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Movies Forum Index » Current Movies Forum » CA Republican challenges blue uniformed cowards
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| Awake |
 Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 7:43 pm |
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April 12, 2004 E-mail story Print
THE STATE
Proposed Law Would Limit Police Chases
Legislation put forward by a Republican state senator has provoked
law enforcement unions, which threaten political retaliation.
By Robert Salladay, Times Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO - A Republican lawmaker, dismayed by a police chase
that ended in the death of a teenage girl from his Northern California district,
wants to make police more accountable for high-speed pursuits.
New legislation designed to curb police chases comes a year after a similar
measure by Democrats died amid intense lobbying from law enforcement
unions. But this time, the effort is pitting a law-and-order Republican from a
rural district against police- a rarity in Sacramento.
"The way we're reading this, it will effectively shut down pursuits," said Redding
Det. Aaron Maready, president of the police union there.
The measure carried by Sen. Sam Aanestad (R-Grass Valley) would limit
police chases to cases in which the public faces "imminent peril" if a suspect
'gets away. For the first time, it would open police to civil lawsuits if they
disregarded the new statewide standard and someone were killed or injured.
Police and their lobbyists are furious about the measure and have vowed to
kill it. Lawmakers, they say, should not dictate street-level police actions for
something as unpredictable as a chase. And they believe the specter of civil
lawsuits would hamper their ability to make quick decisions without fear of
ending up in court.
Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature rarely challenge police with
measures that would both take away their power and expose them to lawsuits,
in part because law enforcement unions and department officials are powerful
in the political world. Few things are more coveted in a reelection campaign
than an endorsement from police.
Just introducing the measure has prompted threats of political retaliation
against Aanestad, whose vast district extends from the college town of Chico
to Redding and the Oregon border. Maready, the Redding detective, said
he might form a coalition of police unions and work to unseat Aanestad in 2006.
"We would actively oppose his reelection if this were to carry on. He might
see that districtwide," Maready said.
Aanestad's reaction: "I don't care."
Aanestad said he introduced the bill after hearing about the death of Kristie Priano,
a 15-year-old high school basketball player from Chico. A teenage girl who had
taken her mother's car without permission slammed into the Priano family minivan
on its way to a game. Police knew where the teenage driver lived, but decided to
pursue her, leading to the deadly chase.
Critics of the legislation say police must make quick decisions without fear of a
protracted lawsuit. But Aanestad said that California law currently required only
that police departments have a policy on car chases - yet nothing compels them
to follow the policy.
Currently, the law prohibits lawsuits against police for negligence as long as there
is a written policy on pursuits. Aanestad said the lawsuit threat in his legislation
would make officers think twice before beginning an unnecessarily dangerous chase.
Aanestad, an oral surgeon, made the comparison to a doctor who can be sued
for malpractice but nevertheless still treats people in emergency situations.
"I have lived my whole life putting people to sleep and doing surgery on them,
realizing that any mistake can jeopardize my career and the life of somebody
else. And that doesn't stop you from doing your job."
Aanestad's measure would require a single statewide standard for police chases,
overruling the patchwork of rules from city to city. Police chases would be prohibited
if officers were carrying a prisoner; if their car did not have a forward-facing red light
or a siren; and if the vehicle being chased did "not represent an imminent peril."
To further refine the standard, Aanestad defines imminent peril in the proposed
law as: "Certain, immediate and impending. The peril is not remote, uncertain or
contingent. A likelihood of mere possibility of injury or loss of life is not sufficient
to create an imminent peril."
Police say this definition would cripple their ability to chase suspects.
The legislation would "create an enormous liability for law enforcement agencies
throughout the state," Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca wrote to Aanestad.
"It attempts to address and impose many restrictions upon extremely complex,
dynamic and unpredictable events."
Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer, a Democrat, warned in a letter to Aanestad that police
would "fail to pursue criminals because of the worry of [lawsuits] for not following
the very detailed procedures in your measure. The public's safety could
potentially be at risk if officers fail to conduct these pursuits."
Santa Barbara Police Chief Camerino Sanchez, president of the California Police
Chiefs Assn., said Aanestad should instead look at increasing the penalties for
fleeing suspects or establishing a statewide fund to compensate victims after
police chases, rather than allow lawsuits.
Last year, the Legislature failed to approve a measure, written by Sen. Gloria
Romero (D-Los Angeles), that would have required police to set chase guidelines
and, if the rules were not followed, open them up to civil lawsuits.
