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Cambridge officer on leave after hit-and-run involving a bicyclist
By adamg on Mon, 02/22/2016 - 11:43pm
Wicked Local Cambridge reports Cambridge Police have brought in State Police and the DA's office to investigate a crash involving an off-duty officer who may have hit a woman on a bicycle Sunday evening at Broadway and Portland Street, then drove off.
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Comments
This is going to be interesting
Even if the officer wasn't at fault for the collision, leaving the scene is very sketchy to say the least. It will be interesting to see how this gets spun, or if CPD is modern enough to actually charge one of their own for hit and run.
well obviously
the officer was completely unaware, and assumed he had traveled over a pothole
Nothing Yet On The Hit-And-Run Driver Who Killed Anita Kurmann?
UHub - 08/07/2015 Bicyclist killed by semi in Back Bay hit and run
Anita Kurmann, M.D. - Research Fellow, Kotton Lab
If I'm not mistaken once the
If I'm not mistaken once the truck driver was found it was deemed an "accident"
Since police identified the
Since police identified the semi driver the day of the event, and, over six months later, have not yet charged him or her - I think it is reasonable to assume they have no intentions of doing so.
It was obvious the fix was in
It was obvious the fix was in when the company and driver weren't named within a week.
It's even more obvious
the trucker wasn't at fault. If you try to pass a large truck on the right as they are turning right, don't blame the driver if you get hit.
Anita Kurmann wasn't attempt
Anita Kurmann wasn't attempt to pass the truck. She was desperately trying to get up on the sidewalk to safety as the truck crossed into her lane from the far lane and clipped the corner.
If a person had been waiting at the crosswalk at the time they would have also been killed.
She wasn't trying to pass
If you look at the image that was released you can see she was hit by the side of the truck. It's not clear she was even moving when she was hit. If she was moving, then the truck should not have cut in front of her without giving her time to stop. Or do you think she saw the truck in front of her and decided to ride right into the side of it?
Bullshit
The truck passed her and then turned across her path.
Here's an idea:
know what you're talking about before saying anything.
You know what we need
Some kind of department that investigations things like these and forwards the results to another agency who decides if charges are warranted.
However, since we don't have anything like that, we can just rely on internet speculation.
Two societies, two forms of justice, too bad
The Blue Wall of Silence. It's not like the police officer was on duty or coming on duty (he was not in uniform). It's not like it wasn't obvious that an accident had occurred, people snapped pictures of his truck as it sped away. It's not like the police officer had anything to fear abut stopping - except he apparently did. They couldn't release his name because he was probably half in the bag after a few after work drinks with fellow officers - it would not be the first time that happened. You can't have his name released because the media might show up at his house, see the truck, see the disoriented and obviously drunk guy. But hey, I'm just speculating, because the *man* is not providing anything except speculation.
There are two forms of justice now in the US, one for the rest of us and one for the cops, their families, their friends, their public co-workers, contractors and other people; the others who "look like" them. If you happen to be a person at risk and you have a deadly interaction with one of them, different rules apply. No name is released, an investigation which goes nowhere is launched, the perp is never charged, the victim never sees justice, society loses. Get used to it. Once there were only a relatively few of the privileged class earning low pay and being treated as unproductive members of society - leeches in some people's mind. Now police officers make two, sometimes three times the median income, they retire at young ages on "disability", they are worshiped as heroes and no one is allowed to speak out against the injustice when they kill, maim, rob and beat citizens.
Welcome to the United States of 'Merica.
As long as politicians get
As long as politicians get away with exempting police from the laws they enforce there will be trouble. All the legal loopholes and privileges granted to officers off duty and even retired are essentially bribes by politicians. Any time officers are exempt from a new law passed against the public it is obvious politicians know they have a dog of a law.
All of that is basically true
All of that is basically true for all drivers and gun users in America. You can get away with killing whoever you want. Just say it was an "accident" or that it was "self defense" and you won't even lose your license to operate the weapon you used to kill.
