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  • Jailed policeman

    This is tragic for all involved , but what thoughts do people have on this , will the Traffic cops now let criminals get away from them in fear of the same thing happening to them , this guys mistake IMO was not having his warning sirens on .I may be wrong here but i think cops have been told not to have sirens on as it alerts criminals that they are being chased , so as to slow down the chase ??????



    A traffic officer who killed a schoolgirl after reaching speeds of 94mph without blue lights or a siren has been jailed for three years . John Dougal has been jailed for three years over the death of Hayley Adamson

    Hayley Adamson, 16, died instantly after she was hit by Pc John Dougal's Volvo estate as she crossed a residential road in Newcastle's West End last May.

    He denied causing death by dangerous driving, claiming his speed in a 30mph zone was justified as he was following a suspect car, but was convicted by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court.

    Dougal, who has since resigned from the force, was on a night shift when his patrol car's registration number recognition system alerted him to a Renault Megane which had just passed him in the opposite direction.

    He turned his patrol car round and sped up to a maximum of 94mph, slowed slightly as he crested a hill, then saw Hayley step into his path. It was estimated the Volvo had slowed to around 70mph when it hit the teenager.

    She had been drinking alcohol, which may have affected her decision-making, but the court heard it was notoriously difficult to judge traffic speed, particularly at night.

    Dougal told the court during his trial he did not want to alert the Megane driver that he was being pursued by putting on his sirens or blue lights. The vehicle was wrongly indicated to be suspicious and was being lawfully driven by a Czech man.

    The court was shown footage from Dougal's in-car video camera, including the moment the teenager was hit by the car and flung out of shot.

    Hayley, dressed in a white tracksuit, was walking with a group of friends at around 11.20pm when she stepped out into Denton Road. It was the night before her English GCSE exam. Dougal, a qualified advanced driver, saw the girl and tried to brake and steer away from her, but could not.

    Judge David Hodson said the case was "an immense tragedy for everyone involved in it".
    Last edited by tankie; 01 May 09,, 15:27.

  • #2
    At the end of the day, he chose to way faster than the posted speeds in a residental area over a hill at night to try and close with a might be a crimminal or it might be (as it was) nothing. A girl died because he made the wrong choice, if I made a similar choice, I would go to jail, why not a cop?

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    • #3
      Originally posted by zraver View Post
      At the end of the day, he chose to way faster than the posted speeds in a residental area over a hill at night to try and close with a might be a crimminal or it might be (as it was) nothing. A girl died because he made the wrong choice, if I made a similar choice, I would go to jail, why not a cop?
      Well zraver , it could be he was a bit bit gungho , BUT , his detection and auto number plate recognition camera informed him the car should not have been on the road ,,, WRONGLY , he has a job to do , stop criminals , I am in no way defending this ,but the way training is ,and the use of the high tech surveilance needs a look in to ??? its tragic .RIP the young lady who died :(
      Last edited by tankie; 01 May 09,, 16:58.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by tankie View Post
        Well zraver , it could be he was a bit bit gungho , BUT his detection and auto number plate recognition camera informed him the car should not have been on the road WRONGLY , he has a job to do , stop criminals ??? its tragic .:(
        I don't think his job involves putting the public at risk during an investigation. I would feel differently if this was a full on lights and sirens pursuit of a known dangerous criminal, but it wasn't.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by zraver View Post
          I don't think his job involves putting the public at risk during an investigation. I would feel differently if this was a full on lights and sirens pursuit of a known dangerous criminal, but it wasn't.
          And thats what i said , it was a mistake not to have his warning sirens on , when a paramedic is going full tilt to try to save lives ,as is the fire service ,, warnings are there for all to hear , people pull over , get out the way , they are sanctioned to speed in the pursuit of life saving as are cops , and can go thro red lights with caution , they dont have an automatic right to do that but must observe traffic conditions ,which is as i say IMO , the cop didnt give the warnings for the reasons that were stated . The tech breakdown is at fault as was the cop , tragic .
          Last edited by tankie; 01 May 09,, 19:36.

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          • #6
            Here, use of lights are rare and sirens even rarer ... I think it's a Long Island thing. I can count the # of times I have seen law enforcement vehicles with sirens on one hand. If you ask me use of lights and sirens should be mandatory when responding to any 911 call (or 999 for you Brits).

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            • #7
              He was an advanced driver and not a Class 1 driver but he should have know better.

              Dougal, a qualified advanced driver, was travelling so fast he had effectively become a passenger in his own car and had surrendered "to physics", according to a police driving instructor who gave evidence during the trial.
              If he was doing 90+, how fast was the other car going? As far as can be ascertained the other driver was not charged with any offence and looking at the video I can't see the other vehicle (viewed from the police vehicle involved)

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              • #8
                As a former cop, I have been involved in several chases and a professionally trained driver should have known better that to do what he did. A policeman must use all the tools available to him, such as radio communication and other units, and detective work. It is not wholly necessary to risk the publics safety for most of the offenses that initiate these chases.

                Emergency equipment(lights and sirens) are for a specific purpose. They are to warn others of an approaching emergency vehicle so pedestrians can be alerted to clear the roadway and other motorists can yield the ROW.

                There are usually specific policies regarding the use of that equipment and pursuit policies. Just this week, three Joplin officers where disciplined for breaking policy in a high speed pursuit a couple weeks ago that actually initiated right in front of me as I was leaving a local restaurant. This is not the movies but the driving going on right in front of me looked like it. It started out as dangerous and ended without catching the suspect where he abandoned the veh at. He was later apprehended the next day without incident due to some good detective work.

                I once had an instructor at the Military Police ask the question, "how can you break a law to enforce a law?" What is the point in doing so?

                Two of my last police jobs had strict policies governing pursuits. Had we done what this cop did we would have most likely found ourselves in jail as well and it is highly likely we would have also found ourselves facing a civil suit awarding lofty damages to the survivors resulting in most of the money we ever made after that be taken away as settlement. In other words you literally spend the rest of your life paying for it.

                And IMO, its justified.

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