CB HI

When fools like this 17 year old, run from the cops and create a pursuit situation, then sh** happens. Are you telling use that you expect everything to go perfect in a police pursuit? I though not. This cop even made a long stop at the red light, to make sure it was safe before he went through.

Joe_Mo

Are YOU, nuts? this was clearly an accident and the kid should have stopped.

dynodonn 

All over the road, wrong side of the road, over sidewalks, and running over the cyclist and then into a planter barrier. Not what I call being safe CB.

AlmostTrick

I'm not sure why you're grasping at straws to defend this officer CB.

Not having "everything go perfect" would be if the guy got away, or the squad car hit a curb. Running over the suspect is MAJOR FAIL no matter how you look at it.

The bottom line is the driver is responsible for controling his vehicle at all times. Based on your post history, it seemed as though you would agree with this statement.

Joeybsmooth

This happen is South Carolina with someone on foot , a cop hit and, but this guy got a away. The cop said I meant to hit him, and nothing happen to the cop. Anywho Many people who do not stop for cops do not do so out of malice but out of fear.

CB HI

Why are you grasping at straws to attack the cop. Fact is, if the 17 year old stopped as he was required and not felony evaded, none of the pursuit would have happened. That is where the MAJOR FAIL happened.

The bottom line is the 17 year old repeatedly refused to stop and created the situation that killed him. The primary duty of the cop was to not hurt any Innocents, which he succeeded in.

Was the 17 year old responsible for controlling his bicycle during the pursuit? MAJOR FAIL there when he road and fell right into the cops path, as the cop was turning to follow the 17 year old.

If we want safer pursuits, then we need to put up the tax money to put a second cop in each car.

My history is to get off the road when I hear a siren; let cops, fireman or EMS do their job; not to try outrun them. I also do not consider pursuits standard/routine traffic situations. If the cop were not in a pursuit, was talking on a cell phone (or any of the other BS excuses) and ran over a cyclist, THEN I would place the blame on him.

Joeybsmooth

"The bottom line is the 17 year old repeatedly refused to stop and created the situation that killed him. The primary duty of the cop was to not hurt any Innocents, which he succeeded in."

What crime did the kid do, for the cop to bother him in the first place...none. People should have the right to go about there day with out being missed with by the cops.

CommuterRun

Yes, this is right. He made the choices that made this happen.

CB HI

PS: The difference in my position in this case and many of the other threads:

In this case the cop had "Reasonable suspicion" and maybe even "Probable case" to stop the suspect, as the 17 year old was trespassing on a construction site after hours. In this case the cop acted legally (assuming the trespass is true).

In most of the other threads, the cyclist was legally riding on the road and the cops did not have any "Reasonable suspicion" let alone "Probable case" to stop the cyclist. In these cases, it was the cops that broke the law by stopping the cyclist.

Chilled

The hoodlum had every opportunity to stop and comply with lawful authortity. What was the cop supposed to do? Get out of the car and run? No loss as far as I am concerned.

CommuterRun

A couple other thoughts come to mind:
1) Why was the kid out and about in the wee hours of the morning? Where were his parents? They aren't blameless in this incident.

2) The kid was a cyclist? I doubt it.
a)Just being on a bike just makes him a kid on a bike; and if I had to guess I would say it was most likely a BMX bike, 3 sizes too small, with the seat slammed all the way down.

b) If the kid had a car to get away in he would have used it. Which would have put everybody else on the road at risk.

Rollfast

Well...that would put a dent in your scrambled eggs.

I'm not remodeling the water closet by watching that so I hope the kid gets good schooling in juvie and doesn't decide to stand in the road kissing busses as a result.

A sad thing.

spock

I don't know about the construction site. As far as I can tell, cop initially wanted to pull him over while he was going down the side walk, which is when he started running. He said he saw him by construction equipment, but there is no proof of that. It's probably just a cover story for why he really wanted to stop him.

Yes the kid made a mistake of running, but the cop made a mistake of running him over. Where the hell is my scale?

And did you hear that cop's voice??? Are his doughnuts laced with steroids?

probe1957

In my personal opinion, yes and yes.

Yeah, okay.

probe1957

No. Just a disproportionate amount of it. That is pretty well indisputable, isn't it?

dynodonn 

Oh boy, now we're defining what a cyclist is. Irregardless, the juvenile was fleeing on a bicycle, and the LEO had the right to pursue, but at what level? The LEO was being more of a menace to the public than the suspect he was trying apprehend, and the LEO should have backed down and followed in a safe manner until he was able to get some back up to help him. Now Pensacola PD has a black mark against them, which will be on the minds of many citizens for years to come.

RazrSkutr

FFS.

I'm sure you can.

Keep imagining.

That justifies some cop acting crazy and killing a kid.

Good thing he stopped an imaginary murderer of a twelve year old.

RazrSkutr

Man, I really hope you get your authoritarian ass tazered.

degnaw

um.... name a situation where an innocent person should run from a pursuing cop?

Kurt Erlenbach

BREAKING NEWS: It was the kid's own fault.

"When his bicycle hit a curb, Victor Steen was thrown into the path of a police cruiser that could not have stopped to avoid hitting the teen, a state traffic homicide investigator said Friday.
"Cpl. Chris Nussbaumer, a traffic homicide investigator with the Florida Highway Patrol, said that given the speed and the distance involved in the crash, it was physically impossible for Pensacola police officer Jerald Ard to stop his patrol car and avoid hitting Steen, who was on a bicycle trying to get away from Ard.

"If (Steen) had not struck this curb, the accident wouldn't have happened," Nussbaumer said.

Nussbaumer spoke on Friday, the second and final day of a coroner's inquest into 17-year-old Steen's death on Oct. 3. He added: "I found no violations of the law with officer Ard's behavior."

spock

To be inpatient and have your sight clouded with raging emotion is not against the law I guess.

cudak888 

When the victim can't speak, the party at fault can make up any excuse...

-Kurt

dynodonn 

It'll be interesting to see what the judge's ruling will be. If anything, I would like to see the judge, at the least, make an opinion on PPD in revising/reviewing their pursuit policy.

thdave

The LEO, with his recklessness and escalation of this situation, given his outrageous use of the taser and his use of his car as a weapon, had wonton disregard for the suspect's life.

This is the cops protecting their own and the city trying to reduce it's exposure, as it will lose in a law suit given that the cop caused the kid his life.
Sadly, their shortsightedness puts others at risk, given that thiis stupid LEO hasn't been taken off the force.

RazrSkutr

Wow. Looks like we need a simple to understand Life User Manual for Kerlenbach and co. One of the entries could read:

227a: Chasing someone with a car can lead to you running them over and killing them. This will be YOUR fault.

It could be accompanied by a simple cartoon graphic to assist CB HI's comprehension.

All this is a fascinating insight into "middle class" American authoritarianism.