Editor,
Some time ago you posted a picture of a Deputy Sheriff who was changing a tire for someone alng the side of the road. This was a prime example of a law enforcement officer going above and beyond to help someone in the community in which he serves.
But I have an example of a law enforcement officer who operates on the other end of the spectrum.
This afternoon at around 2:30 the Maryland State Police received a complaint of a hit and run in the parking lot at the Good Fella's Restaurant in Pittsville. A female trooper named Tingle responded and met with the victim who advised that she had parked her car in the parking lot at that establishment where she works earlier in the day and that her car had no damage to the rear bumper and that when she returned to the vehicle a few hours later her rear bumper was damaged. I observed as Trooper Tingle looked at the damage. The damage consisted of the rear vinyl bumper cover being cracked with white paint transferred to it over an area of approximately two square feet. Trooper Tingle told the owner that she didn't believe that damage was caused while it was in the parking lot. Trooper Tingle further told the owner that she thought that someone else had taken the car somewhere and the damage was caused elsewhere. The owner explained that she had the only set of keys and that no one else took the car anywhere. Trooper Tingle the told the owner that there was no way someone could have caused the damage without the owner hearing it from inside the establishment. Come on Trooper Tingle! It's a friggin' vinyl bumper cover! How much noise do they make when they crack? Do they make enough noise for someone to hear when they are cooking on a grill with the large exhaust fans running? The Trooper Tingle advised the owner that the State Police doesn't do investigations on accidents that occur in parking lots and left.
The owner of the vehicle was very disappointed with the fact that she had been accused of lying and that her complaint of a hit and run accident meant nothing to a law enforcement officer. The owner of the vehicle then called the Duty Officer and was told by him that the Maryland State Police doesn't investigate accidents in parking lots.
I am very familiar with the fact that a minor 10-50 in a parking lot in which no one is injured requires no police investigation. An exchange of information takes place between the vehicle owners and the insurance companies handle the rest. But this was different. This was a situation where a driver left the scene of a property damage accident commonly called a hit and run. This ALWAYS requires a police investigation when reported by the victim. What's happening to the State Police? Are they too busy generating revenue to come to the assistance of a citizen? Have they forgotten why they took the job.....to help people? It's clear that the Sheriff's Office hasn't forgotten.
The image of law enforcement across the country rests on each of you and the way you handle yourselves each time you answer a call for service. Trooper Tingle I have known Ernie Leatherbury for years. When he comes back after the holiday I will be talking to him to try to find out what the policy is of the Maryland State Police relating to the investigations of reported hit and run accidents. I feel this way about it Trooper Tingle. If you didn't want to write reports and do investigations maybe you should have found another line of work.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
42 comments:
why dont you contact this officer's supervisor instead of posting on a blog?
I have stated this before. The primary job of law enforcment is to gather evidence against you period. They help at thier leisure not because they have to help.Watch what you say or do around them they will use it against you if given the oppertunity.
You have to understand MSP has way to much to do than to chase after empty complaints. Had you had a suspect you may have gotten further. I wish I could get them to do something about all of the dents in our cars and for the most part can prove who put the majority of them there. The best thing you can do is quit crying about it and file a claim with your insurance provider under uninsured motor vehicle clauses. Sorry about your luck but there are a bunch of common S.O.B.s out there who could care less about your car. Keep an eye on your parking lot as well because it was most like one of your repeat customers.
I'm not buying this story.
It sounds like the owner wanted the officer to do more, and the officer wasn't going to (which is reasonable in this case). Instead of going away quietly, the owner is making the routine questioning by an officer (e.g. Did the damage really occur here?) into some sinister act off accusation.
I'm not buying it...
The first thing that the insurance company will ask is if there is a police report. If there is not an official report, they will not pay for repairs. A report should have been made by the police in this case.
9:10
We post on the blog to make the event public. It is our recourse for a Police State gone mad.
If our Police (Masters) want to mistreat us, then, the least we can do is to PUBLICIZE the event.
Thanks Joe
Just call Sheriff Lewis. He seems to be the only one who really cares about the citizens of this county. More than not State Police are meter maids with guns and they would never make it as a real police officer in Philly, Baltimore, DC etc.
9:49 "If there is not an official report, they will not pay for repairs."
Wrong! (or you have a really really bad insurance company). ...but why would an owner want to contact an insurance company for damage that's likely below the deductable?
A cracked bumper isn't a ding in a door left because some inconsiderate dolt opened their car's door to far. As the writer of the post indicated, many agencies do not investigate property damage collisions occurring on private property. In fact, many agencies no longer investigate minor property damages collisions that occur on a public roadway. It is not required by the Motor Vehicle Administration, and most of the time the parties involved in the accident are only concerned about identifying the other operator and making certain the vehicle is insured. This incident goes beyond an accident, it is a hit and run.
