Originally Posted by
Jeffbeerman2
I guess you've never encountered one of these parades of criminals chasing criminals. Once you do, you'll find yourself looking both ays at green lights for a while. It's pretty scary.
You are lucky to be aware of it at all 'til it passes you or crosses your path.
I'm all for the cops doing their job, but they have to do it with regard for public safety. A police chase on surface streets through red lights is no different than firing at a criminal who is standing in front of innocent civilians. I'd rather see the criminal escape, than see a kid or an expectant mother get creamed by a cop or criminal (see links to those stories early in this thread).
When the cops give chase in traffic, they are causing the actions of the criminal at some point. I've been burglarized twice in the last five years. Guess what the cops did both times: Nothing. They collected no evidence (fingerprints etc). They just took the information over the telephone on one occasion. they took zero interest in wanting to catch the person who was in my home, they were just providing me with paperwork for insurance. Same thing when my last mountain bike was stolen. Explain to me why a hit and run resulting in a car being totaled is worth the life of a child riding a bicycle, but they don't care if they catch a person who breaks into a home in a low income neighborhood. The difference I see is this; one provides the opportunity for cops to play dukes of hazard on city streets, and one requires them to do the much more boring task of checking fingerprints left by a burglar. ******** adrenaline junkie cowboy cops chasing ******** teen thugs.
Catching the bad guy is not worth an innocent life.
I see your point and I now understand your pain and experience, I don't know where you live and how they respond to certain situations, but I'm sure you can address these issues through community meetings that is held in your city. I know that "chasing ******** teen thugs" aren't the only priority the city has, but I'm sure there has to be some merits in going after these criminals. I understand that "catching the bad guy is not worth an innocent life," but I just want you to know that it's also worth getting these thugs if they commit 10 more crimes and kill more innocent lives (with regard for public safety). There are also other "catch a bad guy days" to handle this, but we're not living in a perfect world and these situations happen and I'm sure the superior who has the authority to stop or continue these chases has some valid reasons and merits to continue the pursuits and make that decisions or else these criminal events will continue to rise and more crime will occur thereafter.
And yes, I cross these paths everyday and night as I serve the public the best way I can. I commute to work by bike and hop on a one ton rig with my red lights and sirens to prevent or go after criminals. It's not a perfect world, but I am aware of good law abiding citizens of their efforts to help us and we try to help back in return "with regard for public safety."