officer witholding evidance

[suhelms]

What is the name of your state? Arizona A car hit my 35 year old son on December 15, 2006. The lady was looking left and pulled out of a side street turning right. She drug him out into the street. It pinned him under the front of her vehicle. There was a witness that saw it happen and he told my son he would testify on his behalf. On January 5th we signed a contingent agreement with an attorney to handle the case. We thought the lawyer was going to pursue the driver as well as the officer who investigated the accident scene. After many months of being under that assumption and precious time lost, he informed us that we needed a criminal lawyer in order to go that rout and that he only collects from the insurance companies for medical expenses. He dropped the case when the lady’s insurance wouldn’t pay. We wanted a civil case against the officer for denying Rodney his civil rights (his report stated that they were both at fault, not true), with holding pertinent information (i.e. witness names; his report said it was edited to protect parties involved), divulging information about my son’s past (totally irrelevant and long since turned around) to the other party, instructing an injured man to ‘take a bus’ home (after the officer sent the witness away, sent the lady on her way and the ambulance left), and suspicion of hiding evidence (the report said neither vehicle was damaged; the destroyed bicycle had disappeared when we went back for it). I took him to the hospital when I got home from work. Now we have over $5000 in medical bills and my son still suffers back pain. This officer’s conduct was completely and blatantly unprofessional and damaging to the investigation and the false report that he filed. It all ties into the accident and our attempt to recover damages. What can we do now? Especially when the reporting officer won’t divulge information that we need to go forward with a law suite.What is the name of your state?

[ecmst12]

Your son was a pedestrian when hit? If so, was he in a crosswalk or was he jaywalking?

[PJ Weber]

the destroyed bicycle had disappeared when we went back for it

Apparantly the son was on a bicycle . . .which the OP didn't initially state

[suhelms]

He was on a bicycle, in the bicycle lane, and was half way across the intersection, which put him directly in front of her car. She looked left and proceeded to turn right without looking. Thank God she started from a stop. If she had drug him any farther it would have killed him. The officer judged my son based on his past and doctored his report to protect the lady and his self. The paramedics had cut his pants enough to be exposed, they were bloody, my son could barely walk, and this COP told him to take a bus home!!! By the time I got him to the hospital, he was black and blue all over and his leg swollen from his ankle to his hip from being pinned. The lady didn't even report it to her insurance. My son's doctor called them to get payment.

[ecmst12]

Was there any kind of traffic control device controlling the intersection? Traffic light or stop sign?

[tammy8]

Was your son under the influence of anything?

[suhelms]

It was a side street (2 lane) entering onto a four lane main street. Only a stop sign on that corner. No he wasn't under the influence of anything.

[ecmst12]

Was there a stop sign for your son or just for the driver?

[suhelms]

There was no stop sign for the bike lane. He was going to turn down the street she was emerging from and that is why he was on the left side of the road going against traffic.

[>Charlotte<]

I'm trying to imagine whether it was a four-way or "T" intersection, and whether he would have been approaching her head-on across the intersection, or from her right. If from her right, had he not been traveling against the flow of traffic he would not have been in the lane into which she turned. If he had been coming directly toward her through the intersection--but traveling with the flow of traffic--there would be at least one lane between them. In both scenarios, had he been traveling in one of the the right hand lanes--as required by Arizona 28-812 and 28-815--there would have been no accident.

He was required to follow the same rules of traffic regarding direction of travel that cars are required to follow, and he did not. It's really no different than causing an accident by traveling the wrong way down a one-way street.

his report stated that they were both at fault, not true

But that is true. Because nothing was supposed to have been coming at her from that direction, she took for granted that nothing was. But she should have checked. Your son was in the wrong lane going in the wrong direction. He should have been obeying traffic laws.

If there was any improper procedure on the part of the officer (although, again, his report that they were both at fault appears to be correct) you may have some recourse in a complaint to the officer's department. As far as your son's injuries are concerned, I believe he has the right to obtain the driver's information and may file a claim, but I think the insurance company will probably deny the claim because of his culpability.

[efflandt]

It sounds like he was going the wrong way if he was riding his bike against traffic on the far left side of the road. If he had been in the "right" side of the road and made a left turn onto the side street, she would not have hit him while making a right turn looking left. A bicycle can go 15 mph or more (much faster than a pedestrian) and could appear out of nowhere if unexpectedly going the wrong way.

[suhelms]

OK I accept that he may have been partially at fault. He was on the wrong side of the road, but he had taken advantage of no traffic and crossed the four lane so that he could turn on the street she was exiting. But, you've all missed the entire point to my question. This officer looked at his past, judged him, divulged information to the driver that was not any of her business and not at all related to the current situation, refused to release the name of the witness when they told my son they would testify in his behalf, and told him to take a bus home. He was standing there injured, bloody, and his clothes cut by the paramedics exposing his privates. It's this officers conduct and the way he handled the situation that I'm questioning. Had he conducted himself in a professional manner, recorded the accident honestly, and given us the name of the witness, we could have made her insurance company pay for the medical bills. Is there any legal recourse we can take to get the information we need? Can he legally withold information like that?

[tammy8]

What gave you the idea that because he was at fault, the other company would pay his medical bills?

[ecmst12]

You are free to contact the officer's supervisor, but it sounds like your son was MAJORITY at fault for the accident. Which means that the driver's insurance company does not have to pay one penny for his medical bills.

[safety1st]

Thank God he was not paralyzed or worse, killed.