Police wreck on way to robbery scene
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Two Charlottesville police officers responding to today’s Wachovia Bank robbery on 10th Street were involved in a car wreck. Police say the officers were in an unmarked car and were broadsided when they turned into traffic on Route 29 in front of Seminole Square Shopping Center. City spokesperson Ric Barrick says the accident involved minor injuries with a possible concussion, and that one officer was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Comes as no surprise to me. Cops still fail to realize their blue lights can’t be seen very easily in daylight (even worse on an unmarked car), and their sirens can’t be heard because of the better soundproofing and construction in newer cars.
Plus, the robbery would certainly be over by the time they got there from Route 29 anyway. No need to drive like a crazy man.
so they had some training, did they, in safety and advanced driving skills? guess that was a pretty fancy piece of public property they wrecked. insurance will cover it no doubt. anybody get a ticket for wreckless driving? must have been wreckless…
people got hurt. anybody going to look into this???
Yawn. Anyone can have an accident (except maybe Officer Jeremy Carper, who apparently can steer a hot +70mph down Rugby Road without leaving even a single skid mark). What I want to know is why the policemen aren’t identified in this story.
What about seat belts
Let’s be clear here. While in Albemarle County, Charlottesville police officers legitimately respond to the commission of a crime, in progress or just concluded, within the City of Charlottesville. Their police car, although unmarked, carefully enters an intersection with its siren and lights on (intensely bright even in daylight), is then t-boned by a driver who fails to notice both that other cars have suddenly stopped or that there is a clear sound of a siren (also hard to miss, daylight or not) and the police officers in the car are at fault? This is “wreckless” (sic.) driving, as one writer suggests? This is a police abuse of power, as another opines? These police critics are probably the same people who will tell their friends how they could not believe how long it took the police to arrive at their house when they arrived back to find their home robbed or their or their car broken into. We can also surmise how these same critics would have felt if the officers in the wrecked police car just took their sweet time getting to the bank robbery, arriving only to find the robber had not just stolen money but had also shot someone when leaving. Doubtless their criticism then would have been that the police are too slow in responding. So, it appears the police just can’t meet the high standards of these folks who are consistent only in their complaints and condemnation of police conduct. I offer a challenge to these critics. Ride for a shift with a county or city police officer and then weigh whether you really think the police do such a terrible job. It may help open your eyes that are currently beclouded with the superiority of your thinking and your TV stereotype of police conduct.
Speak on it Rick. Sovereign immunity means highly unlikely there were any tickets issued, so everyone just go through their own insurance company and keep moving.
Rick, bake some chocolate chip cookies and take them to the next Annual Police Awards banquet. They’ll be glad to have your support (and free cookies). :)
From what little information we have on this crash, it sounds like the cop shoppe car was at fault. But to understand this concept, you would have to read the emergency response policy of the city and county cop shoppes. Even if at fault, will the cop shoppe car driver be charged? Not in this lifetime. Not in this city or county.
I rode in and drove cop shoppe cars, often in high speed and emergency conditions, from 1971 to 2001. I and my partners never had any trouble not plowing into other motorists. The only crash I ever had was tapping a car in front of me one day, 1974. No damage to his car, I paid to replace the chrome bumper on my cop shoppe car out of my own pocket. The cause — I was distracted by an attractive girl in a very skimpy bikini. In other words, my fault! I didn’t whine and moan about it being the other driver’s fault for not seeing me coming. And I didn’t and couldn’t hide behind the “blue lights and siren” excuse to cover up for my irresponsible and sloppy driving. And yes, the city raised cain because I freely admitted fault. They were afraid of a whiplash lawsuit.
Pop quiz: A Virginia state police car was running blue lights and siren on Monday. As he approached an intersection, the driver in front of him jerked into the left turn lane to get out of the trooper’s way, at the same time the trooper decided to take the left turn lane to pass the driver. Whose fault was it?
Tim, sovereign immunity is pretty much a joke. It’s a “feel good” phrase for cops, that’s all. “Acted in good faith” is the same thing as well. After having been a sworn deputy sheriff myself for almost 30 years, I never imagined I of all people would end up suing cops, on more than one occasion I might add. Not one cop was successful in having my lawsuits against them tossed by using the defense of sovereign immunity. And every lawsuit I filed, except one, was settled out of court as we approached the trial dates. The cities involved, and Albemarle County, would fight tooth and nail and bluff for years — then suddenly settle when we reached the courthouse steps. And the remaining lawsuit is still pending before a jury in 2010. They’ve already attempted the sovereign immunity defense.
Steve, must every police story become a platform for you to rail against local law enforcement? And are you sure you weren’t asleep at the wheel when you rear-ended that car in 1974?