Luckily with cell phone cameras everywhere now some of these people are very occasionally caught in their lies and prosecuted.
or
caught in their lies and suspended with pay
Don't know where you got the
Don't know where you got the idea about 'gun users' (assuming legal as felons somehow seem to have no problem breaking gun laws every 5 minutes even in this state) getting a free pass for negligence because unless said user is a cop they are going to lose their license for life and or spend an upwards of 100k defending themselves in criminal and probably civil court thereafter.
Drivers on the other hand seem to have free reign to kill/outright murder anyone with impunity. "Sorry I didn't see them" seems to be a get of jail free card for mowing down motorcyclists, bicyclists, pedestrians, etc. Even people convicted and sentenced to prison get their licenses back. No judge, jury, or state legislature seems willing to revoke driver's licenses for life. Even falling down drunks seem to have no problem getting back on the road and killing people multiple times with minimal consequences.
Perhaps if we eliminated this silly notion
that cyclists are allowed to pass other vehicles, turning or otherwise, on the right, we would have far fewer of these crashes. And to stipulate that a driver turning right cannot use the fact the cyclist was attempting to pass on the right in their defense is one of the most ludricous laws ever.
Then cars can't do it either
Someone taking a left? Tough. You have to wait. No going around.
Also? Prohibit cars on a two-lane road from passing on the right. Because the bike lane is a travel lane - can't pass there means cars can't use the right lane to pass a left lane or left turn lane vehicle.
Fair is fair.
Nitpick
MA law already allows passing left-turning vehicles on the right:
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter89/Sect...
You missed the point.
You missed the point.
Swirly was saying that if we adopt (other) anon's proposal to ban bikes passing cars on the right, then we'd also need to ban cars passing cars on the right.
Far more crashes are caused
Far more crashes are caused by cars attempting to pass bikes on the left, and then turning right and hitting them.
So maybe we should prohibit cars from passing bikes on the left.
Police are dealt with more harshly than general public
If anything, our police officers are dealt with more harshly than the general public. In this case, a minor accident where the bicyclist was quickly treated and released yet the off-duty officer is now subject to a comprehensive investigation by the State Police, District Attorney and investigative reporters from throngs of Boston media outlets. While there appears little doubt that the vehicle is registered to the officer, can any of the witnesses identify the operator, operation being a key element to the crime? I ask merely because if this incident involved a civilian, there would be a cursory investigation and if witnesses couldn't identify the operator and the owner didn't confess, the insurance information would be forwarded to the bicyclist, case closed.
I socialize with a high-ranking officer on the State Police and occasionally this topic comes up. She told me that at one point, a small wing in one of our state prisons contained nothing but state and local police. While disappointing, clearly they didn't arrest themselves, so the system works. Even when an officer is totally innocent, like Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, careers and reputations are destroyed. Harvard educated NYPD Detective and best selling author Eddie Conlon said it best in his best-seller "Blue Blood", "innocent until proven guilty, except for cops."
Harsher treatment?
And that's "harsher" treatment? That various agencies are asking questions? My god but you've got a thin skin, or you assume one when that skin is covered with a blue uniform. I'm not sure who you think investigates the police, but when someone responsible for enforcing the law breaks a very important one, an investigation certainly is warranted. Sorry if it offends your delicate cop-sucking sensibilities when a hit-and-run is treated as a serious matter even when the runner is a cop.
I think his point was lbb....
Is that if you did this crime (or many others) your job/family/name in the paper would not be effected the same way. He wasn't arguing whether or not that was right, wrong, or fair.
pretty sure that allowing due process
is not considered to be "cop sucking" by those with an intact frontal lobe.
Pretty sure that investigating a hit-and-run
is not considered a denial of due process by those with an intact frontal lobe.
"innocent until proven guilty
That's certainly how it should be. Not only are cops trusted to enforce the law, they're trusted to be more responsible than the general public when it comes to using deadly equipment like firearms and vehicles.
I wonder what your friend's take is on the Globe series that documented the dozens of officers given a free pass on DUIs.
You mean the article where they weren't given a free pass?
And some of them lost their jobs or pay?
No, the other one
Remember, these are the incidents we know about. It's hard not to think there are dozens more left unreported.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/12/06/off-duty-police-face-drunken...
