Cop runs over 3 cyclists, killing two

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Elite

2863

Subject: RE: Cop runs over 3 cyclists, killing two

Question: A Dentist crosses the center line and kills two people. Should the Dentist lose his job? How about a UPS delivery guy?

If your anser is No, then why would the officer who caused this lose his/her job if there was no other crime involved (DUI, etc)? Crossing a center line is a traffic infraction, not a criminal offense. Even when someone is killed, the most likely charge would be misdemeanor motorvehicle homicide.....still not worth taking a person's job. This driver will pay his due in civil litigation. (assuming there is no other crime involved).

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Alpharetta, Georgia

Bronze member

Subject: RE: Cop runs over 3 cyclists, killing two

oipolloi - 2008-03-11 3:28 PM

Question: A Dentist crosses the center line and kills two people. Should the Dentist lose his job? How about a UPS delivery guy?

UPS guy yes. Dentist no.

The difference is that driving is a job requirement for a police officer and the UPS man.

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Master

2060

Northern California

Subject: RE: Cop runs over 3 cyclists, killing two

lisac957 - 2008-03-11 1:40 PM

oipolloi - 2008-03-11 3:28 PM

Question: A Dentist crosses the center line and kills two people. Should the Dentist lose his job? How about a UPS delivery guy?

UPS guy yes. Dentist no. The difference is that driving is a job requirement for a police officer and the UPS man.

Suppose the dentist was driving from his office to the outpatient clinic to check on a patient post-op?

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Expert

828

Subject: RE: Cop runs over 3 cyclists, killing two

velocomp - 2008-03-11 7:59 AM

sgillen - 2008-03-11 6:40 AM Also as a cop, There is no way to put a good spin on this but rest assured no one will come out of this well. A tragic accident is exactly that, an accident. The fact that the driver was a cop really isn't particularlly relevant. We are all human and subject to the same afflictions as everyone else, including being tired.

Actually it is relavent. If anyone who drives as part of their job is in an accident, then that is relavent. If in fact the officer fell asleep (which was mentioned as a possible cause), then they (both the officer and department) were negligent. I do not hate cops. I do hate that all cops think everyone hates them. Regardless of who commited this accident, someone really screwed up and should pay a tremendous price. Someone lost their life. There is no good reason. A true accident would be a mechanical failure that could not have been prevented. Falling asleep should have been prevented.

Just my opinion.

This is just my knee-jerk reaction to the above post, specifically "someone screwed up and should pay a tremendous price"....I absolutely hate that way of thinking....the mindset that someone goofed up so a multimillion dollar lottery/er...settlement is justified. I may be reading into the post too much, so sorry if I am....As mentioned, several times, he will pay for that with many sleepless nights. Beyond that, no amount of $$$ beyond paying medical expenses and perhaps loss of income is of any help....
A mechanical failure is the only 'accident' that is justified? As if the people who think the officer should 'pay a tremendous price' have never done anything remotely wrong behind the wheel. Everyone makes mistakes. Some little mistakes end up with tragic outcomes like this. Others that should have been horrible end up with a car shooting off the road, back on the road, through oncoming traffic, then spinning to a stop without touching a thing...lucky (me, when I fell asleep after a long day on the boat). He'll likely lose his job and be haunted forever by his mistake....that isn't enough????????????

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Expert

1022

Subject: RE: Cop runs over 3 cyclists, killing two

oipolloi - 2008-03-11 1:28 PM

Question: A Dentist crosses the center line and kills two people. Should the Dentist lose his job? How about a UPS delivery guy?

If your anser is No, then why would the officer who caused this lose his/her job if there was no other crime involved (DUI, etc)? Crossing a center line is a traffic infraction, not a criminal offense. Even when someone is killed, the most likely charge would be misdemeanor motorvehicle homicide.....still not worth taking a person's job. This driver will pay his due in civil litigation. (assuming there is no other crime involved).

As an ex-field engineer, who used to drive a lot for his job, I can tell you that if I had been in this type of an accident, I would have been fired so quickly that I wouldn't even know which way to look.

In my mind, the difference between a dentist and a Deputy Sheriff/UPS Delivery Guy is that the dentist doesn't drive as a significant part of his/her job. A Sheriff has to be a reliable driver, as part of their job. I don't think it about whether or not the person who caused the accident was a cop or not, it's about how much time they have to spend behind the wheel doing their job.

If you were this man's boss, when would you trust him to go back on the streets?

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Nor*Cal

Subject: RE: Cop runs over 3 cyclists, killing two

Tearful sheriff says about fatal bike crash, 'we accept responsibility'.

One of the cyclists is Kristy Gough, an Ironman triathlete .

