I was just now (less than 5 minutes ago) watching the news on ABC 13 here in Houston. There was a live car chase going on, cops chasing a car on the freeway, and eventually ending up in a residental area. At the end of the chase I noticed a cyclist having a VERY close call. The car being chased was heading for an intersection, and the cyclist was closing in on the same intersecion, coming from the driver's right hand side. The driver was turning, and for a moment it looked like both he and the cop was going to hit the cyclist. Both of them were heading right for him. I saw the cyclist throwing himself off the bike. A few seconds later another police car passed the bike with what seems like a few inches of clearance. For a few minutes it was not clear what happened to the cyclist, but on replay from another angle you could see him running away from his bike to safety.
The news anchors at first did not mention the cyclist at all, they were more focused on the guy being chased by the cops. But that cyclist must have had the scare of his life. And yes, he was riding on the right side of the road.
During the replay a few minutes later they did mention the cyclist and how close it had been.
Sverre
The BikeForums Team
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I just recorded part of the rebroadcast from ABC on my ReplayTV PVR. I'll extract the video and see if I can post a link, and you can see for yourself. It all happened very fast.
Sverre
samundsen
Ok, here is the video. It's 16 seconds long, and 8.5MB, in MPEG2 format (you need MPEG2/DVD codec to view). I suggest downloading the video before viewing.
Rofl. If you look closely first he pulls onto the curb, then dismounts and runs for his life leaving his bike there.
Allister
I was wondering the same thing.
Maybe he was *gasp* riding with headphones! ;)
OH NO! Not that!
Seriously though, trust me on this, even with headphones on you can hear sirens coming from a long way away.
Allister
Rofl. If you look closely first he pulls onto the curb, then dismounts and runs for his life leaving his bike there.
Yeah. The police car was coming at him quite quickly. He did well to react in time considering that the car swerved at him quite sharply from behind. Maybe he's had a lot of practice ;)
Chris L
OH NO! Not that!
Seriously though, trust me on this, even with headphones on you can hear sirens coming from a long way away.
I don't need to take your word for it, I know exactly how loud sirens are. I was just engaging in a spot of trolling.
Daily Commute
Yeah. The police car was coming at him quite quickly. He did well to react in time considering that the car swerved at him quite sharply from behind. Maybe he's had a lot of practice ;)
The cyclist did pull to the curb, but that was not enough. The cop also did a decent job of threading himself between the suspects' car and the cyclist. But the video shows why police agencies need to rethink their policies on high-speed chases. Some agencies won't do them because of the risk to innocent bystanders. Would it have been worth the life of the cyclist (or some other bystander) to catch these dudes this very minute? That's the question the cops should have asked before the chase began.
Juha
I was wondering the same thing.
Maybe he was *gasp* riding with headphones! ;)
EDIT: wasn't red.
[off-topic]
What's the story with the red font, anyway?
[/off-topic]
--J
cyclingshane73
Dammit! I wanted to see the take down. That copper on his heals looked like he was going to catch him and lay a beating on him!
John E
... Some agencies won't do them because of the risk to innocent bystanders. Would it have been worth the life of the cyclist (or some other bystander) to catch these dudes this very minute? ...
Fortunately, steadily improving communications, video, and surveillance technology will gradually render hot pursuits less and less necessary. I hope more police officers will use brains and technology instead of the right foot and horsepower.
samundsen
Dammit! I wanted to see the take down. That copper on his heals looked like he was going to catch him and lay a beating on him!
:)
No beatings. The take down was partially obstructed by a tree, but the live broadcast shows them just taking him down and leading him to the police car. Most cops have probably learned to behave by now when news choppers are overhead.