Gasbag,
The majority of cases filed against the government and police are dismissed under summary judgement related to sovereign immunity. Get a law degree before you make asinine comments on a public forum revealing your A) predilection for civil action against your former profession (what’s the matter, get fired?) and B) lack of understanding of 42 U.S.C. 1983 and associated cases. “Sovereign immunity” and “acted in good faith” are terms used by the S.C.O.T.U.S. and are well established in constitutional law and in the common law. Are they just “feel good” (sic.) phrases for the Justices as well? The elements of your postings make me strongly believe you do not even possess an undergraduate degree, which is just fine as long as your not spreading opinion on academic issues well above your education level. Do us all a favor and keep your unfounded opinions to yourself. Good luck with your lawsuit, though; I hope it makes you feel better. I bet you were a heck of a good deputy sheriff in your day.
quote: “The majority of cases filed against the government and police are dismissed under summary judgement related to sovereign immunity. Get a law degree before you make asinine comments on a public forum revealing your A) predilection for civil action against your former profession (what’s the matter, get fired?) and B) lack of understanding of 42 U.S.C. 1983 and associated cases. “Sovereign immunity” and “acted in good faith” are terms used by the S.C.O.T.U.S. and are well established in constitutional law and in the common law.”
Kayla, you’re basically talking federal court and federal statute. I am talking state court. None of my cases ever needed appealing to any higher court. They settled on the local state level once the trial dates were fast approaching.
And yes, all I can relate here is my opinion. My opinion as based on common onservation and personal experience. I haven’t had any lawsuit tossed yet on sovereign immunity. Incompetence and ignorance on the behalf of a cop is not overcome by “acted in good faith”. Intentional wrongful actions is not overcome by “sovereign immunity” or “acted in good faith”. Every lawsuit I filed was based on intentional wrongful acts, ignorance, incompetence, and even maliciousness after realizing they had screwed up big time in their quest to make me appear a criminal. Most of it was actually pretty comical. I’ll never forget the Albemarle General District Court judge who had to place his hands over his face in an attempt to hide his laughter. Watching the cops faces get red and their blood pressure going up was even funnier. A captain actually had blood vessels on his forehead popping out. I was afraid he was going to suffer an aneurysm right there in the courtroom! :)
quote: “I bet you were a heck of a good deputy sheriff in your day.”
I like to think I was. Until we had a few new sheriffs come into office who immediately hired “friends and family”. I pretty much didn’t give a dayum after the nepotism and favoritism ruled the day. With one new incoming sheriff in particular, everybody below the rank of sergeant was either fired or resigned. Many decades of training and experience were lost. I see it as a loss to the taxpayers, the same spineless taxpayers who are afraid to publicly voice their conern over many an issue today. Oh well…..
quote: “Do us all a favor and keep your unfounded opinions to yourself.”
No thanks. I think everybody has the right to know they can most certainly prevail in lawsuits against crooked lying cops. I’m not the only local cop who has had to sue former fellow employees. And I am not the only local cop who prevailed in said lawsuits. If we can sue and prevail, so can normal civilians.
By the way, it’s not over yet. I have been threatened by e-mail. They promise that while I have won all the battles so far, they will win the war in the end. Attorneys, magistrates and judges agree… they will attempt more fictitious and false charges in the near future. Stay tuned, dear. :)
quote: “….are you sure you weren’t asleep at the wheel when you rear-ended that car in 1974?”
I suppose this is possible. Perhaps the attractive girl in the bikini was a dream. I must admit, it was quite unusual to see a beautiful girl walking down Preston Avenue in a skimpy bikini. I still wonder to this day where she had come from and where she was going to dressed the way she was.
Given your history of sleeping at work, I thought that maybe you had dozed off behind the wheel. Your bikini-girl explanation is far creepier.
In 2009, it probably is a creepy thought to people like you. But back in 1974 it was quite normal for a healthy young male to take notice of a beautiful girl in a skimpy bikini. And it was also quite normal for any attractive girl to hope that normal healthy males were looking at them. :)
Gasbag don’t currrrrrrr
always the victim. You sir are an internet troll who has an axe to grind. Do you really think your comments carry much weight? They are entertaining to say the least….
Dear Editor, It would be much more likely that I would read through comments rather than overlook them if for one simple time “gasbag” could not show up in the comments section. Clearly he has nothing to do but hit refresh on his browser all day long. Why don’t you do some more careful editing of your comments sections to keep them on topic and prevent the moronic political rants and overt agendas that so often make their way to your pages.
quote: “Dear Editor, It would be much more likely that I would read through comments rather than overlook them if for one simple time “gasbag” could not show up in the comments section. Clearly he has nothing to do but hit refresh on his browser all day long. Why don’t you do some more careful editing of your comments sections to keep them on topic and prevent the moronic political rants and overt agendas that so often make their way to your pages.”
Which cop shoppe do you or your spouse work for? Or do you perhaps have a son or daughter who works for a cop shoppe? :)
If you don’t like the show, change the channel.
quote: “(your comments) … are entertaining to say the least…”
Thank You!
It’s so sad some people don’t want the truth exposed publicly though. Albemarle County tried to shut Karl Mansoor up too when he exposed truth in the cop shoppe he worked for. But we all saw what happened there too, they had to pay him LARGE chunks of money on more than one occasion too.
quote: “Clearly he has nothing to do but hit refresh on his browser all day long.”
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