Supreme Court rules that police can chase, even if it endangers lives

BDx13 - 5-1-2007 at 02:41 PM

Good, I say...

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/01/supreme-court-rules-that-...

Common sense dictates that if you run from the police, it will end badly. In our oft-litigious society, suing as a means to evade responsibility is a popular option. In 2001, 19-year-old Victor Harris engaged Coweta County deputy sheriff Timothy Scott in a dangerous chase on rain-slicked roads. To end the chase, deputy Scott rammed Harris's car, which then crashed down an embankment. Mr. Harris was left a quadriplegic from the injuries sustained in the wreck, and subsequently sued on the contention that the sheriff used unreasonable deadly force.

The case made its way to the Supreme Court, which ruled 8-1 against Harris's claim. Lower courts had ruled in favor of Harris, but the Supreme Court overturned that opinion. The reasoning for the decision was that while police chases are dangerous, doing away with them ensures perpetrators a means of escape by merely driving erratically at high speed. Either way, there'll still be someone running from police, endangering other innocent bystanders. While the outcome of Mr. Harris's chase is tragic, it doesn't change the fact that instead of stopping and accepting a citation for travelling 73 mph in a 55 zone, he chose to run. It's terrible that someone so young will have to live out the rest of his days with paralysis, but that could have been prevented by a more thorough examination of the consequences at the time he attempted to evade the law. The most damning bit of evidence was the video of the chase, which shows how reckless Mr. Harris really was, and likely led to the near-unanimous decision from the court.

Discipline - 5-1-2007 at 03:05 PM

Dumb fuckers wouldn't get hurt if they didn't run.

CR83 - 5-1-2007 at 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Discipline
Dumb fuckers wouldn't get hurt if they didn't run.

JawnDiablo - 5-1-2007 at 04:06 PM

my parents were nearly killed by township cops chasing a crackhead in a stolen car a few years ago. they chased them at high speeds through 3 townships. the chase ended when the suspect t boned my parents coming around a hard turn. my parents got fucked by the insurance companies and by the whole situation. i have mixed feelings.

clevohardcore - 5-1-2007 at 04:13 PM

I see both sides and I still feel that Police need to be able to dictate what to do and not the criminals.

Our Sheriffs department can chase, but the Elyria PD can not. Its fucked up and most criminals know this.

BDx13 - 5-1-2007 at 04:17 PM

interesting (and sorry to hear that). are your parents ok now?

i certainly feel for the innocent bystanders, but the alternative is a little worrying. "if you can drive fast enough or crazy enough, then the cops have to let you go"?

does the law should specify financial responsibility in a situation like that? tack it on to the criminal's restitution.

where's godabandonedme; we need further clarification!

Siczine.com - 5-1-2007 at 04:22 PM

Yeah it sucks that bystanders get in the way but remember its the criminals fault not the cops. And the criminal should be punished for forcing police to chase, I'm sure the everyday cop doesn't want to get into a high-speed chase, endangering not only their lives but lives of others.

moron - 5-1-2007 at 04:34 PM

I say keep them legal. If there weren't any car chases we wouldnt have awesome "World's Deadliest Car Chases" shows! What a travesty that would be.

JawnDiablo - 5-1-2007 at 04:34 PM

my parents were ok.
they got screwed by the whole restitution thing, and the arresting officers were ass holes to them at the scene.
you're not going to get much restitution out of some crackhead in a stolen car.
the car got fixed, but there was tons of hidden damage and they had to shell out a bunch of their own money for repairs down the road. roughly $2500.
i agree that it is the criminals that are to blame. and i know theres no sure way to prevent imminent chaos in that situation. i respect police officers and the job they do. this situation took them 5 miles along route 1 onto a windy 2 lane road. they coulda pulled off and radioed in backup. shit, we have ghetto coptors from philly overhead in this town. theyd been caught soon enough.
funny thing is, my dad is kinda nuts.
the driver of the stolen car tried to get away on foot and ran through peoples yards.
my dad chased the guy down and would have probably stomped him.
he got to the guy before the cops did.
he is 72 now.
try to get a mental image of some old guy in those old man cataracts shades about to stomp Coolio.
dude was hiding behind a bush....

DaveMoral - 5-1-2007 at 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by juandiablo
my parents were nearly killed by township cops chasing a crackhead in a stolen car a few years ago. they chased them at high speeds through 3 townships. the chase ended when the suspect t boned my parents coming around a hard turn. my parents got fucked by the insurance companies and by the whole situation. i have mixed feelings.

I wonder if that was the same chase that my wife and I nearly got head-on'd driving up 63rd St towards City Ave...

JawnDiablo - 5-1-2007 at 05:30 PM

nah this one was in drexel hill off of rte 1

BDx13 - 5-1-2007 at 08:48 PM

there was a police chase in s. philly about a month ago and the people trying to get away nearly ran over rennie from starkweather as he was getting out of his car. they crashed on that same block, and if i remember correctly, someone did die in the accident.

DaveMoral - 5-1-2007 at 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by juandiablo
nah this one was in drexel hill off of rte 1

Mine was in like... Overbrook Farms or whatever. That shit was scary.

JawnDiablo - 5-1-2007 at 10:44 PM

all and more reason for me to wear my seatbelt at all times
the world is nuts
The more i hear about crap around here, the more i want to be Duane's new neighbor in farm country

DaveMoral - 5-1-2007 at 10:58 PM

Agreed.

godabandonedme - 5-2-2007 at 12:00 AM

Argh. I've chased a thousand cars for a thousand reasons. Just because the Supreme Court rules anything means absolutely nothing when it comes down to what happens in the street. Federal Law states that any police officer can shoot an unarmed felon, as long as they have the knowledge or belief that this person is, or is going to commit harm to another person, hence the "fleeing felon" law. However, if a Joe cop does that in philly, he's loosing his job and getting sued, just won't go to jail federally. Chasing cars......ok it goes like this in Phila : You go over radio and advise them you have a vehicle refusing to to stop for whatever reason, now a supervisor is immediatly notified an they call it, if the car comes up stolen, they might let it go for a minute or two, then call "terminate" at which time you have to give your location and miles untill they meet you. Now if it's because they ran a redlight or any stupid moving violation the supervisor will always terminate it. But say it's a vehicle involved in a homicide or shooting, or kidnapping?? It's a touchy subject, the mere appearance that police will absolutely not pursue for anything less then a sight shooting just gives people more reason to flee hence possiblly causing an accident whether we're chasing or not, besides the pure obsurdnese of it saying "if you commit a crime an run, you'lll always get away". Society absolutely can not be given that option in my opinion. However, I do also see Juan's side, I've seen a bunch of innocent people get banged up or have property damage because of some twobit smokers decision to run. Like I said, do you want to live in a place where criminals will automatically get away if they run?? As for restituion, no you won't get shit from that smoker, however, if you sue the city you absolutely will. This city is sued hundreds of times a year, and almost ALWAYS pays out because it's cheaper then going to civil court and paying 1000 dollar an hour lawyers. I duno, touchy.

godabandonedme - 5-3-2007 at 02:56 AM

Seriously, a cop post's on this an no one will reply? Fuck I am a thread killer.........................

JawnDiablo - 5-3-2007 at 05:47 AM

but we've been busy discussing Bonecrusher......

DaveMoral - 5-3-2007 at 12:56 PM

What was left to say? Haha. Seriously though, thanks for the run down.

upyerbum - 5-3-2007 at 01:18 PM

More vigilantes.