deputy hits bicyclist, leaves scene of accident, threatens rider: "good sergeant"

Here in Pueblo, people sometimes raise their eyebrows when I my
cynical attitude toward local law enforcement.

Luckily, stories like this appear with monotous regularity.

Bicycles, cell phones, deputies, leaving the scenes of accidents, hot
pursuit on two wheels, witnesses threatened!

Back in early December, the sheriff's deputy claimed that he didn't
drive through the stop sign in his unmarked cruiser while on his cell
phone, wasn't hit by anyone on a bicycle, didn't leave the scene of
the accident, and didn't threaten any bicyclist who caught up with him
with charges of disorderly conduct.

Friday, the deputy finally pled guilty to careless driving.

His motive for the plea bargain apparently eluded the sheriff's
department investigators, who didn't notice the dent in the deputy's
unmarked car where the bicycle crashed into it.

The city police and the d.a. spotted the dent as soon as they looked.

The new sheriff considers the deputy a "good sergeant," but at least
the sheriff didn't promote the deputy.

Yet.

The newspaper story is below. It's been so long that the details about
the unmarked cruiser blowing through the stop sign were omitted, but
you can get the gist of the incident without exercising much
imagination.

If the deputy doesn't hit any more bicyclists for six months, his
guilty plea goes down the memory hole.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Sheriff's sergeant pleads guilty to careless driving while on duty
By PATRICK MALONE
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

A sheriff's sergeant pleaded guilty Friday to careless driving and
received a six-month deferred sentence for an on-duty accident with a
bicyclist last fall.

Allen Medina's employment at the sheriff's department will not be
affected by the plea, according to Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor.

On Nov. 21, Pueblo police responded to a complaint that an unmarked
sheriff's department cruiser had collided with a bicyclist causing him
minor injuries, according to a report by Pueblo police Cpl. James
Caffey.

The bicyclist told police he had bumped into the rear quarter-panel of
a sheriff's cruiser driven by a man talking on a cellular phone. The
bicyclist told police the driver, later identified as Medina, didn't
stop. The bicyclist caught up to the cruiser and reportedly told
Medina they had been in an accident that should be reported to police.

Medina said he didn't believe they had been in an accident. The
bicyclist told police Medina threatened to arrest him for disorderly
conduct, then left.

At the time of the accident, Medina was searching for a jail inmate
who had walked away from a work detail.

At the sheriff's department, police checked the car Medina was driving
and found it had a mark from the bike's tire on its rear
quarter-panel.

In exchange for Medina's guilty plea, a citation for leaving the scene
of an accident was dismissed, according to court records. If Medina
successfully completes his deferred sentence, he can have the careless
driving ticket expunged from his record.

Under the administration of previous Sheriff Dan Corsentino, an
internal investigation was conducted. Its findings contradicted the
decision by the district attorney's office to cite Medina.

Taylor said Medina's guilty plea on Friday did not affect his standing
at the sheriff's department.

“It's been my experience since I've been in office that Allen Medina's
a good sergeant,” Taylor said.

http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1177747807/20

***

wrote:
Here in Pueblo, people sometimes raise their eyebrows when I my
cynical attitude toward local law enforcement.

Luckily, stories like this appear with monotous regularity.

Bicycles, cell phones, deputies, leaving the scenes of accidents, hot
pursuit on two wheels, witnesses threatened!

Back in early December, the sheriff's deputy claimed that he didn't
drive through the stop sign in his unmarked cruiser while on his cell
phone, wasn't hit by anyone on a bicycle, didn't leave the scene of
the accident, and didn't threaten any bicyclist who caught up with him
with charges of disorderly conduct.

Friday, the deputy finally pled guilty to careless driving.

His motive for the plea bargain apparently eluded the sheriff's
department investigators, who didn't notice the dent in the deputy's
unmarked car where the bicycle crashed into it.

The city police and the d.a. spotted the dent as soon as they looked.

The new sheriff considers the deputy a "good sergeant," but at least
the sheriff didn't promote the deputy.
-snip-

That's even beyond turning on the top lights to run a stoplight then
switching them off halfway up the bock.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Apr 29, 10:11 pm, A Muzi wrote:
wrote:
Here in Pueblo, people sometimes raise their eyebrows when I my
cynical attitude toward local law enforcement.

Luckily, stories like this appear with monotous regularity.

Bicycles, cell phones, deputies, leaving the scenes of accidents, hot
pursuit on two wheels, witnesses threatened!

Back in early December, the sheriff's deputy claimed that he didn't
drive through the stop sign in his unmarked cruiser while on his cell
phone, wasn't hit by anyone on a bicycle, didn't leave the scene of
the accident, and didn't threaten any bicyclist who caught up with him
with charges of disorderly conduct.

Friday, the deputy finally pled guilty to careless driving.

His motive for the plea bargain apparently eluded the sheriff's
department investigators, who didn't notice the dent in the deputy's
unmarked car where the bicycle crashed into it.

