that's not a recent story is it ?
9 Sep 2009![]()
This is the story of a driver who refused to stop for a marked police car... He was driving 2 1/2 tons of potentially lethal weapon.
It's all very well being critical of the police (and I often am) but how were they supposed to know at the time that he was just an arse with a history of driving offences and a poor attitude towards the police? He could have been an armed criminal, and IMO the police were fully justified in acting as they did.
If he has now been compensated then I think that's a misuse of public funds.
I remember this making the news the first time, as i recall his list of previous offences was rather long and his attitude didn't help him.This is the story of a driver who refused to stop for a marked police car... He was driving 2 1/2 tons of potentially lethal weapon.
It's all very well being critical of the police (and I often am) but how were they supposed to know at the time that he was just an arse with a history of driving offences and a poor attitude towards the police? He could have been an armed criminal, and IMO the police were fully justified in acting as they did.
If he has now been compensated then I think that's a misuse of public funds.
ummmm, wtf?
So the police should smash in the window of anyone who breaks a traffic law by matter of course, just incase they are armed?
What made them decide to act this way in this particular incident? Is it normal procedure that the first action from the police is to run and smash in the window and windscreen? Aren't they supposed to stand back and announce to the driver to stay in their car, or step out or something a little more reserved first for a traffic violation?
secondly, why did the old boy decide not to stop exactly, it didn't say anything in the report - was he deaf?
This is the story of a driver who refused to stop for a marked police car... He was driving 2 1/2 tons of potentially lethal weapon.
It's all very well being critical of the police (and I often am) but how were they supposed to know at the time that he was just an arse with a history of driving offences and a poor attitude towards the police? He could have been an armed criminal, and IMO the police were fully justified in acting as they did.
If he has now been compensated then I think that's a misuse of public funds.
if you look at the video he's doing 40mph driving over the white line forcing other vehicles into the hedge and refusing to stop -and smashing a window when someone won't unlock their door after a pursuit is standard practice (its hardly "smashing up his car" ) (and the winscreen prevents them from driving off again)this is only a story at all because of the culprits age - if he was a boy racer in a souped up barry mobile no one would give a flying one

the act of smashing the windows is standard practice which disorintates the driver to prevent them reacting to the police trying to get them out and/or driving off again.
the driver failed to stop, that in itself is from what i recall a serious offence :shrug:
oh and 20k for breaking the law? man i need to commit motoring offences more often..
I have been stopped for speeding before, nobody smashed my window in. Or is it only standard practice to smash the window in of someone who doesn't stop right away? is there a time limit?
and why did they settle out of court if it was standard practice?
I have been stopped for speeding before, nobody smashed my window in. Or is it only standard practice to smash the window in of someone who doesn't stop right away? is there a time limit?
and why did they settle out of court if it was standard practice?
I think the offices should have used a little bit of common sense here.
Ok so if a car doesn't stop and is driving 80mph swerving and doing everything they can to obviously get away etc then sure the likelihood is that the culprit is possibly got drugs or weapons etc, smashy smashy.
But if the culprit is poodelling along at 40mph not even breaking the speed limit, and once you get up to the window it's clear he's an OAP, maybe use some nounce and stop the smashy smashy. I bet if the first cop had smashed into the window and then realised who the driver was, and then stopped the police wouldn't have had to shell out a penny because it would have shown standard practice followed by a policeman who used his head to adjust to the situation.
In this instance I think it has shown these two policeman up for following protocol to the letter instead of using some common sense and intelligence.
or alternately they run up to the window, pause to look through it to make sure its not a pensioner and are promptly shot several times by a deranged headcase with a shot gun and a grudge, or a drug dealer with a pistol etc
You dont seem to understand that this is the risk that the police take every day on our behalf - its very easy to second guess from the comfort of an armchair and a computer - but hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Alternately, and more prosaicly, the perpetrator just drives off again , and 3 miles further knocks down a child and kills them - the same bleeding heart liberals who are now castigating the police for stopping him , would now be whining about why didnt they do something sooner.
you didn't read what i wrote properly, or i didn't explain it properly. 2 police offices continued to smash the windows. At any point during this action they would have seen who the perpetrator was and could have stopped what they were doing. They didn't and that was their mistake. At 1.16 he stops and looks, then continues. Error!!
Also, why is it a window smash that does it, surely slashing the tires would have the same result without potentially covering the perpetrator in broken glass?
He was doing a runner for failing to accept a Fixed Penalty notice by another patrol over 8 miles away and he also knocked over the policeman issuing the ticket.Well, I just think at 1.16 when the policeman looks in and see's the old boy, combined with the fact that he was poodling along he makes a jusgement call to stop smashing the window.