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Master

2946

Centennial, CO

Subject: RE: Cop runs over 3 cyclists, killing two

Rad-Onc PA - 2008-03-11 3:14 PM

velocomp - 2008-03-11 7:59 AM This is just my knee-jerk reaction to the above post, specifically "someone screwed up and should pay a tremendous price"....I absolutely hate that way of thinking....the mindset that someone goofed up so a multimillion dollar lottery/er...settlement is justified. I may be reading into the post too much, so sorry if I am....As mentioned, several times, he will pay for that with many sleepless nights. Beyond that, no amount of $$$ beyond paying medical expenses and perhaps loss of income is of any help.... A mechanical failure is the only 'accident' that is justified? As if the people who think the officer should 'pay a tremendous price' have never done anything remotely wrong behind the wheel. Everyone makes mistakes. Some little mistakes end up with tragic outcomes like this. Others that should have been horrible end up with a car shooting off the road, back on the road, through oncoming traffic, then spinning to a stop without touching a thing...lucky (me, when I fell asleep after a long day on the boat). He'll likely lose his job and be haunted forever by his mistake....that isn't enough????????????

Maybe the tremendous price the police officer pays is that it stays with him forever. But the department also shares the responsibility of putting someone on the road that put others in harms way. If it was an accident, then there should be no "Lottery", but if it was negligence then the families deserve compensation. Falling asleep (as it seems this may have been) at the wheel is just slightly better than driving drunk. If it turned out that it was a medical issue (or something uncontrollable then that is different). Personal responsibility for your actions is important, and in this case 2 people were killed. I think if this happened to me, my family (wife and child) better be taken care of. And I'm not just talking about my life insurance. I work hard for a living so that my family can live a certain way. Someone's negligence should not take that away.

I am assuming that this was not an accident and that the officer fell asleep. That is a tragedy, not an accident.

Just my $.02

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Expert

844

Subject: RE: Cop runs over 3 cyclists, killing two

I am sure the guy will get fired. On the civil litigation front, I was in a four car pileup (in a marked police car) in 2000 that required me to have surgery to repair my spine. This is one of the reasons I am in tri's now. The man that caused the accident blew a .21 and pead guilty to DWI. The civil litigation process continues to this day. I have recieved a grand total of zero dollars....My attorney has told me that the main reason for this is the other motorists and witnesses there that day do not want to testify on the behalf of an injured police officer and that it is part of our job to "sometimes get hurt". ....

BTW, I know I sound like a bitter dude, I am not. Just trying to throw a little educaton out there. I am happy to be working and am very positive....

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Champion

4902

Ottawa, Ontario

Subject: RE: Cop runs over 3 cyclists, killing two

Two cyclists were killed in a horrible accident and that is a terrible thing. That the driver of the vehicle involved was a police officer should NOT be a ruling factor in this case. It could just as well have been a trucker, or an ambulance driver or a travelling salesman, all of whom are human beings who are on the road a lot. In this instance it was a police officer who is also a human being. He made a mistake by taking on too much work and falling asleep at the wheel. Now it's up to the courts to decide if he is guilty of anything or not. All we can do is remain cautious on our bikes and pray for the 2 cyclists who lost their lives.

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Expert

828

Subject: RE: Cop runs over 3 cyclists, killing two

velocomp - 2008-03-12 7:01 AM

Rad-Onc PA - 2008-03-11 3:14 PM

velocomp - 2008-03-11 7:59 AM This is just my knee-jerk reaction to the above post, specifically "someone screwed up and should pay a tremendous price"....I absolutely hate that way of thinking....the mindset that someone goofed up so a multimillion dollar lottery/er...settlement is justified. I may be reading into the post too much, so sorry if I am....As mentioned, several times, he will pay for that with many sleepless nights. Beyond that, no amount of $$$ beyond paying medical expenses and perhaps loss of income is of any help.... A mechanical failure is the only 'accident' that is justified? As if the people who think the officer should 'pay a tremendous price' have never done anything remotely wrong behind the wheel. Everyone makes mistakes. Some little mistakes end up with tragic outcomes like this. Others that should have been horrible end up with a car shooting off the road, back on the road, through oncoming traffic, then spinning to a stop without touching a thing...lucky (me, when I fell asleep after a long day on the boat). He'll likely lose his job and be haunted forever by his mistake....that isn't enough????????????

Maybe the tremendous price the police officer pays is that it stays with him forever. But the department also shares the responsibility of putting someone on the road that put others in harms way. If it was an accident, then there should be no "Lottery", but if it was negligence then the families deserve compensation. Falling asleep (as it seems this may have been) at the wheel is just slightly better than driving drunk. If it turned out that it was a medical issue (or something uncontrollable then that is different). Personal responsibility for your actions is important, and in this case 2 people were killed. I think if this happened to me, my family (wife and child) better be taken care of. And I'm not just talking about my life insurance. I work hard for a living so that my family can live a certain way. Someone's negligence should not take that away.

I am assuming that this was not an accident and that the officer fell asleep. That is a tragedy, not an accident.

Just my $.02

I may have overstated my opinion...I agree with your post 100%....and that is what I meant by covering med. expenses and lost income....I just despise stupid verdicts of tens of millions for 'pain and suffering'.....pain and suffering should not equate to winning Power Ball. That thinking is what has my field...medicine, really screwed up. People go into high risk surgeries, sign consent knowing that this or that could happen, yet when it does and there is no negligence, they still win lawsuits.....ugh.....I hate it....because of greed, some docs have to pay as much as a quarter million a year for malpractice. When they can't afford to practice, they close up shop and that is bad for the patient as well as the doc........I realize this is off of the OP a good bit...sorry...but 'paying for the mistake' was brought up....and I can vent for a long time on this subject.....

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