6 cell phone calls,in something like 10 minutes,prior to hitting the cyclist.....I guessing he was making a 7th.

I don't know if anyone here has dealt with LASD.....I have,many times.....They don't enforce the law...THEY ARE THE LAW!

Keith99

Not a surprise. Given something bad happened in this area. That is an easy section of road. Housing developments on both sides and only a couple of entrances per mile. The very kind of place where one might thing nothing could happen.

Rollfast

Please stick with the relevant details and leave the fantasy jailbait homicide tangent out of this/

Mvcrash

Do we know if the car was moving while he was on the phone?

I think it was meant as a joke. Besides, it would be an accidental death, not homicide. (just in case, this is meant as a joke)

dougmc

To be fair, police dashcam video seems to usually be off unless they have a reason to turn it on. I believe it's usually turned on manually if needed, or comes on automatically if the sirens are enabled.

Now, compare to those of us who run video cameras on our bikes or cars ... we know that bad things happen in an instant, and if they happen and the camera wasn't recording then the camera was worthless. So we record all the time.

You would think that the police would record all the time for the same reason, but I think their reasons are a bit different. They don't need protection for the 'he said, she said" situation in traffic collisions, because their "he said" already trumps most other people's. And if their camera does record a crime, they're obligated to preserve it as evidence where ordinary citizens may not be, so leaving it on may lead to additional work on their part.

That said, I do wish they'd start recording all the time. Perhaps record it into a secondary buffer that can be erased as needed to make space for new recordings like the dashcams of ordinary citizens, and record into the primary buffer for things they know they'll have to save. But this "the camera wasn't on" stuff has to stop -- the camera is already there, make sure it's on.

dynodonn 

I know that our local law enforcement has license plate reading cameras running all the time, one would think that law enforcement could have a several hour loop camera going regularly as well.

jon c. 

A number of jurisdictions stopped rolling dashboard cams on a routine basis as it ended up that the tapes too often implicated officers in unprofessional if not illegal conduct.

rydabent

jon

That is why the city fathers should pass ordnances that police cams shoud be on all the time. Officers should NOT have access to the recordings.

kickstart

Do you have a legitimate source to support that claim?

howsteepisit

For a guy who claims to dislike government interference you seem to be all for passing more laws. Seems hotly illogical.

Keith99

Rubbish.

This is a wide open area, an easy drive with minimal distractions. The road is NOT the problem.

Unless one blames road design that has too much space so drivers feel safe and get careless.

B. Carfree

+1

dougmc

It's not quite so illogicial.

Remember, the police are part of the government, and if the way you get them to behave is to pass laws to make them more accountable, then that certainly does have the potential to reduce government interfence on ordinary citizens. What's illogical is thinking that passing new laws absolutely cannot be a way to reduce government interference.

That said, this sort of thing should not really require an ordiance. It should be a department policy instead.

Having their cameras on has been shown to reduce citizen abuse complaints by something like 90% -- almost everybody behaves better when their actions are recorded -- so the police ought to be on board. There's some technical and policy issues to resolve, but they shouldn't be showstoppers.

howsteepisit

Doug,

My comment was specifically directed to rydabent who goes on about obtrusive g'vment bureaucrats (which in his mind includes elected officials) while proclaiming his cold logic. Had nothing to do with the desirability of any requirements for dash cams.

dynodonn 

The dogleg in the road is a bad design, making cyclists vulnerable to motorists not making the correction due to whatever reason you happen to choose, especially during the times when the higher speed limit is in effect.

bikebuddha 

There can be no doubt that the amount of electronics in modern police vehicles is a distraction. I've seen numerous LEOs using their laptops as they drive, laptops! Help explains how things like this (warning disturbing video) happens.

Keith99

You have to be deaf, dumb and blind to have trouble on that road.

The basic route is determined by the terrain, there is no viable options for the route it takes.

I've both driven and biked that road, it is safe.

Well at least except for when the Local High School is either getting it or letting out.

klmmicro

Could care less about the deputies feelings. Sorry for the cyclist's family's loss. We will likely never learn anything if the LEO is even remotely at fault. They protect their own and the rest of us are just here for so they can justify their existence. I know it sounds harsh, but crap like this happens all too often and in the end it always seems to be "the other guys fault". The only way to ensure that we get a fair shake is to have several cameras running that are uploading our own video to a remote location that cannot be tampered with. That is still a few years off yet, but it is the only way it seems to hold public employees to the accountability that we are held to.

dynodonn 

You just basically described a distracted driver........

On a section of my commute, I contend with a road design that has an even sharper dogleg in it, but with the speed limit being lower. I coordinate my riding to coincide with any break in traffic, since some motorists have failed to fully correct for the dogleg, and partially enter the bike lane before realizing it.

Added: The reason why I now have to contend with this particular dogleg, it was that in order to make room for the addition of a new bike lane, the roadway was widened on the left side since there were no power poles to move, now all traffic has to make an abrupt left correction.

GeorgeWerr

So the cop keeps driving when someone is yelling for them?