This has everyone all twisted up here in the Seattle area
http://tukwila.komonews.com/content/speeding-motorcyclist-taunts-state-trooper-trapped-crashed-car

If it's their department policy to chase, that's stupid.

If it was his choice to chase, he's stupid.

Roll out the spike strips.  They can't outrun radios.

No chase policies are weak in my opinion. They are supposed to prevent accidents but all it will do is entice the motorcyclist to go fast enough to not get caught. Its not enforcing the law. If a motorcyclist runs himself into a tree or embankment  because hes running from a cop whos policy is to chase, then the lawbreaking @-hole deserves the fake he created for himself.

That guy is a complete scumbag with no regard for human life, including his own. He should have helped as soon as he realized the officer was hurt no matter the consequences. It's as simple as you see another human in need, and you help them. Friggin dork!

Even if you're gonna chase you've gotta know your limits. It's no different than being on a sportbike and trying to keep up with people who are faster than you. You're gonna run into a guard rail eventually. I don't really have the answer to stopping people who are being dangerous on sportbikes, but I know chasing them isn't it. As far as logic goes, the only time worth chasing someone is when you're faster than they are. Hasn't this cop ever seen the Karate kid?? Or was that lesson from 3 ninjas? I can't remember.

The taunting part sucks, but if a cop was ever chasing me(I don't run, I don't really even speed that much), I wouldn't feel that bad if he crashed his car. I wouldn't taunt him, but still. The only reason a cop would chase someone on a motorcycle is because they hope the guy on the bike is going to crash eventually. He knows there's no chance he's going to get bored and give up. The guy on the bike will run until he gets away or crashes, and obviously the cop isn't chasing him in hopes that he'll get away..... 

Quote from: tt_four on August 11, 2010, 04:20:54 PMobviously the cop isn't chasing him in hopes that he'll get away..... 

There is nothing wrong with waiting around to pick up the pieces 

Quote from: Twism86 on August 11, 2010, 05:03:48 PM

Quote from: tt_four on August 11, 2010, 04:20:54 PMobviously the cop isn't chasing him in hopes that he'll get away..... 

There is nothing wrong with waiting around to pick up the pieces 

Unless the roles are reversed and it's the cop that crashes?

Quote from: Twism86 on August 11, 2010, 04:08:58 PM
No chase policies are weak in my opinion. They are supposed to prevent accidents but all it will do is entice the motorcyclist to go fast enough to not get caught. Its not enforcing the law. If a motorcyclist runs himself into a tree or embankment  because hes running from a cop whos policy is to chase, then the lawbreaking @-hole deserves the fake he created for himself.

That guy is a complete scumbag with no regard for human life, including his own. He should have helped as soon as he realized the officer was hurt no matter the consequences. It's as simple as you see another human in need, and you help them. Friggin dork!

i'll leave you opinion and mine to be where they are about chase policies...

since we don't know what the scumbag (your word, not mine) was thinking when he came back, let's see both sides of  this coin:

heads:

he saw the trooper crash, thought "holy shaZam! ! is he ok ?" rode back, saw he was fine (in the cyclist's opinion) laughed, and rode off.

tails:

he saw the trooper crash, thought "holy shaZam! ! i can go kill a cop with my glock !" rode back, saw he was fine (and the on lookers) laughed, and rode off.


either way, the rider would not be given -any- lenieancy by the courts, even if he performed a life saving CPR, open heart surgery, or frontal lobotomy on the police office. no slap on the wrist for this guy. no sir. he would be given a suspended license, jail time, fines out the wazoo, and a criminal (felon maybe?) record for the chase. nothing he (or she) could do would make the courts give him any mercy. he's a damned dirty biker, and we'd all be better if there were fewer of them.

<<see where this is going?>>

the publics' perception of what actually happened in a 22 second news blurb is scary. of course cops are automagically correct in WHATEVER they do when pitted against damned dirty bikers. bikers that speed (oh my), bikers that filter through traffic (oh god no!), bikers that make noise when they accelerate (YIKES!).

there were very few details of what caused the trooper to crash his patrol car. i have never seen any video of a poilce officer braking for a biker in front of them during a chase. ever. police officers use their patrol cars as tools, tools to PIT, tools to disable, tools to destroy. add the adreneline that is known to flow during chases, and imagine an outcome. if you can't imagine it, watch youtube. you'll begin to see it.


am i anti-cop ? nope. i'm anti-@$$hole. the assholes running from the leo aren't immune. they broke the law. go to their house and arrest them if you like. give them their day in court. DO NOT f%$king MAKE COURT ON THE SAME ROADS MY FAMILY TRAVELS !!! NOT WITH YOUR CRUISER, NOT FOR A f%$king SPEEDING TICKET !

