This was just south of Atlanta on I20. You can see how the Bentley launches forward when the GSP officer gets close to him. He ran from the GSP, they don't like it when you do that. THAT is why he was arrested. Not for speeding initially, but for his attempt to evade.
I don't know about power trip. If Tucker had pulled over w/o the chase it prob. would have gone down diff. Once the police go in persuit, blood pressure gets raised. By his own admission, they didn't now who they were dealing with. They probably think that most people who actually own a Bentley would stop quickly...... Look at it from their perspective. I think Tucker's comments are comical. He should have just gotten out of the car doing the Rush Hour routine.
Even if he ran, he did eventually pull over. Then he followed orders to walk backwards, hands up, etc. You can ticket him for speeding, evading, etc. Or arrest him, as they did. Just stop with the BS overreacting--all that screaming, gun-pointing, making it far more dramatic than it really is...pointlessly acting like a jerk. Why? They are paid to enforce the law, not throw a temper tantrum as if it's something personal. One thing I don't understand...why did he slow down and pull over? Looks like the Bentley could have easily blown away the cop car, and did so for some time. It said something about trucks blocking both lanes--were they helping the cop out by doing this intentionally? Did they hear about it on the radio--truckers have done this in the past, so I wouldn't be surprised. Couldn't the Bentley have gone on the shoulder? Anyone remember Wesley Snipes getting nailed in Florida on a ZX-11? He ran hard, but lost his balance on an exit ramp. He paid a huge fine too, IIRC.
F K, A police officer was just killed in Md doing a "routine" traffic stop. I think, considering the evading, they did what they had to do. I would have been on my guard if a guy made me go 10 miles before pulling over. Also, this comment "One thing I don't understand...why did he slow down and pull over? Looks like the Bentley could have easily blown away the cop car, and did so for some time." Don't ever try this.... he did the smart thing and pulled over. You can't out run the police... esp. in a car registered to you.....
Standard procedure. People have gone haywire after they have gotten within arms reach of a cops gun. Even YOU, in your obvious state of boredom, looking to fabricate an argument, should know that...
It has to do with "appearance of power". People are much more likely to submit to someone who is yelling and giving them orders - i.e. establishing their power position. If the cop is all nice and buddy-buddy, there is a significantly greater chance that he will end up with a problem on his hands. Speeding is one thing - trying to run is another. Most sane people realize that running is a bad idea and can get you into major trouble. Generally, felony evasion WILL buy you prison time. So if you're a cop and you go to pull someone over and they run, what are you thinking? I'd be thinking this person has some reason to take the risk of jail time... I'd be thinking they very possibly have a bigger crime to cover up. If I was chasing a bentley and it started to speed away, I would think it was maybe someone drunk, stolen car, fleeing crime scene, or something like that. I'm sure the cop was power tripping because someone did not submit to him, but when it comes right down to it, the yelling and aggressive stance is all part of the training on how to make a felony arrest. I'd be pissed if I got that treatment after immediately pulling over after being lit up for doing 109, but I would totally expect it after an attempt at evasion. My .02
I am aware of that. I am just saying that, it was already established, in this case, that the guy did not present a threat. What I meant was, he did try to run in the beginning. What made him change his mind? And was it coincidence he came upon two trucks side by side, or had they heard on the radio and decided to help out, as has happened before. [ Yes, I agree. Not too smart to try to outrun cops. Unless you are 110% sure you can get away with it . Even then, you can get busted badly, as happened with that guy on the motorcycle whose yapping dog gave him away. I think that was in Florida too. Not condoning anything, just want to understand all that went down. But I do think the cop's behavior was over the top.
I understand about the appearance of power and all that...it's just uniquely American. You try to evade and get pulled over in France or UK or Malaysia, they will still be reasonably polite. Certainly there will be no histrionics. I don't think they are more likely to invite problems with a non-screaming approach, but I could be wrong. When people run, do cops really assume it's a stolen car or that there's something more serious to hide? Surely they know that people also run just to get away, avoid the situation, sheer panic followed by bad decision to run, etc. An assumption of something far worse is well received in court, and certainly sounds like a "reasoned" analysis, but is it really? Drunk/impaired driving--cops can tell when it is or isn't. Though I disagree with stupidly low speed limits, it is the law. So I don't disagree with the pulling over (within such a context), and certainly the cop has the legal authority to arrest him. I just think the behavior is over the top. Yes, even after a chase. They are paid to enforce the law, but that's it. I realize that in the overall scheme of things, getting yelled at is no big deal. It's just that this is the beginning of the leeway we give them here...which ends with cops beating the crap out of people--something cops should NEVER get away with. Cops should always respect people. Darth, cops order the person to lie down with hands behind their back--at a distance. They don't let them get within reach in the first place. Even YOU should know that.
