Idiot move by cop chasing Yamaha-I almost killed him

[Shunter/Get-Off]

Today I was driving down 101, heading south, in my four-door, long-bed, dually pickup with a fully loaded, two-car, enclosed stacker trailer. Let's figure that this weighs about 16,000 lbs. Just north of the Hwy 156 junction I saw a rider on a Yamaha R6 or R1 making a fairly hot turn from the northbound lane across my path. Just in case he decided to bin it, I applied moderate pressure on the brakes (I was travelling at about 55 mph, but this rig takes some space to stop, and I was heading down a fairly steep hill). As the rider cleared my lane, a cruiser came into view, giving pursuit, all lit up. It was clear that this guy was into playing hero, and I got on the brakes HARD. The cop hesitated for a second (very wisely, as I would have cleared him in less three seconds), then turned across my path. I was now committed to a full emergency stop. Both front wheels locked briefly, and just as I gathered that up, the trailer started to jack-knife on me. I was able to let the trailer slide just long enough to clear the cruiser while on the brakes, then nail the gas in time to get the trailer back in line. This was the closest call I have had in a very long time, and I hope the officer realizes that he very nearly got pasted because of an incredibly STUPID decision to cut in front of a vehicle that clearly needs some room.
First off--How do I file a complaint with the department? All I know is that it was the lead car in a five car chase and it was just north of Hwy 156.
Second--What on Earth did the guy on the Yamaha do that warranted a five car chase in the first place? I hope it was something that justified putting my life, my girlfriend's life, the officer's life, and the live's of all the motorists around us who would have had a massive accident to avoid had I not been on top of the situation and well-versed in threshold braking.
Third--If I had hit this guy (which would have been easy, I almost did even while i was on the brakes before I saw him), I most likely would have killed him. The thought that I wold possibly then be tried for this, that somehow this would have been twisted into manslughter on my part scared me as musch as anything. I just don't think it would be the same deal as if I hit a truck with a couple of migrant farm workers. That doesn't sit well with me.
Finally--To the cop leading that chase, if you are reading this: What the fuck were you thinking? You should NOT be chasing anyone if you cannot make sound decisions on the fly. Your job should not entail endangering the lives of the very people you are supposed to be protecting. You came off lucky today, and you need to realize that. It was not your skill behind the wheel, as you made a ridiculous decision that placed your very survival in the hands of a complete stranger--without sound reactions on my part, you would have been smeared down the road like peanut butter, and others may well have been hurt or killed. Please consider this before setting off on your next chase.


I apologize to all the LEOs on this forum who did not endanger my life today for the angry tone to this post, but I am extremely upset about this incident, and I would just like some answers. I appreciate your consideration.

Mike

[jwilds73]

Why not contact the county in which the said incident occured and register a complaint with that dept? Atleast that way the actual department in which this occured is sure to have a record of it and hopefully do an investigation of it. Possibly they could review the tapes of the chase vehicles etc and actually see what the officers in question did during the chase.

[Brash47]

1. please stop with the what ifs....it didn't happen so get on with it.

2. If you do need to file a complaint, the poster above was right, contact the local county agency...it will be easy to track down that chase.

3. If he was all lit up and had sirens and such, and was the lead vehicle in a 5 car pursuit. How could you possibly not have heard the sirens before he got to you, if it was coming towards you, where was your attention in the mile leading up to this incident. I fail to see how you could have missed a police pursuit, coming your way, in your BIG DUALLY pickup that is set well above any vehicles in front of you....but being that you were the vehicle in front...thats a moot point.

If you had seen the pursuit coming to you, at some point 10-15 seconds before this incident, you could have clearly seen police cars, lights, heard sirens, and possibly have gotten over to the right AS YOU HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO DO BY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA and come to a stop.

I'm sorry I'm being hard on you here, and I'm not saying the cop was in the right, but its lack of attention to the roadway like this that leads to accidents. You should be ULTRA aware of everything around you when you are driving something that large. That includes cars coming towards you.

brash

[slackjaw]

Hmmmm, had a similar experience, though not so hair raising...

I was riding home from a dinner out with the g/f Friday night when I had a LEO encounter. I was in a bt of a hurry and speeding, though not TOO fast. I was moving faster than the pace of traffic at times, but was also being passed at times by fast moving cagers.

Anyway, I had settled down to about the pace of traffic when I noticed what LOOKED like the headlights of an SV600 or SV1000. They were both on, and they looked like high beams. They were WAY back there, but they were the only other thing in the high speed lane with me.

I looked again a moment and they were MUCH closer. :wow

I assumed it was some putz who wanted to race or something, so I moved over into the center lane to (hopefully) just let them blaze on past.

