[01blewkat]

What geniuses like StevieB and you others are forgetting is that number one; this idiot was running and two, what about all the other motorists this dip$shiate was endangering? How would your bleeding heart feel if he hit and killed someone you cared about while he was running? Oh, I know, you would say, wah the cop should have called off the pursuit.
There are 2 victims here, the bike and the police car!! That is it!! Hood ran runs, hood rat crashes, end of story!

If what he did was soooo F-in righteous then why did the cop lie about it? He did not need to call off the pursuit, but this was not the way to end it. Turn your arguement on yourself, what if your kid made a huge lapse in judgement and ran from the cops for a traffic violation, would you want the cop to end it this way and then lie about what happened?

[01blewkat]

...
(C) The police officer was wrong in striking the motorcycle no matter how you slice it.
...

But the officer did not hit the bike. The bike hit the car. The car had been parked on the road as part of a road block. The rider tried to ride around the car but miss judged. I know the exact road they were on I drive it at least three times a week. The bike was able to see the police car in the road. He could have stopped if he wanted to avoid the chase.

The cop pulled out in front of the bike. Watch the vid again.

[cpformula]

Guilty!!! Guilty!!!

All the innocent people? What happened to a presumption of innocent until PROVEN guilty? Yes, he was convicted. But at the time, based on the Constitution, he was still presumed innocent of any crime he may have commited. Please stop using the word "innocent" when describing his actions in regards to other people on the roads.

And there are a lot of 'ifs' in everyone's arguments. If he had hit someone, yes, I would think he needs to go to jail for vehicular assault. Would he need to be run over by a police officer? No. That in itself is vehicular assault. Running a car off the road is one thing. Running a motorcycle off is another. Get his tags. Arrest him (or the owner if it's not him until he's given up) at a later time. High speed pursuits are dangerous to the *suspect*, the police, and the general public. I'm sure it was on here that we had this same debate when a county sherrif was killed attempting to chase someone down on a Busa. And yes, the officer whose car is in the video was involved in a high speed pursuit, regardless of whether he was crawling out or doing 100+ behind the motorcycle. He was involved.

So then under your set of standards, if a man points a gun at you, you should not defend yourself and shoot him because there is the possibility he won't pull the trigger on you..... After all, he's innocent until proven guilty that he pointed a gun at you.

High speed pursuits are dangerous but some idiot driving a motorcycle the way he was isn't? People who believe pursuits are too dangerous have no clue especially on a motorcycle. People wear helmets and you can not see their faces.... how do you expect to identify the driver if you just let them go then pay a visit to their house later?

Has this country gotten to the point where we protect and defend the the guilty instead of the innocent? This isn't a he said/she said thing... the man was RUNNING FROM THE POLICE AFTER BREAKING THE LAW TO BEGIN WITH.

[gpggnnn]

This story can go on forever. Point still stands if cops continue the chase then the cops are also liable for causing any accident. If they call it off early they will catch them without endangering anyone. They were both wrong. At least no innocent person got hurt.

[SKNL2]

The cop had my vote until he started fabricating. The fact that he begins making stuff up when others show up on scene tells me his intent was to hit the bike.

This situation could have been avoided -- don't run. If you run, you are the one putting your life in jeopardy. Not the law. I am not saying it is cool to hit and try to kill a motorcyclist for running, I am saying the reality of the situation is, you could get killed if you do.

Personal responsibility -- it's what's for dinner.

Spain doesn't like fleeing motorcyclists either.

[tzortn]

...
(C) The police officer was wrong in striking the motorcycle no matter how you slice it.
...

But the officer did not hit the bike. The bike hit the car. The car had been parked on the road as part of a road block. The rider tried to ride around the car but miss judged. I know the exact road they were on I drive it at least three times a week. The bike was able to see the police car in the road. He could have stopped if he wanted to avoid the chase.

The cop pulled out in front of the bike. Watch the vid again.

I did watch it many times. The car was in the middle of the road. You can see the single white line not far in front of the car. That is a two lane highway. To be that close to tha edge of the road you have to be in the middle of it. The car slowly moved closer to the edge. The rider was basically trying to run a roadblock.

[dan p]

I think they should have used spike stripes. Might have made for a more exciting crash. I don't feel bad for the guy at all. This was the end of a long pursuit. He made his choice when he decided to run...period.

+1

[Micdalen]

First and foremost the motorcyclist was wrong for running, and trying to evade the police. He should of taken his medicine and this event would never of happend.

However, many officers now days are hungry to for a dramatic high speed chase. This in my opinion is dangerous. Most cases the offender can be caught at home or cornered in less than dagerous conditions. We are not talking about bank robbers shooting up a bank and street then running, but traffic offenders. If they run let them corner themselves. There are way to many dangerous episodes from officers chasing those running that result in accidents involving others.