Sverre
madpogue
There were THREE squads coming up behind him. From what I can tell, at least two of them had pursuit lights on. No way to determine which were running sirens. Why on earth was he still moving? Even before the camera coverage got to him, he shoulda been stopped and against the curb. Or better yet, up on the terrace.
caloso
I noticed that the cyclist laid down his bike and ran off to a safer spot. Two thoughts popped into my head: 1) obviously he doesn't have clipless pedals or we would have seen the classic flop to the side; 2) had it been me, would I have dumped my bike on the curb like that? (Answer: depends on whether I was riding my commuter or my racer.)
countryrider
I almost got hit by a van today. The pr!ck took a left too wide, and went over the white line. He almost hit the curb, so I had to swerve. I hit a huge rock, and went over the handlbars. I was traveling as fast as the town traffic at 30 mph, so it wasn't pretty. The bike went directly over the top, because the only damage is a little scuffing on the saddle, and the handlbar padding is ripped up. I got pretty fortunate as of bike damage. I landed on my chest, so I avoided landing on my head. My entire left forearm is scraped up. I bandaged myself up though, and I am taking my bike in to get checked on. I just bought it three days ago! People suck sometimes.
Gojohnnygo.
If it would have been a police officer on bike patrol. They would have charged him with attempted murder. For us there would be no charges filed. Very sad! Seems like the cops have there own set of rules.
jfmckenna
I find it disgusting and vulgar that one; cops chase criminals at high speed on OUR streets and two that they broadcast it live like some f'in reality show what low brow entertainment. Bad boys whatcha goonna do bullsh1t.
cerewa
Yesterday morning I had a bad experience with a terrible driver.
At the time, I was terrified and couldn't really think of a probable cause for what I saw. Later I decided I might assume the guy fell asleep at the wheel.
What happened is that there was a car ahead of me, downhill, on a road with cars parked beside it. I was a good distance away and looking down for a moment, but i heard a crunch. When I looked up again, I saw a car which had just been in the correct lane driving toward me in my lane. I hit my brakes hard and as soon as I could, went on to the sidewalk, though i was still at least 30 feet away from the car when I got out of the way. Asleep-at-the-wheel guy, though, just got back in his lane, and drove away.
Chris L
I find it disgusting and vulgar that one; cops chase criminals at high speed on OUR streets and two that they broadcast it live like some f'in reality show what low brow entertainment. Bad boys whatcha goonna do bullsh1t.
Sadly, that's the sort of society we live in these days. This is why the scenario John E pointed out above (i.e. cops using brains and technology rather than a right foot) is unlikely to happen anytime soon. There's just too much entertainment value in it. TV networks (and the morons who watch them) thrive on it, politicians use it to win votes. Common sense just doesn't get a look in anymore. Of course there are casualties, but who cares about them? The show must go on.
The most ironic situation I remember was the Gold Coast Bulletin newspaper a couple of years ago deriding the Gold Coast for being a place where "violence is a spectator sport", yet most of the first four pages were taken up with big photos of the brawl in Surfers Paradise that attracted these spectators. Just another poor attempt at trying to be politically correct and claim the moral high ground, while continuing to pander to the lowest common denominator in society.
Ryan
I find it disgusting and vulgar that one; cops chase criminals at high speed on OUR streets and two that they broadcast it live like some f'in reality show what low brow entertainment. Bad boys whatcha goonna do bullsh1t.
Well some of those people are running because they have bad records, some even have murdered.. If they didn't chase them they'd get away.. Now wouldn't you want them to be in custody rather than on the streets? And its the News Stations that broadcast, and that what they do to make a living.. Get over it.
jfmckenna
Well some of those people are running because they have bad records, some even have murdered.. If they didn't chase them they'd get away.. Now wouldn't you want them to be in custody rather than on the streets? And its the News Stations that broadcast, and that what they do to make a living.. Get over it.
Get over it?
Get over this.
A 16 year old with a 350 Chevy Malibu makes a bad decision and decides to try to out run a cop. He did nothing wrong mind you only that he grew up in a small rural town where cops really had nothing else to do but patrol every possible street. Cop follows kid, kid gets nervous and tears off. 30 minutes later of 100 mph high speed chase kid wraps car around tree and dies. That was my good friend in high school boyo. If said cop called ahead or abandoned chase I still may be able to call my friend on the phone. Ok so you can say he was wrong to try to out run a cop sure I agree but you miss the point, he was'nt a murderer or cop killa gangsta drug dealla and even if he was is it worth the safety of our citizens to have tons of steel flying through city streets at 100mph to catch anyone? come one use your head do the math!
twahl
So the cop is supposed to know by instinct that the car in front of him was driven by someone that didn't do anything wrong, that the driver just made a bad decision to try and outrun the cop?
