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More power to the police in high speed pursuit
Let's see if I have this right...
Police take off after a black Caddy doing 73mph in a 55mph zone, which leads to a high speed pursuit in the black Georgia night. The 19 year old yahoo behind the wheel of the Caddy is obviously of no mind to pull over. After almost 8 minutes of the chase through light traffic, one police cruiser bumps the Caddy from behind, at which point yahoo loses control of the car and careens off the road into (what appears to be) a telephone pole. Bottom line, the yahoo (who, originally, was guilty of driving at 18mph over the posted speed limit) is now a quadraplegic. Yahoo sues the police officer who "caused the crash" under the terms of the 4th Amendment (some weird logic about unlawful seizure?). "In this case, both a lower court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled in favor of [the yahoo]. The 11th Circuit said that [the officer's] actions constituted deadly force and that it was unreasonable because the officer had no reason to think [yahoo] had done anything more than violate traffic laws. The police gave chase because they clocked him going 73 mph in a 55-mph zone. 'Far from being the cautious and controlled driver the lower court depicts, what we see on the video more closely resembles a Hollywood-style car chase of the most frightening sort, placing police officers and innocent bystanders alike at great risk of serious injury,' wrote Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia was incredulous that the lower courts had said Harris's case against Scott could proceed." (source: http://www.policeone.com/legal/articles/1241449/, among others) Now, I've viewed the video posted on the Supreme Court's website, and I have to say, "What the $*^&$# was that yahoo thinking?!?" The video is about 92MB and runs some 15+ minutes, showing what the onboard cameras of the police cruisers saw that night. First, you see the Caddy from the lead pursuit cruiser, then you get the same chase as seen from a second cruiser, the one which ultimately knocks the Caddy into the woods. (video at: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinio..._v_harris.rmvb) Watching the California Patrol in hot pursuit after a white Bronco doing 20mph for hours on end is one thing, but the chase in this video is typical of the ones being debated over recent years. At what point do the police engage in pursuit, and when do they just let the evil-doer go, hoping to pick him up later. The original crime here was not armed robbery or carjacking or leaving the scene of an accident, it was doing 73mph in a 55 zone. (Remember: I've said before that 72 is the magic number.) I have no idea why yahoo decided to try to escape, rather than simply pull over and accept the damn ticket. When the police officer is chasing down a speeder with siren and lights on, and the speeder just keeps on going, putting any number of other motorists in danger, the police officer can now use deadly force (i.e.: his front bumper) with a little more authority, thanks to today's Supreme Court ruling. I'm no lawyer, but it seems to me that yahoo compounded his possible speeding ticket with resisting arrest (always a good generic criminal activity, when everything else fails). But then leading the police on an 8-minute chase around any number of other motorists (most of whom had the good sense to pull over to the side of the road) has to be a serious crime. The potential for disaster is all over that video. I would have dismissed this case from the start. dwight www.tfrog93.com |
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