Deputy kills 2, 1 in critical cond.

[sundial]

I really have to hand it to you guys that cycle in the large cities. I'm not so sure I would ride my road bike anymore. Now I understand why some abandon their road bikes for the mtb and trails.

[kelownagirl]

Another article.

XTri website

[maillotpois]

This article gives a great bio on both the cyclists:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?...ornia_deaths08

[arielmoon]

How very unfortunate for everyone involved!

I am glad they took the deputy from behind the wheel.

[Eden]

did they really though.... they took away his gun and his patrol car, but from what the article says, he probably still has his private license.... unless they expect to make him serve summonses by taking the bus.... Perhaps they should have demoted him and made him serve as a bicycle patrol officer.... (and never get his drivers license back! I totally believe that if you kill/maim negligently with a car you should lose the right to drive forever)

[Zen]

He still has a job with a $55,600 salary.
That's not punishment to me.

[solobiker]

That is just wrong.

[tctrek]

I like the idea of making him work on a bicycle. He can be out there thinking about someone falling asleep and killing him. When you are sleepy and behind the wheel of a car, you darn sure know it and can take the opportunity to stop before you fall completely asleep... to keep driving in that condition is criminal.

[kenyonchris]

did they really though.... they took away his gun and his patrol car, but from what the article says, he probably still has his private license.... unless they expect to make him serve summonses by taking the bus.... Perhaps they should have demoted him and made him serve as a bicycle patrol officer.... (and never get his drivers license back! I totally believe that if you kill/maim negligently with a car you should lose the right to drive forever)

Uh, being a bike officer is NOT a demotion. In fact, it is a PROMOTION.

In the state of Texas, if the cop was found guilty or convicted of manslaughter (which is what this would fall under in THIS state if he recklessly or negligently caused the death of those cyclists) he would LEGALLY no longer be a cop. I am NOT saying that that the death of ANYONE by ANYONE else is not tragic, it is. I am not saying that he was not at fault, I don't know that. But unless a judge and jury found him guilty of it (and, trust me, cops are not immune to both criminal and civil litigation JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE) he has the right to his freedom just like everyone else. Now, if it were MY department, I doubt he would still be employed for whatever policy violation he committed (we can break traffic laws when responding to calls, even if we are NOT running code with lights and sirens, as there are some times that that is necessary) but I didn't read anywhere that he was responding to a call. If he was typing on his computer, operating a cell phone, or just driving like crap in general, he would have been violating policy in my department and be subject to being fired for it regardless of the outcome of criminal and or civil court.

I cycle in the city, I drive in the city, and I am a cop in the city. There are risks associated with all three. Terrible, terrible accidents happen. Cops are human, they make driving errors just as doctors, lawyers and indian chiefs do. We DO talk on our cell phones, consult our computers for dispatch information and drop the dang radio handset and have to fish for it. We swat at bees. And I dare say that every single one of us are aware of the risks we take to ourselves and those we are trying to protect just in the performance of our jobs.

It isn't my job, nor do I have the desire, to defend this particular cop in this particular incident, hopefully if he was negligent, he will suffer the consequences (and there is a difference, legally, between KNOWINGLY, RECKLESSLY, and NEGLIGENTLY) professionally, and, if necessary, criminally. It can't bring back the lives he took, and that is a shame for all involved. Some corrupt departments may protect their own to such an extent, I guess, but with liability being what it is today, I can't imagine that being the case.

MY heart goes out to the cyclists, the families, and the cop who hit them (unless he KNOWINGLY hit them, which I didn't see any evidence of). There before the grace of God go I. And, as you guys are all human here, I hope you never turn around to see why your kid is crying and take your eyes off the road for a minute and hit someone. I hope you never talk on your cell phone, change the CD, swat at a fly, eat a cheeseburger, or spill a cold drink on your lap and mow over someone walking on the shoulder in your moment of inattention. Those things happen, if it happened to me I would NEVER be the same, regardless of whether I were in my personal car or in my patrol vehicle, trying to hurry to help someone in the night. You wouldn't have to take my gun and badge away to make that happen.