I was 16 once. To this day I know that there is one ticket that I could have outrun the cop and gotten away. There is zero doubt in my mind, 20 years later and 20 years wiser that I would have escaped if I had run. I pulled over. The cop, when he came around the corner, was shocked. He came to the car and told me to hang on a sec, then went back to the cruiser. When he came back he informed me that he called off the roadblock because he knew that they way I came around the corner and into radar, he wasn't going to catch me. I told him that what appears to be a road with only one way in or out from each end may not always be the case. I'd have never seen that roadblock. I'm very sorry for the loss of your friend, but the first thing you said, "A 16 year old with a 350 Chevy Malibu makes a bad decision and decides to try to out run a cop." is the tragic catalyst that led to his death.
Personally I want people that run chased and caught. People that run, for the most part, aren't going to look in their mirror and say to themselves "hey, he stopped chasing me. I guess I'll just slow down and drive like I have some sense." If the police don't chase and catch, more people will run, creating more danger on the streets. Sometimes that is the only indicator they have that someone that's dangerous is "public".
How the media handles it is an entirely different matter, and unrelated as well as irrelevent as far as police departments are concerned, except that it may make them be more careful knowing that they are being watched by the public.
Ryan
Well in my eyes if a kid will run from police at 100mph then he does not care at all what will happen to anyone he hits along the way... The cop wasn't pushing the car, the kid was doing 100mph at his own will.. And if a kid does that, that shows the cop the kid is dangerous and does not car what happens to anyone in his path, and that more reason to get him stopped and in jail. Running from the police is not a petty crime and should not be ignored, or else everyone would do it..
MMPC
A 16 year old with a 350 Chevy Malibu makes a bad decision and decides to try to out run a cop. He did nothing wrong mind you only that he grew up in a small rural town where cops really had nothing else to do but patrol every possible street. Cop follows kid, kid gets nervous and tears off. 30 minutes later of 100 mph high speed chase kid wraps car around tree and dies. That was my good friend in high school boyo. If said cop called ahead or abandoned chase I still may be able to call my friend on the phone. Ok so you can say he was wrong to try to out run a cop sure I agree but you miss the point, he was'nt a murderer or cop killa gangsta drug dealla and even if he was is it worth the safety of our citizens to have tons of steel flying through city streets at 100mph to catch anyone? come one use your head do the math!
Okay, so let me get this straight. It's the cop's fault your friend was an idiot (sorry, but let's call a spade a spade) and chose to try and outrun law enforcement at 100 MPH for 30 minutes putting COUNTLESS INNOCENT LIVES in jeopardy (and for what reason???)? If there's logic in that paragraph above, I guess I'm missing it.
Anyway, I know I could never be a cop or a legislator. I'd make it legal for the cops to rough 'em up after a high-speed chase! Have you ever noticed how many of those dolts come out of the cars - after the chase has ended - with big ol' grins on their faces - "I'm on tee vee!" I'd let the cops wipe that smile right off their face and perhaps teach 'em a lesson. Horrible idea? Probably. But it pisses me off to no end how these guys play with people's lives because they have a warrant out (or countless other reasons) and then people say - in their infinite wisdom - that the cops should just "let 'em go." :mad:
Ryan
Little late, but good points..
collegeskier
The key in this situation is that I am guessing there was another method. I would assume that Houston police have a helicopter which can track a car pretty well and no risk anyone. Although about beating people who flee, I think the Constitution has some stuff against that. I do think we should prevent them from breading though because unless you live on the border or in a 1 horse town you are not going to outrun the cops. You are not going to lose 10 police cars and who knows how many helicopters, think for just a second. If I have to explain the two exceptions, well they don't apply to you.