Also,
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/05/13/boston-police-agree-release...
oddly enough
the Globe didn't dwell on their own employees who were barred from taking company cars after accidents and long, boozy lunches.
Yes, a double standard
Is it ok if I hold cops to a higher standard than newspaper reporters?
Oh, sure, totally minor
I mean, the bicyclist was ONLY the hospital a day and the alleged perpetrator ONLY left the scene of an accident. Sheesh, what's the big deal, amirite? It's a witch hunt, I tell ya.
Oh, so Fish was lying
Oh, so Fish was lying about the "treated and released", or perhaps just ignorant of what the phrase means. If you're "treated and released", you receive treatment and are not admitted. The victim in this case was admitted and discharged a day later.
some interesting reading
Daily police misconduct reports:
http://www.policemisconduct.net/
More than 3 people killed per day by police
http://killedbypolice.net/
Note that the FBI crime statistics do not report how many people are killed by police.
testilying
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_perjury
Blue wall of silence
http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-12-07/breaking-blue-wall-silence-quest-p...
Need I go on?
You want credibility, O-Fish-El? provide statistics on police crime rates. Oh wait, there are few or none.
Who indeed will guard the guardians?
O-Fish, let me ask you. How
O-Fish, let me ask you. How do I go about getting one of the blue and black stickers to put on the back of my car so I can park anywhere?
Or, what happens if I make one for myself?
Legitimate question, I believe. I don't mean to snark on police - I've got family bpd, but this really bugs me. Everytime I see one of those stickers its a statement that the police get a benefit that others don't and that's not right.
Patricia I'll give you one of mine
(I never have put any of those on my car).
Watch how many tickets you get, and you'll see that those stickers do nothing.
Then why have them? What is
Then why have them? What is their purpose? Who distributes them, official Police Dept?
I really would like to know their purpose. I did read a few years back that police personal cars with those stickers were being used to park illegally at Fenway.
If you still get tickets, what is the purpose? What happens if I make my own?
Sticker != Ticket book
The thin blue line stickers are generally meaningless. You can buy them anywhere.
Boston cops generally leave their ticket book on their dashboard when parking illegally to avoid being ticketed.
It shows you support the police
Nothing more, just like any other bumper sticker supporting Obama, Alabama football, the 6 firefighters who died in that Worcester fire, or Jesus.
And the stickers did nothing to let you park at Fenway or the garden. If you told the officer there that you were a Boston police officer or trooper, and there was still room left for cars that were reserved for detail officers, you could get a spot (which you would never do because it took longer to drive out of there than it would to walk from the train anyway)
And you can buy them at most police supply stores, and probably online.
Thanks, i guess I won't get
Thanks, i guess I won't get upset any longer when I see them.
I remember years ago one of the local news undercover showing a parking lot near Fenway and all the cars had those stickers.
The reporter tried to interview the occupants of the cars when the game got out to see if they were police, or police family and how they scored the free parking for the game. Of course people ran from the cameras.
That's where my distrust of those stickers comes from as I'm sure you'll understand.
One little difference
Obama, the Alabama football team, deceased firefighters, and Jesus don't pull people over.
nothing
They don't do anything. You can even buy them on eBay. Some police I've talked to even said it makes them more suspicious of cars when they have the TBL and FOP stickers.
hmm yes
its definitely only the police that people are after for hit and runs, not commercial drivers that might be mentioned in the very same comments section
im not pro or anti police, like any reasonable person should be, i take each situation on a case by case basis but god damn if it isnt just embarrassing to try and defend the police sometimes nowadays
You probably spent a long
You probably spent a long time on that, so I want to thank you. That was a hoot.
First of all, why are you
First of all, why are you using the term "accident"? That implies it was unavoidable. We saw just recently a case also in Cambridge where a truck purposely hit a cyclist.