[salsabike]

Well said, Chris.

[PamNY]

And, as you guys are all human here, I hope you never turn around to see why your kid is crying and take your eyes off the road for a minute and hit someone. I hope you never talk on your cell phone, change the CD, swat at a fly, eat a cheeseburger, or spill a cold drink on your lap and mow over someone walking on the shoulder in your moment of inattention. Those things happen,

You make a good point, but you should have left out the cellphone and the cheeseburger. I would only use my phone while driving in a true emergency, and I certainly wouldn't eat a sandwich.

Pam

[kenyonchris]

You make a good point, but you should have left out the cellphone and the cheeseburger. I would only use my phone while driving in a true emergency, and I certainly wouldn't eat a sandwich.

Pam

Trust me, you are in the minority. Lots of people eat a cheeseburger while talking on the phone while in the car. I can't stop someone for multitasking while driving, but I see it ALL the time.
Sometimes even burritos.

[tctrek]

MY heart goes out to the cyclists, the families, and the cop who hit them (unless he KNOWINGLY hit them, which I didn't see any evidence of)

He didn't KNOWINGLY hit them because he was asleep and he didn't know anything. But he did KNOWINGLY drive while he was overwhelmingly sleepy. Most people at sometime in their life work long hours, or are on a long road trip and find themselves getting sleepy at the wheel. A reasonable person recognizes that and pulls over and rests. But he kept on driving even though he was sleepy!! IMHO, that's as KNOWINGLY as it gets.

I just don't think this is the same as talking on a cell phone or eating a cheeseburger. Sure, in the blink of an eye you can look away and have an ACCIDENT. You don't have time to react and boom, it's over.

But it takes minutes to fall asleep - you have warning signals that sleep is about to take you over. You roll down your window, turn up the radio, drink coffee, try to prevent yourself from going to sleep. But there comes a time, maybe a minute or two before you actually fall asleep that you KNOW that it is inevitable, that you can't fight it anymore. That's when you pull over. You just don't keep driving when you reach that point.

[snapdragen]

But it takes minutes to fall asleep - you have warning signals that sleep is about to take you over.

Not really, and not for all people. I've known people that can fall asleep in seconds, one friend in particular can drop off without warning. Yes, it's happened while we were in the car, I realized what had happened, woke him up and had him pull over so I could drive.

[Trek420]

Most people at sometime in their life work long hours, or are on a long road trip and find themselves getting sleepy at the wheel. A reasonable person recognizes that and pulls over and rests. But he kept on driving even though he was sleepy!! IMHO, that's as KNOWINGLY as it gets.

I have a compression fractured spine because of this kinda thing. Long road trip, driver recovering from a cold, taking cold medicine and declining to stop or let the two adult drivers spell him. He drifted off the road, lost control, we flipped over .... for those of you in CA, OR, WA we ended up backwards though right side up on Highway 5.

Was it his fault or mine for not insisting he pull over & sleep or relinquish the wheel? I don't know. Was it his fault or mine because I had my seatbelt off to be more comfortable sleeping That's my bad.

You can bet the seat belt goes on before the car keys go in now.

The driver was my brother.

I've so looooong ago forgiven him. Instead I feel lucky to be alive, every day is gravy. And in a way the crash is responsible for my cycling because when the Dr. said "you'll have arthritis in your spine soon" I said "oh no I won't" and began working out.

As people work longer hours these days, drive tougher commutes in this economy to reach any job available, and yes ... read TE long into the night there are a lot more tired drivers out there. Driving tired can be as bad as drunk driving from what I've read.

Whatever happens in the court or court of public opinion I hope the officer remembers for the rest of his life he's "Living for 3", himself and the 2 riders lost. This was a great loss for their family and friends and the world. For example I could not help thinking while watching the Olympic women's road cycling that she was supposed to be there. and I'm sure her family thought the same.