[Anonymous]

If this had happened in Portland, and the rider was white, and the cop was black, the cop would be in jail.

You people think he should DIE because he was driving without a license and evading police? If this kid was a stupid 18 year old WHITE kid, the posts here would be different.

[01blewkat]

If this had happened in Portland, and the rider was white, and the cop was black, the cop would be in jail.

You people think he should DIE because he was driving without a license and evading police? If this kid was a stupid 18 year old WHITE kid, the posts here would be different.

Right.

And lets keep this in mind folks, He hadn't robbed a bank or killed anyone, it was a TRAFFIC VIOLATION!

[SKNL2]

You make the assumption that someone that is running is only running for a traffic violation. When someone takes off on an officer during a mere traffic stop, don't you think that maybe this would raise suspicion? Many questions come to an officer's mind when a guy takes off just because he was being pulled over for somthing as minor as a busted taillight. Don't be so naive as to think that only people that commit traffic infractions run from the cops. That's just silly. Car thieves, drug runners, people with warrants all like to run from the law.

As far as those pulling the race card here, it hadn't even entered my mind what color either of the people involved were. Nothing more than a cop-out. Get real.

Personal responsibility. It's what's for dinner.

[Anonymous]

Actually, they knew what he was being chased for. Traffic violation...without a license.

[brooder]

Guilty!!! Guilty!!!

All the innocent people? What happened to a presumption of innocent until PROVEN guilty? Yes, he was convicted. But at the time, based on the Constitution, he was still presumed innocent of any crime he may have commited. Please stop using the word "innocent" when describing his actions in regards to other people on the roads.

And there are a lot of 'ifs' in everyone's arguments. If he had hit someone, yes, I would think he needs to go to jail for vehicular assault. Would he need to be run over by a police officer? No. That in itself is vehicular assault. Running a car off the road is one thing. Running a motorcycle off is another. Get his tags. Arrest him (or the owner if it's not him until he's given up) at a later time. High speed pursuits are dangerous to the *suspect*, the police, and the general public. I'm sure it was on here that we had this same debate when a county sherrif was killed attempting to chase someone down on a Busa. And yes, the officer whose car is in the video was involved in a high speed pursuit, regardless of whether he was crawling out or doing 100+ behind the motorcycle. He was involved.

So then under your set of standards, if a man points a gun at you, you should not defend yourself and shoot him because there is the possibility he won't pull the trigger on you..... After all, he's innocent until proven guilty that he pointed a gun at you.

High speed pursuits are dangerous but some idiot driving a motorcycle the way he was isn't? People who believe pursuits are too dangerous have no clue especially on a motorcycle. People wear helmets and you can not see their faces.... how do you expect to identify the driver if you just let them go then pay a visit to their house later?

Has this country gotten to the point where we protect and defend the the guilty instead of the innocent? This isn't a he said/she said thing... the man was RUNNING FROM THE POLICE AFTER BREAKING THE LAW TO BEGIN WITH.

You mis-read my comments. I'm talking about the reference to his actions in relation to bystander and the general public. But I won't reiterate. Also, motorcycles have to have liscense plates as well. As there was no comment in the video about driving without plates, I can only assume that they would have been able to identify the owner.

A police officer is authorized to use deadly force when his life or the life of a member of the general public is in danger. Using a vehicle as a weapon constitutes such danger. However, there has to be clear evidence that the suspect is using the vehicle as a weapon. Unless the rider was trying to hit people, ramming him with a car is unauthorized use of force. Even if the rider tried to avoid the slow moving car, it was moving and into his path. Either way it is looked at, I believe the officer was not justified in his handling of the situation, from start to finish. In my opinion, the family should have a strong case for a lawsuit against both the officer and the department. And considering how anti-lawsuit I am, that's a fairly strong opinion.

[Sixpoint]

I'm not going to get into this because I know this one thing first hand: We don't know what all went on here.

I absolutely LOVE how the LEO has 0.5 seconds to make a possibly life-altering decision, and we have the rest of our lives to pick that decision apart.

You see when you make enough decisions, some of them are going to be mistakes.

So, for anyone who thinks the cop should be donkeypunched, all I can say is Donkey punch this, and I hope that none of you ever have the gall to call a cop for help after having the gall to try and put yourself in his shoes.

[SKNL2]

Actually, they knew what he was being chased for. Traffic violation...without a license.

I was referring to your proposed hypothetical situation. Cops don't chase people that don't run, no matter what color they are. Period. They would look pretty silly chasing someone that obeys the law and pulls over for their blue lights.