As in the Priano case, Romero's legislation came about because of a police
chase that turned deadly. Khuong Van Nguyen was collecting cans with his wife
in the parking lot at La Quinta High School in Westminster when a stolen van
pursued by police smashed into him and caused massive head injuries.
He died three years later, but his family failed in its efforts to collect from the city
of Westminster. An appeals court threw out the family's wrongful-death lawsuit,
but encouraged the Legislature to reconsider the immunity it grants to cities
and police. The court said current law appeared "to have shifted too far toward
immunity and left public safety - twisting in the wind."
"It's a joke," Romero said about the current situation, "because we can have
a one-paragraph policy or we can have a 30-page policy. And at the end of the
day, it's irrelevant, because the current loophole says you don't have to implement it."
Even before the Aanestad measure was written, police officers, chiefs, law
enforcement unions, Democrats and Republicans were asking him to hold back.
Now that the measure is to get its first hearing Tuesday in the Senate Public
Safety Committee, law enforcement officers have increased the pressure.
Amid this renewed debate about chases, however, police and sheriffs from
Los Angeles, Fresno, Chicago, Boston, Miami and Orange County have refined
their standards, in most cases to give officers more flexibility to call off pursuits.
The Los Angeles Police Department sharply reduced the number of chases
by relying more on helicopter surveillance and a new policy giving its officers
discretion to call off chases involving minor crimes. The number of chases
declined 62%, along with a reduction in injuries to bystanders, suspects and
police, according to figures the department released last year.
Candy Merchant Priano, mother of the girl killed in Chico, said those figures
prove that if police would set tougher standards for pursuits, the number of
injuries and deaths would decrease.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-chase12apr12,1,4528049.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california
-=-
This message was posted via two or more anonymous remailing services. |
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| Wheresthebabes? |
| Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2004 12:51 am |
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Guest
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On 15 Apr 2004 01:43:55 -0000, Anonymous-Remailer@See.Comment.Header
(Awake) wrote:
Quote: April 12, 2004 E-mail story Print
THE STATE
Proposed Law Would Limit Police Chases
They forgot to interview the Trial Lawyer's association, which
undoubtedly are wringing their hands with expectant glee. |
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| timeOday |
| Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2004 8:44 am |
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Guest
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Wheresthebabes? wrote:
Quote: On 15 Apr 2004 01:43:55 -0000, Anonymous-Remailer@See.Comment.Header
(Awake) wrote:
April 12, 2004 E-mail story Print
THE STATE
Proposed Law Would Limit Police Chases
They forgot to interview the Trial Lawyer's association, which
undoubtedly are wringing their hands with expectant glee.
I'd think the carnage from high-speed chases would be the best possible
lawsuit fodder. |
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| Steve Sullivan |
| Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2004 1:32 pm |
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Guest
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In article <1YSDX1A538091.9054976852@anonymous>,
Anonymous-Remailer@See.Comment.Header (Awake) wrote:
Quote: Aanestad said he introduced the bill after hearing about the death of Kristie
Priano,
a 15-year-old high school basketball player from Chico. A teenage girl who
had
taken her mother's car without permission slammed into the Priano family
minivan
on its way to a game. Police knew where the teenage driver lived, but decided
to
pursue her, leading to the deadly chase.
This incident borders on immorale. A 15 year old girl takes her mothers
car without her permission. The mother KNOWS it was her on daughter who
took the car, and tells the police this. The police KNOW it is merely a
matter of a juvenille taking her mothers car on a joyride.
Read the above sentence "Plice knew where the teenage driver lived",
yeah, she lived with her mom!
We all know how 15 year old's are. They can easily freak out and run.
The cop who was responsible for the chase should be fired, and the city
should have to pay millions to the family of the dead girl. |
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| The moderator |
| Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2004 2:42 pm |
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Guest
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"Steve Sullivan" <none@none.com> wrote in message
news:none-111ACD.12325115042004@news.sf.sbcglobal.net...
Quote: In article <1YSDX1A538091.9054976852@anonymous>,
Anonymous-Remailer@See.Comment.Header (Awake) wrote:
Aanestad said he introduced the bill after hearing about the death of
Kristie
Priano,
a 15-year-old high school basketball player from Chico. A teenage girl
who
had
taken her mother's car without permission slammed into the Priano family
minivan
on its way to a game. Police knew where the teenage driver lived, but
decided
to
pursue her, leading to the deadly chase.
