Rear-End Collision, Police Failed To Get Statement

[ecmst12]

Good that the other car was towed. That means there's a good chance of the owner/driver being found!

 

[Veranor]

If they weren't, they would have had to drag the vehicle around. Plus I found out today that Austin has an ordinance in effect that requires body shops to contact the police anytime someone brings in a vehicle that appears to have been in a car accident.

Insurance agent said that would hold up, and so have the injury attorneys.

Game, set, match...

 

[Free_Advice]

According to the state laws, I found the following info.

1) The officer *must* file the report if:

• Bodily injury was sustained by either driver
• Damage exceeding $1000 dollars

FULL report must be filed by the 10th day after the accident. We don't have the full report yet.

I'm still digging around on the state laws, but I need to find a listing of the ordinances for Austin regarding traffic collisions.

Many laws like this have no enforcement provision -- its just eye candy

 

[CdwJava]

I missed the part that the other car was towed! That bodes well for the police to find the other driver - or, at least, to identify a responsible party.

 

[Free_Advice]

Police are useless and have no respect for our rights...

see:

10 News Investigators: Charges that FDLE covered up faulty DUI machines | wtsp.com

It was police using this device, they knew it was wrong, they kept on using it. Not just one, but all the cops.

If it were your or I behaving in such a manner we would be in jail.

The video is funny .. I'M BLOWING I'M BLOWING

What the guy should have done is take a breath, hold his nose, blow and take another deep breath. Cop says "you were not blowing" then ask "well where did the gas go that was in my lungs genius?"

 

[CdwJava]

Police are useless and have no respect for our rights...

Simply not true.

Oh, and if you note in the article it says that a deputy found the problem and reported it. The issue was not with officers, but with the inspectors with the FDLE responsible for the calibration of that particular device that failed to do so.

An article concerning an isolated incident is no more indicative that police are useless and have no respect for one's rights than any other article describing the alleged malfeasance of some group of people. I suppose that means that I can say motorists have no respect for the law, or that minorities are gang members, or that lawyers are crooks, simply because the occasional article highlights the wrongdoings of some group of people in that particular job, race, or other category.

So, come on ...

And what does ANY of such a diatribe on have to do with the OP's issue?

 

[Free_Advice]

Simply not true.

Oh, and if you note in the article it says that a deputy found the problem and reported it.

And yet the deputy kept on using the machines ... knowing full well they were 4-F. Anyone can report something that is not right - its your behavior when you get a reply back to continue to do what you believe to be wrong that properly describes your willingness to violate peoples rights. And cops 100% of the time will just say "oh well, I tried" instead of saying "heck no, I refuse! and I am bringing this to the public's attention". No officer brought this issue to the public's attention and all knew about it.

What, you don't like the facts concerning police behavior? Then start cleaning up your fellow officers ! I know you have seen hundreds of improper activity by other officers and you have remained silent, right?

Look at Ruby Ridge, Waco, Rodney King, the list is endless ..

I think its just a result of having too many police officers - your ranks are filled with psychotics & lunatics & normal minded cops just say "eh, what you going to do lalalala .. I hope my pension goes up more"

 

[LdiJ]

And yet the deputy kept on using the machines ... knowing full well they were 4-F. Anyone can report something that is not right - its your behavior when you get a reply back to continue to do what you believe to be wrong that properly describes your willingness to violate peoples rights. And cops 100% of the time will just say "oh well, I tried" instead of saying "heck no, I refuse! and I am bringing this to the public's attention". No officer brought this issue to the public's attention and all knew about it.

What, you don't like the facts concerning police behavior? Then start cleaning up your fellow officers ! I know you have seen hundreds of improper activity by other officers and you have remained silent, right?

Look at Ruby Ridge, Waco, Rodney King, the list is endless ..

I think its just a result of having too many police officers - your ranks are filled with psychotics & lunatics & normal minded cops just say "eh, what you going to do lalalala .. I hope my pension goes up more"

That is pretty darned offensive. I have witnessed some injustices perpetrated by police, but that doesn't mean that I think that all police officers are corrupt. Far from it. The good ones vastly outnumber the bad.