The city police and the d.a. spotted the dent as soon as they looked.

The new sheriff considers the deputy a "good sergeant," but at least
the sheriff didn't promote the deputy.

-snip-

That's even beyond turning on the top lights to run a stoplight then
switching them off halfway up the bock.

--
Andrew Muziwww.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

You mean that's not what those lights are for?

Joseph

On Apr 29, 1:31 am, wrote:
Here in Pueblo, people sometimes raise their eyebrows when I my
cynical attitude toward local law enforcement.

Luckily, stories like this appear with monotous regularity.

Bicycles, cell phones, deputies, leaving the scenes of accidents, hot
pursuit on two wheels, witnesses threatened!

Back in early December, the sheriff's deputy claimed that he didn't
drive through the stop sign in his unmarked cruiser while on his cell
phone, wasn't hit by anyone on a bicycle, didn't leave the scene of
the accident, and didn't threaten any bicyclist who caught up with him
with charges of disorderly conduct.

Friday, the deputy finally pled guilty to careless driving.

His motive for the plea bargain apparently eluded the sheriff's
department investigators, who didn't notice the dent in the deputy's
unmarked car where the bicycle crashed into it.

The city police and the d.a. spotted the dent as soon as they looked.

The new sheriff considers the deputy a "good sergeant," but at least
the sheriff didn't promote the deputy.

Yet.

The newspaper story is below. It's been so long that the details about
the unmarked cruiser blowing through the stop sign were omitted, but
you can get the gist of the incident without exercising much
imagination.

If the deputy doesn't hit any more bicyclists for six months, his
guilty plea goes down the memory hole.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Sheriff's sergeant pleads guilty to careless driving while on duty
By PATRICK MALONE
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

A sheriff's sergeant pleaded guilty Friday to careless driving and
received a six-month deferred sentence for an on-duty accident with a
bicyclist last fall.

Allen Medina's employment at the sheriff's department will not be
affected by the plea, according to Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor.

On Nov. 21, Pueblo police responded to a complaint that an unmarked
sheriff's department cruiser had collided with a bicyclist causing him
minor injuries, according to a report by Pueblo police Cpl. James
Caffey.

The bicyclist told police he had bumped into the rear quarter-panel of
a sheriff's cruiser driven by a man talking on a cellular phone. The
bicyclist told police the driver, later identified as Medina, didn't
stop. The bicyclist caught up to the cruiser and reportedly told
Medina they had been in an accident that should be reported to police.

Medina said he didn't believe they had been in an accident. The
bicyclist told police Medina threatened to arrest him for disorderly
conduct, then left.

At the time of the accident, Medina was searching for a jail inmate
who had walked away from a work detail.

At the sheriff's department, police checked the car Medina was driving
and found it had a mark from the bike's tire on its rear
quarter-panel.

In exchange for Medina's guilty plea, a citation for leaving the scene
of an accident was dismissed, according to court records. If Medina
successfully completes his deferred sentence, he can have the careless
driving ticket expunged from his record.

Under the administration of previous Sheriff Dan Corsentino, an
internal investigation was conducted. Its findings contradicted the
decision by the district attorney's office to cite Medina.

Taylor said Medina's guilty plea on Friday did not affect his standing
at the sheriff's department.

"It's been my experience since I've been in office that Allen Medina's
a good sergeant," Taylor said.

http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1177747807/20

***

1. I hope he gets sued for a) causing the accident (5k$ should buy the
cyclist a nice bike) and b) for threatening to arrest the poor fella
(25K is a good exemplary amount, I think). The monetary compensation
to come out the cop's pocket.

2. It would'a been nice to see him sentenced to unmarked bike patrol
for 6 months. Should be plenty'a time to taste some of his own
medicine from drivers.

3. Those superiors who didn't nail him at first should also face
consequences. The whole thing (including DA's deal) smells fishy.

On Sat, 28 Apr 2007 23:31:53 -0600, wrote:

Here in Pueblo, people sometimes raise their eyebrows when I my
cynical attitude toward local law enforcement.

snip

Interesting article, but what does it have to do with r.b.t?

Isn't this a technical forum?


--
jeverett3ATsbcglobalDOTnet (John V. Everett)

On Tue, 01 May 2007 13:01:50 GMT, John Everett
wrote:

On Sat, 28 Apr 2007 23:31:53 -0600, wrote:

Here in Pueblo, people sometimes raise their eyebrows when I my
cynical attitude toward local law enforcement.

snip

Interesting article, but what does it have to do with r.b.t?

Isn't this a technical forum?

Trying not to get run over, especially by local LEOs is a technical matter.

Carl Fogel wrote:

http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1177747807/20

That's reminiscent of an episode that happened on a Dead Baby Bikes
club ride in Seattle. One of our number, a cycle messenger on his
work bike, was rear-ended by a cop car flying over the crest of a
bridge. (He was sporting a rear blinkie.) He was hurt, but not
badly, and his bike was wrecked. It turned out the driver of the cop
car was a city mechanic. That didn't keep a bunch of cops from
showing up and detaining the injured Dead Baby for the better part of
an hour and threatening to ticket *him* and/or take him to jail,
before oh-so-magnanimously letting him go.