This incident borders on immorale. A 15 year old girl takes her mothers
car without her permission. The mother KNOWS it was her on daughter who
took the car, and tells the police this. The police KNOW it is merely a
matter of a juvenille taking her mothers car on a joyride.
Read the above sentence "Plice knew where the teenage driver lived",
yeah, she lived with her mom!
We all know how 15 year old's are. They can easily freak out and run.
The cop who was responsible for the chase should be fired, and the city
should have to pay millions to the family of the dead girl.
Blame the cops not the criminals. |
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| Richard |
| Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2004 3:03 pm |
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Guest
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Anonymous-Remailer@See.Comment.Header (Awake) wrote in message news:<1YSDX1A538091.9054976852@anonymous>...
Quote: April 12, 2004 E-mail story Print
THE STATE
Proposed Law Would Limit Police Chases
Legislation put forward by a Republican state senator has provoked
law enforcement unions, which threaten political retaliation.
By Robert Salladay, Times Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO - A Republican lawmaker, dismayed by a police chase
that ended in the death of a teenage girl from his Northern California district,
You have two choices; Ban police chases and watch the criminals laugh
as they drive away or allow police chases in circumstances where
they know someone in the car has committed a felony. Police chases
predicated on a guy running from a traffic ticket may be eliminated.
Nowadays, in most areas however, running from the police is a felony
so the moment they run, they are chased. A practical alternative may
be for police to stop someone at all costs when doing so is in an area
the police judge not to present too much of a risk to the general public,
where street traffic is low. If it progresses into a heavily populated area,
then they could break off the chase. However, we know that would encourage
teenaged thrill drivers to head into those areas to avoid arrest.
-Rich |
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| DJD |
| Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2004 3:15 pm |
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Guest
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If you morons cannot stop yourselves from responding to the f***ing
troll, at least do the rest of us the favor of NOT CROSS POSTING YOUR
G*****NED REPLIES! |
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| Tom Meter |
| Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2004 3:23 pm |
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Guest
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alt.gossip.celebrities,alt.showbiz.gossip,rec.arts.movies.current-films
Is this supposed to be ironic?
"DJD" <NoSpammers@BiteMe.com> wrote in message
news:c5mts5$3kres$1@ID-230855.news.uni-berlin.de...
Quote: If you morons cannot stop yourselves from responding to the f***ing
troll, at least do the rest of us the favor of NOT CROSS POSTING YOUR
G*****NED REPLIES!
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| Lurker |
| Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2004 5:19 pm |
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Guest
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"Tom Meter" <tmeter@socal.rr.com> seeing her/his name in stars wrote
news:B3Dfc.37240$zN7.13310@newssvr29.news.prodigy.com:
Quote: alt.gossip.celebrities,alt.showbiz.gossip,rec.arts.movies.current-films
Is this supposed to be ironic?
Poor attempt eh? What a whiney ass he/she/it is.
Quote:
"DJD" <NoSpammers@BiteMe.com> wrote in message
news:c5mts5$3kres$1@ID-230855.news.uni-berlin.de...
If you morons cannot stop yourselves from responding to the f***ing
troll, at least do the rest of us the favor of NOT CROSS POSTING YOUR
G*****NED REPLIES! |
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| Steve Sullivan |
| Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2004 5:28 pm |
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Guest
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In article <107tsrpru6bd0e6@corp.supernews.com>,
"The moderator" <sparky@nospam.engineer.com> wrote:
Quote:
"Steve Sullivan" <none@none.com> wrote in message
news:none-111ACD.12325115042004@news.sf.sbcglobal.net...
In article <1YSDX1A538091.9054976852@anonymous>,
Anonymous-Remailer@See.Comment.Header (Awake) wrote:
Aanestad said he introduced the bill after hearing about the death of
Kristie
Priano,
a 15-year-old high school basketball player from Chico. A teenage girl
who
had
taken her mother's car without permission slammed into the Priano family
minivan
on its way to a game. Police knew where the teenage driver lived, but
decided
to
pursue her, leading to the deadly chase.
This incident borders on immorale. A 15 year old girl takes her mothers
car without her permission. The mother KNOWS it was her on daughter who
took the car, and tells the police this. The police KNOW it is merely a
matter of a juvenille taking her mothers car on a joyride.