Well, when I looked again, the bike was veering into my lane behind me. So, I moved over to the right tire track, figuring I might need to make room for an over friendly rider on my left.

Very soon after I saw a bike move into my peripheral field of vision on my left. I looked over, expecting to see some Squid Extroardinaire - but much to my surprise, there was the stern face of Mr. MotorCop.

As soon as I had looked over and registered his presence, he tweaked his bars, darted back out into the high speed lane, and sped off.

I was of course thankful to have escaped without a ticket, but afterwards I was a bit amazed at the maneuver. The officer never had his flashers on, and only when he got real close did he turn off the high beams. When he drew up along side of me, I had a cage to my right, and a cage about 2 car lengths ahead of me. Having another bike suddenly sharing my lane caught me somewhat off gaurd, but then having it be a LEO really spooked me. I actually twitched, causing my bike to wobble a tiny bit. Had I been a newer rider, I might have "twitched" my way into the cage or the officer. Perhaps the officer would have had the skill to easily dodge that sort of knee-jerk reaction, but the cager? Probably not.

So, do officers ever spook motorists (riders and cagers alike) into unsafe maneuvers? I have of course heard plenty of "urban legends", but is this a real issue? Do LEOs consider the "intimidation factor" when learning their driving/riding skills? I mean, based on the speed at which this officer came up, and the ease with which he bled off speed at the last minute and flicked into and out of my lane, it was clear he was a helluva rider. But I might have been even worse than I am.

Then what?

Just wondering...

[Shunter/Get-Off]

Originally posted by Brash47
1. please stop with the what ifs....it didn't happen so get on with it.

2. If you do need to file a complaint, the poster above was right, contact the local county agency...it will be easy to track down that chase.

3. If he was all lit up and had sirens and such, and was the lead vehicle in a 5 car pursuit. How could you possibly not have heard the sirens before he got to you, if it was coming towards you, where was your attention in the mile leading up to this incident. I fail to see how you could have missed a police pursuit, coming your way, in your BIG DUALLY pickup that is set well above any vehicles in front of you....but being that you were the vehicle in front...thats a moot point.

If you had seen the pursuit coming to you, at some point 10-15 seconds before this incident, you could have clearly seen police cars, lights, heard sirens, and possibly have gotten over to the right AS YOU HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO DO BY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA and come to a stop.

I'm sorry I'm being hard on you here, and I'm not saying the cop was in the right, but its lack of attention to the roadway like this that leads to accidents. You should be ULTRA aware of everything around you when you are driving something that large. That includes cars coming towards you.

brash

I was coming around a corner, and had just crested a hill, never heard a siren, even when I was ten feet from the car, so I assume it wasn't on. He came into view from behind an SUV, and there was fairly heavy traffic around, so he was screened from view. With closing speeds of at least 100mph, and I assume much higher due to the following cars speeds, there simply wasn't 10-15 seconds to size up the situation. In addition, the next car in the chase was about a mile back, so there was no way to see him. I was being ultra-aware, and that is why nothing happened. As I had stated in the first post, I was on the brakes before I could even see him due to noticing an unusual situation. I always leave a lot of room to stop, and I am constantly appraising my situation while towing because of the limited manuverability of my vehicle. There is no need to lecture me on proper driving procedure. I appreciate the responses and advice I got, and will contact the department this afternoon.

Mike

[BigCorySBFMC707]

I hope nobody was actually surprised that they took the cops point of view here.

[Brash47]

If there were no sirens going, with that much traffic...then yea, call the agency and tell them whats up. I doubt they were going in speeds in excess of 100...that's one of those time where a chase will get pulled by the supervisor, in most cases. Speed and disregard to the safety of people around is one of the first things that a super will pull a chase for.

Barring that, then I hope to God it was a very serious violation. That many cars, that speed, warrants a very dangerous person they were chasing...at least in any of the agencies around where I work.

BigCory....nm..

brash

[BigCorySBFMC707]

Originally posted by Brash47

BigCory....nm..

brash

I might be new here so enlighten me to what NM means?

[Razel]

NM = Never Mind...

Or, "I'd say something, but..."

[BigCorySBFMC707]

Originally posted by Razel
NM = Never Mind...

Or, "I'd say something, but..."

thank you, it is always nice to actually know that you are almost being insulted. lol. but not really.

[gixxer]

I could totally see getting prosecuted by some over zealous D.A. for killing a cop with tunnel vision. I bet you were freeeaaakked after that.

Life can change in a blink. Glad your O.K.

[motorman4life]

Originally posted by BigCorySBFMC707
I hope nobody was actually surprised that they took the cops point of view here.
Who is "they" and I thought we were all on the side of safety?