Many of us urged our friend to get a lawyer on contingency and pursue
the matter in court. He had been sufficiently threatened and cowed
that he was willing to count himself lucky not to have been jailed for
the offense of getting rear-ended, and leave it at that.

I am convinced that the only recourse we have against the abuses and
predations of cops like these is to sue them often and tirelessly. It
looks like taking the matter all the way to the Supreme Court may not
be advisable, though, now that they have come out and said it's OK for
the cops to kill you for speeding.

Chalo

Chalo writes:

Carl Fogel wrote:

http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1177747807/20

That's reminiscent of an episode that happened on a Dead Baby Bikes
club ride in Seattle. One of our number, a cycle messenger on his
work bike, was rear-ended by a cop car flying over the crest of a
bridge. (He was sporting a rear blinkie.) He was hurt, but not
badly, and his bike was wrecked. It turned out the driver of the cop
car was a city mechanic. That didn't keep a bunch of cops from
showing up and detaining the injured Dead Baby for the better part of
an hour and threatening to ticket *him* and/or take him to jail,
before oh-so-magnanimously letting him go.

Many of us urged our friend to get a lawyer on contingency and pursue
the matter in court. He had been sufficiently threatened and cowed
that he was willing to count himself lucky not to have been jailed for
the offense of getting rear-ended, and leave it at that.

I am convinced that the only recourse we have against the abuses and
predations of cops like these is to sue them often and tirelessly. It
looks like taking the matter all the way to the Supreme Court may not
be advisable, though, now that they have come out and said it's OK for
the cops to kill you for speeding.

Chalo

I recommend downloading the 93 mb real video from

http://supremecourtus.gov/opinions/v..._v_harris.rmvb

See if you agree with the Supreme court judges opinion synopsis at

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/01/wa.../01scotus.html

Or follow the link from there for the full decision

I certainly don't agree. In fact I'm completely shocked by their
audacity, and the courts decision backing them up. Just incredible.

It's a nighttime chase, and the second half of the 15m video is the
same chase, but from the second chase car. He got permission from the
dispatcher to run the speeder off the road, and he got up a head of
steam and rear-ended him at high speed, and the guy went straight into
a deep wooded ditch and his car caught fire immediately. Completely
deliberate attempt at murder. I'm sure that cop knew EXACTLY what he
was running the guy into because these cops know every square inch of
their cruising domain. You can tell from the murderous cops tone of
voice just prior to the firey crash that he wanted him badly. The
culprit is driving an apparant ghetto cruiser Caddy, so these Georgia
white cops really wanted to do him in for being black. I think he was
only permanantly crippled. He appears to have been driving in a very
controlled and skilled manner in his flight, so it was really uncalled
for. They were close enough to get year/make/model of the car, and
plates with their cameras. If the guy just killed his wife that would
be one thing, but for crissake he was speeding!

I live in Oakland, California. On July 29th 2006 my brother was hit
head on while bicycling in his lane by a 1000cc Ninja type motorcycle
coming from the opposite direction. My brother died 12 hours later
never regaining consciousness or being able to breath on his own. The
cops didn't call the Fatal Investigation Team out, losing virtually all
trace evidence. They didn't hold the motorcycle, contrary to their
procedures. They marked the bicycle as "evidence" and then didn't
hold it, clearly contrary to their procedures. When they looked at the
motorcyle at the suspect's house 3 days later, they were met by the
guy's father, a Sheriff's Department Deputy Sargeant. The guy that
killed my brother, online, claimed to not like cyclist and that he had
withheld damaged parts of his motorcycle. I told the Police about this,
they admitted the online postings were the suspect's, yet they did not
go back and get the other parts. A witness placed the suspect
immediately before the accident going 45mph in a 25mph zone. That
witness repeated his statement 10 days later. 6 weeks later he told
an entirely different story, now putting himself before instead of after
my fatally injured brother. That witness is an active California
Department of Corrections Officer.

Either the Police work was sloppy or something more sinister is going
on. The DA's office will not supoena the suspect's medical records, he
was on DUI probation when he hit my brother. They will not supoena
his cell phone records, the Police requested them. The DA will not use
his online postings which tend to incriminate him, saying they can't
prove it is him. I gave them online posts where he gives his Date of
Birth and posts his picture.

I would not like to think there is a pattern amongst law enforcement to
disregard the rights of bicyclist. But there may be.

Rick Schiller

On May 1, 3:01 pm, John Everett
wrote:
On Sat, 28 Apr 2007 23:31:53 -0600, wrote:
Here in Pueblo, people sometimes raise their eyebrows when I my
cynical attitude toward local law enforcement.

snip

Interesting article, but what does it have to do with r.b.t?

Isn't this a technical forum?


Because the officer got off on a technicality?

Joseph