Read the above sentence "Plice knew where the teenage driver lived",
yeah, she lived with her mom!
We all know how 15 year old's are. They can easily freak out and run.
The cop who was responsible for the chase should be fired, and the city
should have to pay millions to the family of the dead girl.
Blame the cops not the criminals.
In this case, YES!! A 15 year old girl who has never been in trouble,
takes her mom's car for a joy ride. The cops know the girl took it,
know she lives with her mom, and engages in a high speed chase on a
downtown city street. The 15 year old runs a stop sign and someone
dies. Yes, I will blame the police.
--
Bush is a disgrace to the constitution. See
http://www.amconmag.com/12_15_03/feature.html
http://www.altpr.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=39 |
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| klm |
| Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2004 8:48 pm |
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Guest
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"The moderator" <sparky@nospam.engineer.com> wrote in message
news:107tsrpru6bd0e6@corp.supernews.com...
Quote:
"Steve Sullivan" <none@none.com> wrote in message
news:none-111ACD.12325115042004@news.sf.sbcglobal.net...
In article <1YSDX1A538091.9054976852@anonymous>,
Anonymous-Remailer@See.Comment.Header (Awake) wrote:
Aanestad said he introduced the bill after hearing about the death of
Kristie
Priano,
a 15-year-old high school basketball player from Chico. A teenage girl
who
had
taken her mother's car without permission slammed into the Priano
family
minivan
on its way to a game. Police knew where the teenage driver lived, but
decided
to
pursue her, leading to the deadly chase.
This incident borders on immorale. A 15 year old girl takes her mothers
car without her permission. The mother KNOWS it was her on daughter who
took the car, and tells the police this. The police KNOW it is merely a
matter of a juvenille taking her mothers car on a joyride.
Read the above sentence "Plice knew where the teenage driver lived",
yeah, she lived with her mom!
We all know how 15 year old's are. They can easily freak out and run.
The cop who was responsible for the chase should be fired, and the city
should have to pay millions to the family of the dead girl.
Blame the cops not the criminals.
That's exactly why you don't involve police in incidents with your own kids.
The police love to get tough with people. |
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| Awake |
| Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 2:59 am |
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Guest
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On Thu, 15 Apr 2004, "Tom Meter" <tmeter@socal.rr.com> wrote:
Quote: alt.gossip.celebrities,alt.showbiz.gossip,rec.arts.movies.current-films
Is this supposed to be ironic?
Perhaps, cops have their own TV shows now and I'm not even referring to
dramas, but shows like "COPS", "LAPD" and "State Troopers" where
real cops are videotaped, and their victims humiliated without even
being convicted.
It is fascistic capitalism.
It's scary how much involvement police have in our lives. The Founding Fathers
would be appalled.
April 12, 2004 E-mail story Print
THE STATE
Proposed Law Would Limit Police Chases
Legislation put forward by a Republican state senator has provoked
law enforcement unions, which threaten political retaliation.
By Robert Salladay, Times Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO - A Republican lawmaker, dismayed by a police chase
that ended in the death of a teenage girl from his Northern California district,
wants to make police more accountable for high-speed pursuits.
New legislation designed to curb police chases comes a year after a similar
measure by Democrats died amid intense lobbying from law enforcement
unions. But this time, the effort is pitting a law-and-order Republican from a
rural district against police- a rarity in Sacramento.
"The way we're reading this, it will effectively shut down pursuits," said Redding
Det. Aaron Maready, president of the police union there.
The measure carried by Sen. Sam Aanestad (R-Grass Valley) would limit
police chases to cases in which the public faces "imminent peril" if a suspect
'gets away. For the first time, it would open police to civil lawsuits if they
disregarded the new statewide standard and someone were killed or injured.
Police and their lobbyists are furious about the measure and have vowed to
kill it. Lawmakers, they say, should not dictate street-level police actions for
something as unpredictable as a chase. And they believe the specter of civil
lawsuits would hamper their ability to make quick decisions without fear of
ending up in court.
Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature rarely challenge police with
measures that would both take away their power and expose them to lawsuits,
in part because law enforcement unions and department officials are powerful
in the political world. Few things are more coveted in a reelection campaign
than an endorsement from police.
Just introducing the measure has prompted threats of political retaliation
against Aanestad, whose vast district extends from the college town of Chico
to Redding and the Oregon border. Maready, the Redding detective, said
he might form a coalition of police unions and work to unseat Aanestad in 2006.
