Posted on 08/09/2009 3:25:12 AM PDT by South40
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- The California Highway Patrol says a police chase in Dinuba has ended with seven people dead, including four children.
The patrol says Dinuba police were trying to stop a car Saturday afternoon for a traffic infraction.
Patrol Sgt. Jon Baker says the driver went through a stop sign during the pursuit and collided with a pickup truck.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
OK,fair point.But as I said there's at least one other car company (European) that has a feature that's basically the same thing as OnStar (I own one of its products that has the feature).I don't know if any other car makers,foreign or domestic,have it but the technology *does* exist.It's kinda cool,actually.I used it when I first bought the car at the salesman's suggestion.As soon a connection was made,my *exact* location was displayed on the little screen on the dashboard.I guess that's what makes it possible for them to dispatch an ambulance if you're in an accident.
I don’t think fleeing down a road is the same as someone indiscriminately firing.
In my hypothetical I asked if it was ok to shoot a fleeing suspect on a crowded sidewalk. I didn’t say the fellow was shooting back.
People have funny ideas. It’s ok to plug civilians in the cross-fire? Is that what I’m hearing?
Is me asking a question an ‘outburst’? Does it offend you somehow if I ask? Did you figure you participating here was a one way thing? No cross fire involved? That you would just post and nobody would ask a question or make a comment? When they do does this get your hackles up? LOL. Maybe you should take up knitting or something less confrontational.
OK! I'll play your game.
Your attempt to elevate the conversation is admirable. But, you are wasting your time. If you think those are equal actions (car/gun), then we have nothing to talk about anyways.
That is like dreaming of a perfect world...
I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I was making a friendly conversation about pick-up trucks. I’ve got no problem with you. You could have just kept your comments to pick-up trucks and I would have been happy with that. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the States. My comment was made in the wondrous/cheeful/friendly sense. More like a Gomer Pyle sort of ‘gollee, where I lived everybody rode around in the back of a pickup truck’.
What’s with people today?
I tell you what buddy. I’m sorry I offended you. You’re obviously pretty highly strung. And I’ve actually got to go to work in a few minutes.
I was completely wrong. I’m glad this fellow plowed into the truck and killed the kids. He should have stopped. The cops don’t have to exercise any responsibility at all. You’re right. I’m wrong. My relatives are wrong. My hair is the wrong color and my sh1t smells really bad.
I’ve gotta go.
Have a nice day. Or not. The choice is yours.
How can you say that without knowning the color of the perps?
You’re right. I’m wrong. I am low pond scum. My offspring are wicked.
Have a nice day.
OR used the new armed drones, and if the guy runs, blow him up. :-)
I’ve always liked that idea.
Our police and fire have them too. But they don’t control stop signs. :-)
So the police are just indiscriminately speeding down a highway endangering people and damned be the one that gets in the way. Great analogy couselor.
The police in California purposely give these idiots who flee plenty of room to avoid pushing them speeding into an intersection, it is the idiot they are trying to stop who makes that decision.
If I’m on that sidewalk and some loon is coming at me with a pistol firing away, you’re damed right I would trust the training and ability of the officer to take him down than to rely on the luck the SOB couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. It would be my luck he was aiming for the farmhouse.
Youre obviously pretty highly strung.
I made my point about the pickup trucks which you obviously don’t know about since you left for Scotland many years ago.
The other comments were for the rest of the people blaming the police first as this forum is open to all and my subsequent comments were to address those. I did not infer anything else about your pickup truck comment until you retorted back with the hypethetical sidewalk scanario.
Enjoy what is left of your day, mine is just starting.
Cheers
Way too many of these people are repeat offenders who thought it would be "worth it" to do it again.
Just like repeat robbers, murderers, etc. that the judges keep turning loose.
If the cops decided not to chase anyone, the perps would adopt that as standard procedure and all hell would break loose.
Here, here!
You hit the nail right on the head, Laws are Laws period.
One is easier to know then the other if the person on the side walk is randomly killing the people around him or about to shooting him would be very appropriate.
Chasing cars can be a bit harder to decide If we knew the driver was about to kill others being a hard core terrorist that just had a tail light out. You would expect the cops to chase no questions asked.
If we knew that the driver was just a kid being stuiped the we wouldn't chase very hard or very far. What we don't know about this case is all long the chase was going ect. The cops could have just turned their lights on the driver floors it hits the pickup 30 seconds later.
Trouble is it is Monday morning quarter backing is very easy to do. The only one really responsible here is the driver that decided to run. If he hadn't run for what ever reason it wouldn't have happen.
Capt fleeing to allude is already a felony in some states and it still hasn’t put a stop to it. What needs to be done is stop the fleeing not the pursuits, I say take them out as quick as possible and lessen the chances of innocents being involved.
“Is it ok for a cop to open fire on a crowded sidewalk?”
I witnessed that very thing one Christmas eve, back when I was a kid. A middle-aged guy had stolen a TV set and was running down the (very crowded) sidewalk with it. A cop pulled out his revolver and shot him, clipping him in the leg. More police arrived on the scene and were kind of roughing the guy up, holding him by the collar and not letting him sit. A cop standing by overheard my father saying something to the effect of, “what the hell are thy doing opening fire in a crowded area” and came over to scream obscenities in his face, all in defense of what the police had done. My father wrote a letter to the mayor who responded with the boilerplate, “these guys are the best, doing a tough job, blah, blah, blah”. Apparently the mayor and the police thought it was okay to open fire on a crowded sidewalk (Christmas eve no less). After all, it was the perpetrator that chose not to drop the TV and surrender which “forced” the police to take the “appropriate” action.
That was in Quincy Mass, early 70’s. I guess some things never change.
Unlikely. Most people will bite the bullet, pull over and pay the $100. Individuals who've perpetrated other, far worse offenses will, OTOH, often run. That's why cops are usually well justified in giving chase.
Stupid statement of the thread award goes your way!!! "Take them Out", just damn!!
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