 

[Free_Advice]

That is pretty darned offensive. I have witnessed some injustices perpetrated by police, but that doesn't mean that I think that all police officers are corrupt. Far from it. The good ones vastly outnumber the bad.

This has just my experience with police departments. Offended? Good, it lets me know that you have given the matter some thought. And you agree that there are bad officers, so its just a question of percentages. You need to spend some time on youtube and see what people post if you need a fresh perspective.

 

[CdwJava]

And yet the deputy kept on using the machines ... knowing full well they were 4-F.

I didn't read that, did you?

It could be the agency was told that the device was fixed. Maybe not. The state calibrates the machines and certifies them, not the local agency. They have to rely on the state's process and certification. if they say it is working, and the individual officer has no reason to believe otherwise, then they use them.

And cops 100% of the time will just say "oh well, I tried" instead of saying "heck no, I refuse! and I am bringing this to the public's attention".

Pure B.S. Sorry. Happens all the time that officers report things out of whack to their superiors. Of course they do not go to the public, who does? They report the matter up the chain as they are expected to and which is the responsible thing to do. Going to the newspaper that a device might have a problem would not only be irresponsible but would do NOTHING to resolve the problem unless the newspaper contracts with the FDLE to calibrate or fix the machines.

No officer brought this issue to the public's attention and all knew about it.

I must have missed that statement in the article ... could you highlight it?

Plus, as mentioned, they are not obligated to bring the issue to the PUBLIC's attention. They bring it to the attention of those responsible for getting the issue fixed. If we went to the paper for every problem, what would that accomplish?

What, you don't like the facts concerning police behavior? Then start cleaning up your fellow officers !

Your "facts" are little more than isolated news articles and anecdotes that are no more valid than articles or anecdotes to say that any of us can find about any group of people and cite them as "proof" that said group is evil, foul, ugly, nefarious, or whatever adjective we want to place on them.

I know you have seen hundreds of improper activity by other officers and you have remained silent, right?

You know this? Really?

When I have seen improper activity, I have acted on it. As a supervisor I am legally responsible for that activity so I have to address it. Most "improper" activity merely requires correction. Some requires discipline of some sort. Almost none require a call to the media ... heck, I can't think of one that I have heard that did. When the media might be a last resort is when there is a cover-up at the higher levels or some malfeasance that is not being addressed by the powers-that-be. And it could very well be that such a call was made to the news media or the people in the article that brought the issue forth in Sarasota.

Look at Ruby Ridge, Waco, Rodney King, the list is endless ..

Huh? They are disparate incidents with differing fact sets and a lot of MIS -information that has been turned into populist myth in many regards.

I think its just a result of having too many police officers - your ranks are filled with psychotics & lunatics & normal minded cops just say "eh, what you going to do lalalala .. I hope my pension goes up more"

Again, not true at all.

Perhaps you might prefer a site that hates cops or believes anarchy should reign. This sort of vitriol and baseless attacks on law enforcement has no place here.

 

[CdwJava]

I suppose it is time to end this diatribe.

If Veranor has additional information or discussion on HIS issue, I will respond to it if I have any input. I will not continue this off-topic, baseless, and ignorant anti-cop tangent any further.

 

[Veranor]

No updates yet. I'll post them as I get them.

10th day after accident approaching. The police *must* according to state law, have a report complete on the matter.

 

[CdwJava]

No updates yet. I'll post them as I get them.

10th day after accident approaching. The police *must* according to state law, have a report complete on the matter.

But, if there are no penalties associated with that law, then it may have little to no impact. If it is like ours, it is more procedural than anything else. Plus, while it is not mentioned in the statutes, SWITRS (our collision reporting procedures for CA) permits a "Preliminary" report to be submitted within the time frame while a more thorough investigation is pending. I suspect that TX has something similar. It would simply not be feasible for all collisions to be completed within 10 days - particularly if it is a complex investigation. In this case, they may still be trying to identify the driver of the other car, so the report is not likely complete yet.