"We would actively oppose his reelection if this were to carry on. He might
see that districtwide," Maready said.
Aanestad's reaction: "I don't care."
Aanestad said he introduced the bill after hearing about the death of Kristie Priano,
a 15-year-old high school basketball player from Chico. A teenage girl who had
taken her mother's car without permission slammed into the Priano family minivan
on its way to a game. Police knew where the teenage driver lived, but decided to
pursue her, leading to the deadly chase.
Critics of the legislation say police must make quick decisions without fear of a
protracted lawsuit. But Aanestad said that California law currently required only
that police departments have a policy on car chases - yet nothing compels them
to follow the policy.
Currently, the law prohibits lawsuits against police for negligence as long as there
is a written policy on pursuits. Aanestad said the lawsuit threat in his legislation
would make officers think twice before beginning an unnecessarily dangerous chase.
Aanestad, an oral surgeon, made the comparison to a doctor who can be sued
for malpractice but nevertheless still treats people in emergency situations.
"I have lived my whole life putting people to sleep and doing surgery on them,
realizing that any mistake can jeopardize my career and the life of somebody
else. And that doesn't stop you from doing your job."
Aanestad's measure would require a single statewide standard for police chases,
overruling the patchwork of rules from city to city. Police chases would be prohibited
if officers were carrying a prisoner; if their car did not have a forward-facing red light
or a siren; and if the vehicle being chased did "not represent an imminent peril."
To further refine the standard, Aanestad defines imminent peril in the proposed
law as: "Certain, immediate and impending. The peril is not remote, uncertain or
contingent. A likelihood of mere possibility of injury or loss of life is not sufficient
to create an imminent peril."
Police say this definition would cripple their ability to chase suspects.
The legislation would "create an enormous liability for law enforcement agencies
throughout the state," Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca wrote to Aanestad.
"It attempts to address and impose many restrictions upon extremely complex,
dynamic and unpredictable events."
Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer, a Democrat, warned in a letter to Aanestad that police
would "fail to pursue criminals because of the worry of [lawsuits] for not following
the very detailed procedures in your measure. The public's safety could
potentially be at risk if officers fail to conduct these pursuits."
Santa Barbara Police Chief Camerino Sanchez, president of the California Police
Chiefs Assn., said Aanestad should instead look at increasing the penalties for
fleeing suspects or establishing a statewide fund to compensate victims after
police chases, rather than allow lawsuits.
Last year, the Legislature failed to approve a measure, written by Sen. Gloria
Romero (D-Los Angeles), that would have required police to set chase guidelines
and, if the rules were not followed, open them up to civil lawsuits.
As in the Priano case, Romero's legislation came about because of a police
chase that turned deadly. Khuong Van Nguyen was collecting cans with his wife
in the parking lot at La Quinta High School in Westminster when a stolen van
pursued by police smashed into him and caused massive head injuries.
He died three years later, but his family failed in its efforts to collect from the city
of Westminster. An appeals court threw out the family's wrongful-death lawsuit,
but encouraged the Legislature to reconsider the immunity it grants to cities
and police. The court said current law appeared "to have shifted too far toward
immunity and left public safety - twisting in the wind."
"It's a joke," Romero said about the current situation, "because we can have
a one-paragraph policy or we can have a 30-page policy. And at the end of the
day, it's irrelevant, because the current loophole says you don't have to implement it."
Even before the Aanestad measure was written, police officers, chiefs, law
enforcement unions, Democrats and Republicans were asking him to hold back.
Now that the measure is to get its first hearing Tuesday in the Senate Public
Safety Committee, law enforcement officers have increased the pressure.
Amid this renewed debate about chases, however, police and sheriffs from
Los Angeles, Fresno, Chicago, Boston, Miami and Orange County have refined
their standards, in most cases to give officers more flexibility to call off pursuits.
The Los Angeles Police Department sharply reduced the number of chases
by relying more on helicopter surveillance and a new policy giving its officers
discretion to call off chases involving minor crimes. The number of chases
declined 62%, along with a reduction in injuries to bystanders, suspects and
police, according to figures the department released last year.
Candy Merchant Priano, mother of the girl killed in Chico, said those figures
prove that if police would set tougher standards for pursuits, the number of
injuries and deaths would decrease.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-chase12apr12,1,4528049.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california
-=-
This message was posted via two or more anonymous remailing services. |
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