The fact he carried on is why the driver now has £20,000 in his pocket.
So does anyone know why the driver didn't stop, was he deliberatley doing it or did he claim not to have noticed?
Just noticed, the only reason he stopped is because they used a stinger on the car....slashed the tyres too then Joe.
He was doing a runner for failing to accept a Fixed Penalty notice by another patrol over 8 miles away and he also knocked over the policeman issuing the ticket.
I think the offices should have used a little bit of common sense here.
Ok so if a car doesn't stop and is driving 80mph swerving and doing everything they can to obviously get away etc then sure the likelihood is that the culprit is possibly got drugs or weapons etc, smashy smashy.
But if the culprit is poodelling along at 40mph not even breaking the speed limit, and once you get up to the window it's clear he's an OAP, maybe use some nounce and stop the smashy smashy. I bet if the first cop had smashed into the window and then realised who the driver was, and then stopped the police wouldn't have had to shell out a penny because it would have shown standard practice followed by a policeman who used his head to adjust to the situation.
In this instance I think it has shown these two policeman up for following protocol to the letter instead of using some common sense and intelligence.
But didn't the police already know who he was and what he had been stopped for before since he drove off from another policeman? that policeman would have called it in and descibed the driver, he would have known if he was off his face on drugs etc.
also if he wanted to fire a weapon he could have done so at the fellow jogging up to the car before his window was smashed by officer 2. It doesn't add up. In this particular instance the police used exessive force and had to pay the price
So, the guy is stopped for a minor ticketing offence, then drives off knocking over the issuing officer. He then proceeds to make no effort to stop to the persuing marked car.
Don't you think that the police have every right to follow the standard protocol for those failing to stop. The first officer wouldn't have searched his vehicle, so by fleeing from a standard £60 fine in a £60k motor, suspicions would be high that he has something to hide. using the "pensioner" card cuts no ice with me, he committed a crime, regardless of age, sex or race he should be dealt with the same way as everyone else would for the same offence.
Sorry, but they didn't know what they were dealing with, and followed standard protocol. They should be commended for doing the job that most of us wouldn't want to do.
or look at it this way
1. They know his license plate so during the chase can find out prior offenses, none of which allude to any drug or weapons
2. The standard procedure to smash the window is to stop them driving off, since the stinger did this anyway - what was the need for the smashing
3. at 1.16 the policeman stop and look in - at this point the policeman clearly wasn't worried he was going to be shot at (otherwise why stop?) see's the old man in there with no weapon and not a threat, but has a few more smashes anyway
excessive force was shown in my opinion.
Do you know where his hands were ? do you know he wasn't reaching into the glove box, into the door pocket or under a seat? No, you don't as a result, only the officers can say what he was doing at the time.
at the end of the day, I think it's clear that excessive force was used
to answer your points:
1. ok, no past convictions for weapons or drugs. doesn't mean he doesn't have any, it means he's never been caught. Assume the worst until proven otherwise and live to tell the tale IMO. Secondly what is to say he is the owner of the vehicle ?
2. as Garry has said, a stinger will not stop a car, you've seen it yourself on tv etc the number of miles a determined criminal will travel on rims only. it makes the car more dangerous if driven, why risk it?
3. Do you know where his hands were ? do you know he wasn't reaching into the glove box, into the door pocket or under a seat? No, you don't as a result, only the officers can say what he was doing at the time.
at the end of the day, I think it's clear that excessive force was used and the compensation would show that the police were worried about that coming out in an independent review so paid him off.
He was doing a runner for failing to accept a Fixed Penalty notice by another patrol over 8 miles away and he also knocked over the policeman issuing the ticket.
So 8 miles back they knew who and what they were dealing with and 8 miles further on they'd worked themselves up into a frenzy of over-aggression and self-righteous revenge.
Yves Geza said:So 8 miles back they knew who and what they were dealing with and 8 miles further on they'd worked themselves up into a frenzy of over-aggression and self-righteous revenge.
So if you knew he had supposedly already run someone over you would just wander over and calmly open his door and hope he didn't try and hurt you?
Mr Whatley was later found guilty of not wearing a seatbelt, failing to stop for a police officer and having tinted car windows that did not conform to legal requirements.
He also admitted having a registration plate which did not adhere to regulations and was fined a total of £235 and ordered to pay £300 towards prosecution costs by Caerphilly magistrates.
However, the court cleared Mr Whatley of failing to stop after an accident.
joescrivens said:I love the way this "knocking over a policeman" apparant incident has now become a "hit and run".