the courts are very good at handling matters. like it or not, it's the proper way. build a case, PROVE the case, and impose a fee/fine/whatever that suits the offense.


i have seen leo's speeding wrecklessly in suburban areas, on interstates, on dirt roads, and in hazardous conditions for no f%$king reason other than to avoid stop lights. no lights. no sirens. just stupidity. those roads are the roads my family travels on. f%$k your ticket book. f%$k your 22 years on the force. f%$k your f%$king duty to uphold the law. use your f%$king radio and spike strips if you want to catch someone. DONT MAKE THEM GO FASTER.

sorry, that was obviousely addressed to the leos that have a bit of a chip on their collective shoulders, not the OP.

let the first leo that has never sped, failed to yield to red, failed to signal, failed to FULLY and completely stop for stop signs, failed to wear their seatbelts (OH COME THE f%$k ON - THEY NEVER bUCKLE UP), failed to consider someone a person instead of an inferior being in a 'civvy' vehicle go ahead and ticket me on my way to work tomorrow for 56 in a 55. great. i'll take my lumps....

there is more to this innocent cop wronged by scumbags story than we're seeing on the news. there is -always- more. update the thread when you have it.

O Town has an off the books no chase policy. But, they also got those new nifty license plate readers. I'm also quite sure why having your license plate on the wrong spot of your bike was close to a $900 offense so that they can get your plates if you run. I'd much rather have them showing up at the offenders door than running down I-4. it is already one of the ten most dangerous interstates in the country we don't need help with that.

Most people say that the motorcyclist usually only hurt themselves when they wreck in a chase. About six months ago a guy on a Busa in Miami hit a compact car killed the driver. He survived because he flew over the car.

I guess the only time I'd say chase 'em is if they are a violent offender or if it was Osama Bin Laden but we know he's fast as fast can be!

Mary

If someone wants to run from the cops and kill himself, im fine with it, because it wont be me, my father or friends that ride. Do I speed, yes, does my father speed, yes, do my friends speed, yes. Anyone who says they dont speed a decent amount over the limit on a bike is a liar. I do know that once the lights come on behind you, the fun stops and you luck has run out, not to push it. So do the friends and family i choose to ride with.

Does this story paint a bad image for bikes, of course. For reasons like this, i probably wont own a "super bike" because most people will think you are a stunting/ speeding/ weaving through traffic @-hole. I would like to avoid being profiled as such but its the reality. As bikers i think its our own responsibility to try and be and respectful on the road as possible to try and keep a clean image.

Are some cops @-holes. Yup. Many probably do have an ego too big for the squad car and need to take it out on the easy target of bikers or abuse their power. For every bad cop, i guarantee there are two good ones. So for that, we cant assume which ever one we come across is the egotistical power abusing type. In the end they are responsible for our safety, and risk their lives doing it and for that they deserve our respect. I tend to have faith in people to do the right thing, and cops are high on that list because of the duties they have sworn to. 

Nothing that motorcyclist could have done would have gotten him out of major criminal punishment, that is true. I for one could not morally leave the scene of an accident knowing someone was injured and i could have helped them. maybe its not fair to hold everyone to my own moral standards, but I do. Also, maybe the cop was OK and the scumbag could see that and then left, i wasnt there so i dont know, but i doubt it.

Bikers get a bad image because of a few @-holes and so do cops. I dont think cops should drive like maniacs to catch a biker on the road i also travel, so maybe the no chase law makes sense. That is only if there is another way of catching the biker.

Complicated subject for sure....... Its all about risks worth rewards and i guess in the end i see that rolling your cop car or crashing into my families mini-van is not worth catching some scumbag on a litre bike despite the justice they deserve.

Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before you own rights...........

It's a shame that many folks who read this article will think to themselves, "damned motorcyclists." Unfortunately, that'll be the part that sticks with them.

Quote from: pandy on August 12, 2010, 05:41:08 PM
It's a shame that many folks who read this article will think to themselves, "damned motorcyclists." Unfortunately, that'll be the part that sticks with them.

You are right. If it was a typical car chase and the driver came back to taunt the injured officer there would be no one thinking "damn car drivers". Just another way of painting a bad rep for motorcyclists (thanks motorcyclist d@ckHead!).

There are good bikers and bad ones. And there are good cops and bad ones: http://www.ama-cycle.org/news/story.asp?id=2195

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012610318_taunt13m.html
An update on the WSP story.

I say the cop got what he deserved.  What a joke.  Lock him up.  f%$k the police. Said f%$k, f%$k, f%$k the police! You can't try to pull over 70 guys on crotch rockets and not expect some of them to take off. I think he was looking for a chase.  Swerving through all the lanes to keep anyone from passing him? Sounds pretty f%$king reckless to me. In my experience there might be 1 good cop for every 2 bad cops.. but I doubt the ratio is even that good.

