Posted on 05/24/2011 7:55:01 PM PDT by Fitzy_888
ALBANY, N.Y. — An off-duty state trooper accused of running over a man lying on a rural upstate road was arrested Tuesday on a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident.
Brian Beardsley, 32, was driving with his girlfriend at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday when his pickup ran over Chad Finch, Fulton County authorities said. They said the couple drove off after turning around, confirming a pedestrian was in the road and calling 911.
Deputies found the 29-year-old Finch dead from massive injuries near his home in Providence, not far from a restaurant he'd visited earlier and left on foot.
Fulton County Sheriff Thomas Lorey told local media at a press conference Tuesday that investigators believe Finch was alive when he was run over. Other officials have said there's no evidence he was hit by any other vehicles.
Investigators who traced the 911 call located Beardsley's pickup in nearby Amsterdam and found Finch's blood and tissue on its undercarriage. They said Beardsley was given a prescreening test and there was no evidence he was impaired or intoxicated two hours after the initial call.
Fulton County District Attorney Louise Sira said Tuesday that an autopsy showed Finch had a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit, but investigators may never know how he ended up lying in the roadway.
Beardsley pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday and was released on $10,000 bail.
It wasn't immediately clear if he could face grand jury action and additional charges.
(...)
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Well what was the guy doing lying in the road??
If someone is lying in the road...well it’s not a stretch to think someone might run over him. The trooper was stupid for leaving the scene.
It’s becoming quite clear to anyone with eyes to see that the police are becoming the enemy.
Sounds like everyone involved was boozed up.
Personally I have come across bodies in the middle of desert higway in the middle of the night from a car accident(the van wasnt visible) and didn’t manage to run them over.
I got a trucker to block the highway and summon help.
troupie turns around to make sure victim is in the road
The Trooper only turned around to see if there was a dog he could shoot.
Well, the Trooper was certainly at fault for leaving the scene of the accident. And possibly at fault for hitting the guy.
And the pedestrian was possibly at fault for not getting off the road when he saw a car coming. Unless there was something blocking the way, so he couldn’t get off the road, he was very foolish to expect a night driver to see him.
And even on a curve, you can see the headlights of an approaching car, although the driver may not see the pedestrian.
How could the trooper plead not guilty of leaving the scene of an accident? He's lieing. And there is DNA evidence on his car. He obviously left the scene of an accident. But I guess since his girlfriend made the 911 call, she will have to be guily of leaving the scene of an accident.
This guy is a trooper, supposedly the best of the best and this is all he provides? Pathetic.
I don’t know what state you live in, but virtually everybody (other than a trooper it would seem) is taken for a blood alcohol test at a hospital after a fatal accident. 2:30 on Saturday night??? You know, the kind of accident where you never see the victim again. And, they will call a judge and get permission to take said blood forcibly. ...not in this case. No, his co-workers shined a light in his eyes, did the back and forth thing and said he was ok...while the victim was still dripping from the bottom of his truck.
There’s no point doing a blood test two hours later after he’d been at home. All he has to do is claim he had something to drink after he got home and the test is worthless.
Blech.
Yep, a police officer doses something wrong and the country is suddenly being overrun with Gestapo police officers. It if is proven that this police officer was in the wrong, he will be punished.
Not all cops are part of some conspiracy to put the country in a total police state. The vast majority of police officers are honest, law-abiding citizens doing a job that most Americans wouldn’t want to do.
Oh, you'll love This Site.
As far as the law on drunk driving; they do the Breathalyzer immediately; beyond that I don't know because I don't drive drunk.
No, some just think they don't have to follow the same laws as the rest of us.
That doesnt make them gestapo, it just makes them arrogant.
I have family that were cops, I have friends that are/were cops. All good folks.
There is nothing worse than a cop that abuses his position of power.
It is a violation of the public trust.
It won't be proven. The fix is in. If you can't see that you're blind.
Not all cops are part of some conspiracy to put the country in a total police state.
All of them aren't needed. Just about 15% will do.
The vast majority of police officers are honest, law-abiding citizens doing a job that most Americans wouldn’t want to do.
Bullcrap. The vast majority will do what they're told to do when they're told to do it.
Look at Obama and Holder and the rest of the Chicago mob gang.
Can you think of more Arrogant SOBS?
All the while claiming to serve and protect.
I take it that means no breathalyzer or blood alcohol test taken?
As a retired police officer with over 28 years of public service, I would not disagree. If the officer is in the wrong, prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law.
However, this thread tends toward the idea that most cops are criminals by nature, and that I find offensive.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.