What's up with you folks in Washington?

You can't honestly expect the department to do anything, can you?

I don't know about you, but I've read far too many articles that clearly linked an officer responsible for something that endangered, or ever killed, others. Yet the department tends to try and hide what their own are doing, and let them continue on their merry way.

If someone should be allowed to continue on their merry way, it should be the guy who has more to lose (his own life) by the actions he's partaking in - the rider. It's been proven time and time again, chasing a bike is rarely the safe thing to do...clearly this case follows that trend.

That said, the officer should try to get close enough to get a plate/bike on the camera, and follow as best they can without exceeding their own ability or endangering others.

 

"And am I the only one who read Cletus' post as sarcasm?"

no

 

I dont see how any of this can be blamed on the trooper. The rider chose to speed and so the trooper attempted to stop him for that reason. When he chose not to stop he then was committing a felony. The trooper didn't force him to run nor did he force him to speed in the first place. In reality if the rider never ran in the first place we wouldn't be having this conversation. It is ridiculous the lack of respect for LEO's, I do understand that there are a always those bad apples... you can find them in any career field though. My mindset is that if you choose to run from the law you had better be willing for whatever comes your way.

 

Two things here:
(1)There is no such thing as a "safe" high speed pursuit... there are just as many 4 wheeled pursuits that end in accidents and death as there are motorcycles. People just choose to see what they want.

(2)This theory only works if the bike isnt stolen.

People please realize this one little fact: If he would have just stopped he could have saved his own life.

 

I did not say anything about a blanket policy, or that the deputy is guilty of anything, but that this could have finished quite a bit different if the cop did not give chase in this instance...being that he did crash as well, I bet the cop might be thinking the same.

That's pretty rich coming from an inbred back woods peninsula boy. If you boys from up north stopped poking your sisters and mothers you'd probably not have the likes of Cletus Hogg as your dimwit deputies, but someone that can make a rational decision instead of a compulsive one.

 

A stupid decision shouldn't mean a death sentence.
Also, the officer was clearly beyond their capabilities.
I have a feeling they discourage wadding up a patrol car back at the station.
If the officer had died and the runner lived people would be calling for his head.

 

So far.

 

Nobody handed him that sentence, unfortunately he chose that one for himself.
I completely agree that the officer was driving outside of his capabilities, obviously because he wrecked.
Some people would but the majority would say that is the risk of that chosen profession...

 

Eh, the rider did it to their own damn self. They chose to run, then chose to fly off the road. Unless the LEO ran a PIT on 'em, there's only one person to blame, and he's dead. Only thing I can hope is that he was a thief, rather than just an idiot.

Hooowwwweeeevvvveeeerrrr... WTF is with flipping the car off the road? Cops love to say how well-trained they are behind the wheel, but evidence points to the contrary. Wasn't too long ago that our own OSP trooper managed to spin her cruiser right into an embankment while chasing after a bike (with a competent rider). Apparently, for being "well-trained" they sure don't know how to drive within the limits of their vehicles or skills. Target fixation isn't exactly a hard habit to break when driving cars - hell, it was the first thing I taught myself when I was a kid learning to drive dad's Chevelle around the property. They even cover it as an entire day of class and drills in Driver's Ed.

Bah. Both were idiots. At least the LEO will live to learn from his mistakes.

 

I agree with Veloc.

If the officer rammed the motorcycle, thats bad, mmkay? If the motorcycle ran off the road for other reasons, thats their own damn fault.

Same as its the officers fault they crashed.

Overall the whole incident is a waste of life and property.

 

Am I the only one that read the title and thought the thread was going to be about how we can pump our own gas?

 

Why does 90 mph not sound fast to me anymore? :scratchea

 

We usually call this Darwins theory, stupid decisions end in death all the time but only when its on the bike is it someone elses' fault. The rider rolled the dice and lost is all, same thing happens to law abiding riders too. We roll the dice every time we ride, It could be a deer, semi truck tire blowing next to us, blue hair merging into us, etc.... Sucks but he made a conscious decision to run. What if there was no LEO in the area and the rider did the same thing and died, people would bash him as has happened here on every rider down thread in which the rider was at fault due to excessive speed, lack of skill or both. The LEO was just doing his damn job, Riders don't get a pass because they choose to use a dangerous form of transportation. No one forced the guy to throw a leg over the bike, exceed the speed limit, or run. He had three chances to avoid all of this and kept choosing option B. This is no ones fault but his own, period.

 

Uh...yes you do. They call it reckless driving, but it's just a fancy name for speeding.

 

Depends on how much speeding your doing, anything under 100mph should just be a ticket... Ask me how I know :evil4:

 

90 is pretty fast for that one.

 

What he said... ^^^

 

A later update from the Port Angeles Daily News...
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/a...s-after-high-speed-chase-east-of-port-angeles

- - - - - - - -

PORT ANGELES — A 35-year-old Port Angeles motorcyclist died after a high-speed chase beginning on U.S. Highway 101 on Tuesday evening that ended with both the motorcyclist and a State Patrol trooper driving off a 20- to 25-foot embankment in the Olympic Mountain foothills.

Bjorn Robert Larsen died at the scene, the State Patrol said.

Trooper Travis D. Beebe, 37, was treated for minor injuries and discharged from Olympic Medical Center, the State Patrol said.

According to Trooper Russ Winger, the chase began when a trooper tried to stop the motorcyclist for speeding just before 8 p.m. on Highway 101 near Milepost 252.

Instead of pulling over, the motorcyclist took off, reaching speeds up to 90 mph on the highway, Winger said.

The chase took a turn onto Deer Park Road southeast of Port Angeles and continued at a high rate of speed six miles up the road, where both drivers went over the embankment, Winger said.

It's unclear what led to the men going over the embankment, but State Patrol detectives are investigating.

“Speed is definitely going to be a factor,” Winger said. “They both flew off the road.”

“Both vehicles failed to negotiate the curve to the left and both went off the embankment to the right,” he said.

Beebe is off work recuperating for a few days, Winger said.

Both the 1981 Honda CB650 motorcycle and the patrol vehicle, a dark-colored 2011 Ford Crown Victoria, were destroyed, Winger said.

Larsen was wearing a helmet. He did not have a motorcycle endorsement, the State Patrol said.

 

Cop should get a ticket.

 

Tough shit, that was no "accident". At least he didn't take anyone with him.