Faisal and I just don't care for cops. Like the ******* that told me three weeks ago, you are part of some car group that comes hauling ass into are town, and does'nt care to obey the law. Yeah true I was going fast, but listen Mr. good ol boy, I have never been to your town in over a year. I don't exactly go into your little **** town every weekend. Stop trying to catagorize me into a group. You are not the judge and jury. I was stopped for passing in a no passing zone. One of the local FCA members came back for me. (brave guy) !!! I owe him a few drafts. The ******* cop, promptly gave him a ticket for no front plate. All he did was check on where I was. These pricks just want your money. They are all just a bunch of jealous bastards, that have to struggle to buy a four year old pickup truck.
Beisdes running from the cop (initiated by the cop giving chase in the first place) tell me, what is so wrong about doing 109 mph (or 159 mph) in a capable car in that situation? The clear road and bright, sunny, dry conditions are all there in the videotape. Why is this activity illegal? ralfie, sorry to hear about your buddy's misfortune. What a prick that cop must have been. I have gotten a ticket when going back to check on a friend too...I beat that in court, though! Now we just designate one or two people who wil wait at the next underpass/exit and stay in touch via cell phone or walkie-talkies. The rest of the group carries on.
I've looked at the tape again and I have to say I think the police did a good job of not escalating the situation. It looked SOP to me. As for why driving 39 mph over the speed limit is against the law, it just is. It goes to show that most of america would be behind bars if all the laws we have in this country were enforced. Wouldn't it be cool if the speed limit was variable depending on the capability of your car. LOL ..... Then every car would require an inspection to determine that it is in proper mech. specs every time it went on the road. Just because a car has specs. doesn't mean it's been maintained properly. I just think the speed limit needs a little bump. I was on the beltway the other day and everyone.... I mean everyone was doing around 70mph. The police could have pulled everyone over for 15 over.
Yes, I am saying SOP needs to be fixed. The yelling is unnecessary, and in this situation, pointless. No one is asking why breaking the law is against the law. I am asking what the point of the low speed limit is, on today's roads, with today's cars. I know why the law was created. And how outdated it is. And how it is applied unfairly. And has little, if anything, to do with safety. You are also neglecting driver capability, driver ability to spot/predict potentially dangerous situations, and road, traffic, and environmental conditions. All critical. Wow. What a crime spree. Every single one of those people should be rounded up and put behind bars. What is this society coming to???!!!!
It's very much at the discretion of the officer, that's true. I was ticketed over a year ago for 125 in a 65 (absolutely zero traffic, completely open interstate, nice day). I think what saved me was the fact that I pulled over as soon as I saw the trooper's car on the side of the road. He could have probably walked over to where I was pulled over, much less than a mile from his location. He wrote me a regular speeding ticket, though I'm sure he could have arrested me. I've slowed down a lot since then (but apparently I'm still a ticket magnet as evidenced by my false ticket back in January).
You can't be serious?! Look at any car collision, the North American cars are totalled in the slowest of crashes. I saw a Dodge pick up that was a few years old with the motor on the ground after he hit a lamp post in the city. If he was in a head on crash, I wouldn't like to think about where the motor would be then. The facts are, there are toooo many people {90% maybe} that already don't know how to drive safely, don't know how to change lanes, don't know how to brake quickly, don't know how to steer and break heavily at the same time, don't know what the rules of the road are, get freaked out and freeze up when somthing happens in front of them and the list goes on and on and on. To go fast only makes these problems bigger and more frequent. It makes me wonder if you were joking...
No, I am not joking. The cars seem totalled even in a minor crash because they are designed to crumple and absorb more crash energy. Would you rather that the human occupants did the crumpling? Besides, the point is not to crash. If we want to cater to the lowest common denominator (instead of a reasonable, sensible one), then I am sure we could eliminate all traffic fatalities by banning driving altogether. It is as safe to do 120 today as it was to do half as much 40 years ago. You are correct in that we have to consider other people who may not drive as well, but my point is: factor all that in, allow for a tiered license, allow for "reasonable and prudent" limits that vary according to conditions and the abilities of the car and driver, and don't just sit there dumbly parrotting that 65 is what is safe for society. There's times when it's the right speed, times when even 65mph is too fast, and times when it's way too slow. Apart from the legal consideration, exactly what is so wrong about this guy traveling at 109 mph in those conditions?
We had an incident on our Indy convoy last week where two members of Fchat were arrested. For doing 98. The first cop (I was there, he was a real jerk and way overreacted, yelling and whatnot) also tried to charge them with a FELONY for endangering the public. A FELONY! The second and third officers to arrive (both very very friendly and kind, especially the second guy to come who was very interested in the cars) were awesome guys. The last one was almost apologetic for the situation. Police, while I still support them because all they are trying to do is protect the people, sometimes overreact badly. Not all police officers, but some. BTW the charges were eventually worked down to 'Wanton endangerment of the public to the second degree'. In two Ferraris, both new and one very very well prepared for that kind of speed. HICK'S LUMBER YEHAHH!!!
That's exactly the kind of police crap that makes my blood boil. And it's not the exception from what I have seen. I also see them breaking the same laws all day long, and if anyone ever questions them about it, of course they were responding to an emergency.