I have an anecdote of my own. A cop told me a week ago that he was taking an exam. For some inexplicable reason the exams were graded by other cops in the room. The cop I know get multiple questions wrong and the cop who graded his exam fixed them to the right answers and said to him "cops are always right". Perfect example of how cops think they are above the law and they how they can't even take a little bit of criticism professionally even when they are killing so many unarmed people(and usually getting away with it like Michael Slager almost did).
i dont think you know what accident means
ac·ci·dent
ˈaksədənt/
noun
1.
an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury.
unless you were trying to imply this particular case was an attempted homicide, in which case, my apologies
Unexpected?
That's the problem. These incidents are not unexpected given the legal and physical landscape.
Besides, even major transportation organizations and investigators refer to them as crashes or collisions now, for reasons stated above.
They refer to them simply as
They refer to them simply as "crash" or "collision" in all the official documents even when nobody is found at fault or with 50-50 fault. Only the term accident has crept into our accustomed usage like so many other euphemisms.
How does a separate incident
How does a separate incident disprove it, though? Why would you imply that it was on purpose based on a different case?
Please explain this guy then:
Please explain this guy then:
http://www.wcvb.com/news/5-investigates-medford-officer-caught-on-camera...
lol, so, same guy, but from a globe article
"A Medford police detective seen on a video threatening to “put a hole right through” a motorist’s head during a traffic stop resigned Tuesday.
Detective Stephen LeBert’s resignation was accepted by Mayor Michael J. McGlynn’s office. LeBert, who had been on paid administrative leave for more than two months because of the July confrontation, said in his resignation letter that he intended to retire.
A disciplinary hearing for LeBert that was scheduled for Thursday has also been canceled."
but yes even though he threatened to kill the motorist, we treated him ever so harshly :( :(
i'd find it funnier if i hadn't just made a comment, at the time in jest, about pretty much exactly this type of misconduct being caught on camera and leading to paid suspension lol
It's really disheartening to
It's really disheartening to read some of these comments. And while I would like to write something along the lines of "screw you people, you don't know what it's really like and if you hate me so much then I'll stop doing my job", I believe in it too much. I'm going to keep going out there and doing the best I can.
Still, it saddens me to see how so many of you view us. It's truly saddening.
- a Boston cop
my advice
if your first reaction to criticism is to stop doing your job the best you can, quit before you get somebody killed.
or should i be thanking you for your valiant effort at restraint and your grave sense of duty?
some people value cops as much as they value rubber dog shit for a variety of reasons. you aren't helping your case any.
Pro tip
If you want to avoid accusations of police misconduct and double standards, avoid misconduct and hold your fellow officers to at least as high a standard as you hold everyone else. Failing that, do not tow the line as an apologist for bad/crooked cops and departments who maintain that double standard.
Unless you're FISH, in which case you should definitely keep writing longwinded screeds about the unfairness of it all, because every moment you spend typing is one fewer moment in which you are actively making the world a worse place for everyone else.
I see both sides of the
I see both sides of the situation. A majority of cops are honest good people doing a thankless job. Like everything else, the few rotten ones bring everyone down. The same arguments hold for most public employees (The T anyone?)
But, the public's perception of unfairness is sometimes justified when details of some police improprieties are kept from the public. Drunk driving, sexual assaults, the public has a right and if joe schmoe's name is put in the paper for driving drunk, I expect the same for the police officer.
I do believe if the day came that a police officer came to the aid of any of these posters, they would be very appreciative.
I kind of hate to say this
There's a line that is often used by cops and fans of cops: if you haven't done anything wrong, what are you afraid of? Likewise, if you're not a crooked cop, if you're not the kind of cop who drives drunk, if you're not the kind of cop who threatens to shoot a civilian over an honest and harmless traffic misunderstanding, if you're not the kind of cop who hits a cyclist and drives away, then what are you afraid of?
And if you're now feeling indignant and hard-done-by and falsely accused, well, maybe you should realize that civilians feel the same way when we are subjected to cop suspicion and "you will comply with me or else" behavior. Maybe you'll realize that punishment (particularly the extrajudicial variety) doesn't always land on the guilty, and revise your thinking about the popular cop belief that only lawbreakers distrust cops.
Do your job then
Lack of enforcement of traffic laws is the number one reason that people drive, cycle and jaywalk they way they do in this town.