Sure, but why were they even being chased in the first place?
Doing the math behind the safety here is quite simple. What is more likely to result in people being harmed? Driving a bit fast? Or blowing out tires and surrounding people with firearms?
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In a pioneering legal case, the child in question became the first ever to be charged with resisting arrest in utero.
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This sound very much like the area that this took place in.
Just further FYI, this is some damn flat terrain. On a clear day, you can easily see 15+ miles. Roads in this area are setup like a chess board (this is very much what it looks like from the air, the space between the roads generally being shaded by alternating corn or soybean fields). Thereâs at least some kind of road, at exactly 1 mile intervals, though more major roads are more like 5-10 miles apart. And these roads tend to be arrow straight. You can see a vehicleâs lights at night minutes before encountering them, even at highway speeds, both on your road, but also on perpendicular roads.
So, that might play into the danger calculus folk might consider with regards to speeding risk vs getting to hospital risk.
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Because the car was speeding and not pulling to the side to stop.
Spike strips are very dangerous for the car and the police both, but there arent any great alternatives at this point, including just letting the car go about its way.
I expect his lawyer to argue there is documented evidence he/she was actively attempting to escape the âembraceâ of the other âresistingâ defendant at the time.
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Yes in the prairies I would have definitely gone faster. Around here it is hilly, winding roads with lots of blind spots. Also deer, natureâs speed reducers.
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In fact just letting them get away is what many jurisdictions would do after getting a plate.
With no evidence of a crime there isnât really evidence that the vehicle in question is fleeing law enforcement rather than just unaware of the pursuit or ignoring it. If he wasnât blowing stop signs / red lights then how much risk was he putting the public at?
Cue âif they did that all criminals would know to run awayâ & please reference the first 6 words of above paragraph as my preemptive response.
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Exactly. People donât become police officers because they like to spend all their time having tea parties, you know?
Spike strips at high speed can cause a driver to lose control. Yet another form of potentially deadly ânonlethal force.â Just what thugs seem to like.
Once upon a time, they would have pulled her over - eventually - and found out why this pregnant woman was speeding down the road. Now they just shoot first, and interrogate the survivors, as they press charges.
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âOnce upon a time, they would have pulled her over - eventually - and found out why this pregnant woman was speeding down the road.â
Wait, Iâve seen that movie. The cop got a blanket out of his car and heroically helped deliver the baby on the scene.
It was in black and white, the last time police we ever seen as positive role modelsâŚ
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That is part of the story we are missing. However the driver did admit he was exceeding the speed limit by 30mph. Thatâs endangering public safety before the cops even got involved.
What is wrong with this alternative? Was any law other than the speed limit being broken here? Were they speeding through lights and drving on sidewalks in a car that met a description, or was the absolute control by a peace officer over a situation, challenged?
Because I get the latter from the story.
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Yeah, thatâs a sad commentary on our current society. Iâm surprised someone wasnât shot.
We just dont know what the cops observed to make this judjement, you are jumping to conclusions.
A cop chasing a speeding car, deploying spike strips, and drawing thier guns on the occupants is almost a non story these days. What makes this all sensationalized is the occupant happened to be delivering a baby.
Speaking of bad judgement by the cops, are we just going to ignore the fact that the people didnt want to stop? A cop may be thinking that if someone was in a medical emergency, they would likely stop to let the officer assist. Running from the police is rarely a sign someone needs help.
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I donât recall hearing the 911 call on the report. So how do you know what it sounded like? Oh, wait, youâre using the time honored technique known as âjust making things upâ.
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By failing to defend the use of force, reflexively and instead asking a few questions and stating my personal opinion is leaning one way⌠you got that as me jumping to a conclusion? Wow.
Not defending my obvious bias. cough cough.
look at those conclusions I am jumping to. whoo, someone stop me.
Ahem.
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I think this is a really good point that deserves a lot more consideration than it gets. The underlying problem is that police care too much about winning.
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I got pulled over by a cop while driving my wife to deliver our second baby, but we were going too slow instead of too fast through the contractions. The cop shone his bright spotlight in my face, then got out of his car and walked up to me. I gave him an earful. He sheepishly turned off his light and let us go on our way.
Iowa needs to teach their cops a thing or two about the birds and the bees.
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In Belgium, where I used to live, they have a solution. If the driver puts a white handkerchief or scarf in his window, flapping in the breeze and held by the closed window, police will interpret this as âmedical emergencyâ and escort the car to the hospital at high speed, sirens and lights on.
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