"Riders who stopped and taunted the officer without calling for help could possibly be charged with failing to summon assistance, a misdemeanor that could net up to three months in jail."

A half decent lawyer should be able to get them out of that one. It sounds like more than enough people stopped and were already calling the police for help. Do you really need EVERYBODY standing there calling to report the same incident? That would just be a waste of 911 like workers.

I love how we're supposed revere and respect cops when they do stupid stuff like this sooo often. Yeah there's definitely some good cops out there, but how am I supposed to know when I'm talking to one. You take a chance any time you deal with one and if you end up with one of the bad ones you're just gonna to get screwed over big time, because there's still a good majority of the public who believes no cop would ever do anything wrong, and you'll get blamed for it.

Quote from: romulux on August 11, 2010, 12:19:48 PM
If it's their department policy to chase, that's stupid.

If it was his choice to chase, he's stupid.

Roll out the spike strips.  They can't outrun radios.

You're shytting me, right???  You're bashing the OFFICER?!?!?!?!

He wasn't bashing him, just saying that the people chosen to protect and serve the public might do well with a little common sense, and a little less recklessness.

It was a mass amount of people calling 911 that hindered help getting out to my friend. I was on the scene with my hurt friend trying to give them the correct information but I was put on hold and the other six people who didn't know what was going on with my friend got through. As an ex-EMT I could have given the dispatcher the information they were looking for vs the Spanish woman that didn't know English. So, when the rig got there they had no idea they would need a life flight which took anothe 15 minutes to dispatch. They also told me the woman gave them the wrong cross streets and they found us on the way to that "scene".

Mary

Quote from: pandy on August 12, 2010, 05:41:08 PM
It's a shame that many folks who read this article will think to themselves, "damned motorcyclists." Unfortunately, that'll be the part that sticks with them.

Ive had to give persuit in the past, ( a few times persuing the bike. BUT best part about small towns is i know just about everybody. icouldnt catch em, the superbike has a power to weight ratio of an F1 car. my CVPI would NEVER catch em. however i had hit the lights, got a fix on the subject, got an address, and showed up at their home. waiting.  :police:i was also pert of a training team in persuit. both moto and cruiser. was both the good guy and the bad guy. so i knew what vehicle i was in control of, i knew its limits. BTW test tracks are fun ;)when i set up the motos for our dept, ( 4 HD baggers,2 beemers, and a couple kawis,  i got to ride them to their limits. and i witnessed a situation similar to this. a fellow officer dumped his bagger, hte offender. taunted him, he was suffed up pretty gfood, but was okay. i gave him my personal car, to go to ER with. ( he declined EMS) i righted his bike, and proceeded after the offender. and sadly that bastard i had worked wiht previous. (he was enroute to work. my old work place lol) i showed up wiht teh bashed bike, and several units, and we got the sonofabitch anyhoo. even if youre the bad guy, and youre being chased yeah you wont be let off, but in many cases rendering aid to the cop WILL help you when your day in court comes. a felony might become say a misdemeanor, jail time might become probation etc. all im saying is even if you despise the person, DONT let them lie there suffering. HELP out

Another thing to consider is just the kind of people there are in the world who you don't really deal with on a regular basis, and tend to forget about if you actually go about your life like a normal person.

As much as motorcyclists get a bad reputation and I'm willing to say we're not all that bad, I'll be the first to admit that there's a lot of scum out there on motorcycles. As fun as they are, it's definitely a deadbeat magnet.

I grew up in the suburbs, graduated high school, went to college cause that's just 'what you're supposed to do' and have a general respect for people around me. When you grow up that way you for some reason assume that everyone else in the world is like that as well and can't imagine how someone could do something like go back and laugh at someone who got hurt and is laying there. Then you move to the city and work at the welfare office for a while and realize there's this whole segment of society who just doesn't care about a single thing aside from where 'their(our tax) money' is. It doesn't surprised me at all to read articles like this anymore because it's probably the same guy who never finished high school, has never had a job for more than a week, hasn't paid child support since his 5 kids were born, gets his rent paid for and gets food for free, bought a gsxr1000 with money from selling drugs and overall is living life like it's a game because he can go to jail for 5 years, come out, and not have to worry about finding a job or the fact that he lost his house and his kids are now going to be embarrassed for the rest of their lives. There's people who just don't even think about it anymore and have absolutely nothing to lose by going back to laugh at someone in that situation. If this had happened in Pittsburgh I could more than likely tell you it was someone I have dealt with in the past couple years while at work.