Well that escalated quickly...
http://kdvr.com/2016/06/09/motorcycl...enver-officer/
Well that escalated quickly...
http://kdvr.com/2016/06/09/motorcycl...enver-officer/
Last edited by Ezzzzy1; Fri Jun 10th, 2016 at 12:22 PM.
I'm sure we will never know the outcome of this but I would love to know:
Are Denver PD required to be on their telephone while driving? If so how are they enforcing the distraction laws?
Is there a law against using a federally mandated safety device? If so does that mean we can remove the horn from all our vehicles?
Also he seems to make a traffic stop without using his supplied safety equipment(sirens and lights) which technically you don't have to pull over without the use of both by an officer.
I would think a good attorney will have a hey day with this. I would hope Denver PD would get it thrown out or drop charges to save the guy some embarrassment.
Tom
'07 ZX-6R
'12 1199 Panigale S
It's not road rage to merely honk your horn. That cop needs anger management. I like how the motorcyclist handled it.
This is fucking outrageous.
He should of done a quick beep on the horn about the time he got back in the car... Yea, probably not.
Blair
2000 GSX750F, 2003 YZ450F, 2004 GSXR750, 2006 ZX-14
2013 CBR500R, 2016 YZF-R6 - MRA #760
only road rage I see is from the cop. but hey you have it on video from a police officer that using your phone while driving is perfectly safe.
Rider should have just mind his own business. Cop would have eventually proceeded with his beat.
I couldn't tell it was a cop from behind. Was that his personal vehicle and was he off the clock? Either way it's pretty annoying to watch go down.
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
"So live your life so the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their views, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and of service to your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide."
"Finish today what others won't, so you can achieve tomorrow what others can't."
No department will come out and say their Officers are required to talk and drive, but Officers more-or-less are. Being on a phone is not against the law in Colorado, however impeding traffic is, which is what he did because of his phone. On the other hand, Officers have some immunity from those laws because of everything else that's happening while driving. While you're headed to work, he's being advised of a pursuit and trying to judge where exactly it's heading. Not saying the Officer's actions are excused, especially after he gets out of his car, but there are any number of a thousand good reasons why he could have been not going.
I remove the horns from all of my bikes, I'm not sure of the legalities surrounding this though.
Incorrect. An Officer can detain somebody in a variety of ways. The courts ask if a reasonable person would feel the Officer is trying to detain them. For example, California Supreme Court has a ruled that an Officer on foot pointing at you, then holding his hand up in a "stop" position is enough to enact a constitutional detention.
Honking your horn is not against the law. It could be, if you were doing it to harass people or be disorderly, or if using it as road rage. To me, this doesn't even begin to approach a level in which the rider could be charged.
I believe it is an agency car. But to me, it doesn't matter whose car it is or if he is on or off the clock. He is acting in his capacity as a Police Officer, identifying himself as such, so he's essentially on-duty no matter what.
I think the rider over-reacted to begin with. The second long honk and hand actions were not appropriate. But the Officer's reaction was completely out of line in my opinion.
If he over-reacts that way to a couple horn honks, how much will he over-react in a real tense situation? Good thing he has a gun because I am sure he will always make the right decision, just hope your dog doesn't bark at this ass or he will shoot it for acting in a "threatening manner."
Blocking traffic for 7 minutes? Clearly whatever he was doing on his phone wasn't too important given he had 7 minutes to act like a grade a douche in the middle of the road.
I don't get why cops get no respect, this is a one in a million incident. Now where is that sarcasm button?
Jason
07 600RR
07 Speed Triple -[COLOR=rgb(255,0,0)] [/COLOR]GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN[COLOR=rgb(255,0,0)][/COLOR]
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
"So live your life so the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their views, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and of service to your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide."
"Finish today what others won't, so you can achieve tomorrow what others can't."
I've blocked an entire interstate for several hours. There are reasons for this. I'm not saying his was one of them, but we also can't discount it either. If this was the case he probably could have, and should have, put his lights on, but it isn't required. I'm not saying what he was doing was legitimate, but it could have been, you don't know. At any rate, his interaction with the citizen was inappropriate IMO.
If you think this is "normal," I encourage you to PM me and setup a ride-along. I'll give you 10 hours, 30 calls for service, 200 citizen contacts, and who knows all what else. You'll see what's normal. It amounts to a level of patience and restraint that I wouldn't expect of anyone, even a Police Officer.
You're not perfect. You have bad days. There are days you have a short temper, and react poorly to a situation. There are days you make your wife seriously consider a divorce. But then she thinks about it, you guys talk together calmy, and she forgives you. Does the Officer not deserve the same?
As a former military cop, I can definitely empathize with having to deal with dozens of a-holes on a daily basis. However, police (and military personnel) are generally held to a much higher standard than civilians because they deal with the public and are empowered to detain, arrest, restrain, and even use deadly force. Police departments invest so much time, money and training in confrontation management/de-escalation, and departments place great emphasis on maintaining a professional demeanor at all times. In my book, anyone who carries a firearm as part of their daily job should be confident enough to ask for counseling when going through an emotional trough that is affecting their job performance (divorce, death of a loved one, PTSD, depression, burnout, etc.). Once an incident occurs, it's too late to come clean and say, "I've been going through a lot lately, and I need help."
Related story: http://www.danielrrosen.com/2010/11/...up-about-ptsd/