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A high-speed, high-risk police chase over a nothing violation like this is an obscenity. I will never understand why people are willing to put up with it — why police aren’t fired, prosecuted, and jailed.

  • Doug Holland@lemmy.worldOP
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    1 year ago

    Cops are supposed to de-escalate. Supposed to have some common sense.

    Why bother to chase someone over a traffic ticket?

    • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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      1 year ago

      The only justification for that (idiotic) philosophy was that you could just mail the ticket to the owner of record. But here, the car was reported stolen. They didn’t have the driver’s ID. Can’t exactly send the thief’s ticket to the owner of the car.

      I wonder how many lives have been saved by cops shooting fleeing felons. This kid would have been one of them.

      • 520@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        Okay, but now the situation is infinitely worse than if they simply let him go.

        • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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          1 year ago

          So, he drives off at high speed, police stop their pursuit. He eventually ditches the car and escapes because there is nobody around to arrest him.

          What stops him from doing the same thing tomorrow? The next day? What stops him from telling his criminal buddies how he got away? What stops them from doing the same thing?

          How many 5-year-olds are going to be hit in all the high-speed escapes that the criminals adopt when they realize the cops won’t pursue?

          You haven’t thought this through.

          • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Police solve less than half of violent crimes and less than 25 percent of theft.

            So their poor results get slightly more poor, but that kid would still be alive? Bet.

            • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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              1 year ago

              Pull your head out of your ass. This one thief is going to keep stealing cars, keep fleeing at high speed. He’s not going to put this kid at risk once. He’s going to do it dozens of times. And now, with no cops near him when he does kill that kid, he’s going to escape and do it some more.

              You’re not saving this kid. You’re killing more.

              • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                So get him on the next one without a chase, or sell the police tank and invest in drones. Cops speeding around like maniacs isn’t the answer. I can see that even with my head up my ass that there must be a smarter way.

                Do better, is all I’m saying.

      • Doug Holland@lemmy.worldOP
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        1 year ago

        If the article is accurate (always a sizable ‘if’) “a trooper tried to conduct a traffic stop.” They didn’t yet know the car was stolen.

        But that’s moot to me. If they had known the car was stolen, that still wouldn’t merit the risk of chasing the perp all across Oldham County.

        • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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          1 year ago

          If the car was reported stolen, the plate would be tagged in their plate reader system. He’d know it was stolen before he flipped on the lights.

          If we aren’t going to have police stop car thieves, why do we even have police?

          • Doug Holland@lemmy.worldOP
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            1 year ago

            Is a stolen car worth what happened here? Is it worth even the risk of what happened here? My answer is no and no.

            • Neuromancer@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              The risk seems to be growing for accidents. I use to have no issue with chases but more and more they are ending in disaster.

              Since many new cars have a gps. Why chase? We just need to open that up to cops when the car is stolen. They could then just wait till it’s stopped to make the arrest.

              I use to be more tolerant of chases but not anymore. The risk isn’t worth the reward.

              • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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                1 year ago

                Setting the precedent that criminals merely need to do dangerous shit to avoid all consequences for their crimes will produce for worse outcomes.

                Chase them harder, stop them faster. The most I would be willing to compromise is statutory leniency for immediate compliance.

                • Neuromancer@lemm.ee
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                  1 year ago

                  I didn’t suggest that. What I suggested is catching them later when there is less risk to other people.

            • xkforce@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Apparently the driver thought it was. Thats why they fled over in your own words, a nothing traffic ticket. They chose to drive in a dangerous manner that caused a fatal accident because they calculated that it was worth the risk to get away.

              • Doug Holland@lemmy.worldOP
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                1 year ago

                Do you believe the driver would’ve driven as fast, as dangerously, and had the same fatal wreck had he not been pursued by police?

                • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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                  1 year ago

                  Knowing he can evade police just by accelerating, yes, I do. And I think he would steal more cars, and drive them more recklessly, because he knows he can get away with it. I think he would put many more kids at risk. I think many more people would choose to steal cars in the same fashion, putting many many more kids at risk.

            • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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              1 year ago

              There is nothing wrong with your answers. The problem is your asinine questions.

              Setting the precedent that criminals just need to do dangerous shit to successfully evade all consequences will have far worse outcomes than anything that happened here.

                • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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                  1 year ago

                  Stopping pursuit doesn’t guarantee child safety. The criminals will continue to flee at high speed for some time, before ditching the car and running.

                  Now that they have successfully escaped, what stops them from doing it again? And again? And again? Endangering kids every single time.

                  And when they kill a kid this time, the police are nowhere near to capture the murderer. He can come back and do it again tomorrow.

                  Have you actually thought this through?

                  • snooggums@kbin.social
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                    1 year ago

                    Police pursuing increases the amount of time at high speed and increases the chance of a crash and fatalities. That is why some jurisdictions don’t pursue unless there is a direct threat of violence, like someone who just murdered someone.

                    Have you thought this through?

      • Doug Holland@lemmy.worldOP
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        1 year ago

        Rule 2 reminder: If you’re here to support the police, you’re trolling. Please exercise your right to remain silent.

        • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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          1 year ago

          There are plenty enough examples of actual bad cops without having to resort to this bullshit.

          • Doug Holland@lemmy.worldOP
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            1 year ago

            Rule 2: If you’re here to support the police, you’re trolling. Please exercise your right to remain silent.

            Banned. User seems to be gone anyway, but the reports keep coming in.