It sounds to me like what the officer did was unsafe. It sounds like he made a bad choice and probably didn't realize the potential disaster he could have caused if Mike hadn't pulled off his avoidance maneuver.

I agree with Brash in that we need to stick with what DID happen and I agree that people need to be more aware when driving.

I will also acknowledge that it is easy to "outrun" a siren and officers are taught in mandated emergency vehicle operation courses (EVOC) that at about 80 MPH+, you are exceeding the capabilities of the siren and you should not expect people to be able to have enough time to hear and respond to your siren before you are upon them.

I have investigated many officer-involved collisions and my job is to find the truth. If the officer is at fault, then that's what goes in my report. Thankfully, there was no accident in this case.

Mike has every right to file a complaint with the officer's agency and if this whole thing is making him lose sleep, I suggest he do so. If he just wanted to vent on the forum, that's cool too.

Oh, and now you know why the trailer speed limit is 55 MPH!

[K-dog]

Originally posted by Shunter/Get-Off
With closing speeds of at least 100mph, and I assume much higher due to the following cars speeds, there simply wasn't 10-15 seconds to size up the situation.

I just thought this was worthy of reposting, as it seems there is confusion about what you mean.

I read this as 2 way traffic exceeding 50mph in each direction (or some variation there of, i.e. 60/40 etc. 'closing' speed. Am I misreading?

[dan p]

Originally posted by motorman4life
It sounds to me like what the officer did was unsafe. It sounds like he made a bad choice... he could have caused if Mike hadn't pulled off his avoidance maneuver.


Originally posted by motorman4life
I agree with Brash in that we need to stick with what DID happen

Sounds like a great idea.
If you two or anyone else from the peanut gallery (me included) weren't there, you don't know what happened.

But, of course, encourage yet another person to make a complaint.

Cops shouldn't chase anyone.
Your stolen vehicle rolling down the road, let it go.
Traffic violation, let it go.
Act of violence, let it go.
Burglary, let it go.
Armed robbery, let it go.
Failure to yield, let it go (people who have just committed crimes never use vehices to facilitate their crime or escape anyway)

That should make things much safer, no?
And no one will have to worry about a cop bent on "playing hero."

[dan p]

Originally posted by BigCorySBFMC707
I hope nobody was actually surprised that they took the cops point of view here.

Uh, I was shocked, for a second.

[Dragon]

Originally posted by dan p
=
Cops shouldn't chase anyone.
Your stolen vehicle rolling down the road, let it go.
Traffic violation, let it go.
Act of violence, let it go.
Burglary, let it go.
Armed robbery, let it go.
Failure to yield, let it go (people who have just committed crimes never use vehices to facilitate their crime or escape anyway)

That should make things much safer, no?
And no one will have to worry about a cop bent on "playing hero."

That'll happen as soon as the black boxes are installed and your vehicle can be disabled...

Stricter rules of engagement- only two cars and a supervisor (unless the veh is occupied by 8 dudes)

[BigCorySBFMC707]

Originally posted by motorman4life
Who is "they" and I thought we were all on the side of safety?

It sounds to me like what the officer did was unsafe. It sounds like he made a bad choice and probably didn't realize the potential disaster he could have caused if Mike hadn't pulled off his avoidance maneuver.

I agree with Brash in that we need to stick with what DID happen and I agree that people need to be more aware when driving.

I will also acknowledge that it is easy to "outrun" a siren and officers are taught in mandated emergency vehicle operation courses (EVOC) that at about 80 MPH+, you are exceeding the capabilities of the siren and you should not expect people to be able to have enough time to hear and respond to your siren before you are upon them.

I have investigated many officer-involved collisions and my job is to find the truth. If the officer is at fault, then that's what goes in my report. Thankfully, there was no accident in this case.

Mike has every right to file a complaint with the officer's agency and if this whole thing is making him lose sleep, I suggest he do so. If he just wanted to vent on the forum, that's cool too.

Oh, and now you know why the trailer speed limit is 55 MPH!

my point is, that Brash came down hard on the original poster and he just like the rest of us was not there. But he automatically assumed that the truck driver had to be wrong. The perception by some is that the police always stick together and will never admit to being wrong, Brashes first reply reenforced that perception. It may not be what he intended but it is how it came across to me and those that I showed it to.

[Brash47]

If I came across hard on the original poster, well, I apologize. The remarks that are starting to come through here though, they are not in the spirit of this forum area.

This is a place to come for help from some of the LEO's that feel like answering questions from people. If you feel you were wronged or have a gripe with the police, this is not the area. Either contact the law enforcement agency involved or post in the general area.

This thread is locked.

brash