While it is almost certain that without a witness no suspect vehicle could be identified, the incident should have been "investigated" and a report prepared. Really, what are we talking here, a MAARS or incident report that would have taken all of 10-15 minutes to prepare? Stranger things have been known to occur. Years ago a vehicle collided with my mailbox. I called the state police to investigate. Significant parts of the vehicle striking and destroying my mailbox were left at the scene. As in this case, the trooper was absolutely worthless. He had no interest in doing the job he was being paid to perform. He did take a report, but didn't collect any of the vehicle's body parts left behind. It turns out the vehicle that struck my mailbox also destroyed property throughout the county that night and another agency developed a suspect vehicle. The trooper returned later that day to collect the pieces of the puzzle which were used to definitively show that the vehicle that struck my mailbox was out and about the night all the other damage was being done.
This leads to a bigger concern about the state police. Because the state police is just that, a state agency and not a county or municipal department, they have, over time, developed an attitude that they are not accountable to the local citizens living in the jurisdictions in which they are assigned. Ever notice that the biggest offenders of speeding police cars are state units? They simply don't care what you think of them. And try calling a barrack to complain about a trooper. You'll quickly be left with the impression that it is you that is doing something wrong, not the trooper. This arrogance has, over the years, permeated up from the road trooper to first and second levels of supervision. The attitude of the line trooper won't improve until the upper management of the Maryland State Police demands a high level of professionalism, professional service, and accountability from all their barrack commanders.
I'm curious to see the new level of professionalism (sorry, wearing the Stetson every time a trooper gets out of his car and shiney shoes and brass are at the lower end of professionalism in my book) and accountability now that Salisbury has a new barrack commander.
Joe, come on. Every and I mean Every agency in this county would have done the same thing. I have worked for three of them and their policy on hit and run accidents with no suspect vehicle does not get a maars report. The Trooper was right. Parking lot accidents are not investigated by any agency. At most a broadcast could have been put out to all of the other agencies to look out for a vehicle that may have caused the damage. Even your Illustrious Sheriff's Office will tell you the same thing. Joe might I also say that I am amazed that you allow some of this slanderous non-factual comments to go up since you seem to be trying to get on Ernie's good side. I know Ernie is very proud to be a Trooper and proud of his agency and he will not take kindly to you and the other A**holes on here monday morning quarterbacking his agency.
Little Ernie will solve all the crime problems in Wicomico County that Sheriff Lewis and Chief Webster can't, right? I feel so safe that Little E is coming home.
Parking lots are private property and a fender bender in a parking lot, whether it's a door ding or a moving violation does not get a police report. This happens in a lot of states, not just MD. When I lived in VA, a guy came around a corner too fast and hit a parked car which hit my rental car and the driver of the offending vehicle stuck around because his car was undriveable. We called the police. NO police report was ever filed and luckily the offender wasn't lying about his insurance because he totalled the parked car, and there was no police report even though the cop suspected the driver might have been under the influence of something because it was a clear night.
My question would be why, if a state trooper does not investigate situations in parking lots (such as this one), would she than go so far as to insult the person reporting this mishap by accusing her of lieing? I mean, what did that do for anyone? The trooper wasn't going to fix the problem or attempt to help the "victim" so instead, lets insult them. It may very well be that someone was attempting to pull one over on someone, but at this point thats irrelivent , to insult a person knowing you were never going to help them in the first place is just wrong.
Thanks for letting me vent.
Suggest you read TC 21-101 regarding applicability of the transportation code on private property used by the public in general, commonly referred to as quasi-public property. A hit and run is not simply an accident. To the 10:45 poster: You don't take a report but have county agencies broadcast a lookout for a vehicle that may have been involved in a hit and run involving property damage. A suspect vehicle is stopped and identified. What happens now? That's right, someone suddenly has to rush and prepare and incident report for the initial hit and run to support the lookout and the stop. Let's see, what officer should that be? The one that was initially dispatched to the incident, or the officer hearing the broadcast and making the stop?
Pure and simple, any officer that equates a property damage accident with a hit and run should go back to the academy for remedial training or find a new line of work because they're simply too lazy to do the job they're paid to do. You're there to serve the public, not the other way around. Oh I know, it's important you remain in-service so if that "big one" comes out you're ready to respond. Get a grip and do your job.
11:42 That's what you call one lazy cop. Must have been near the end of shift. Most agencies have a no report policy on property damage accident involving MINOR damage. The caveat in most general orders is if the one of the cars involved in a property damage accident needs to be towed, an accident report is written. And of course if an investigation if performed, human error is involved in 99% of accidents, meaning someone is getting a ticket or two.
And this discussion hasn't even addressed this trooper's assertion that the complainant was lying. Wonder if that trooper can provide me with the winning Powerballs numbers since she has the "gift?"
I know the girl personally that got hit in the parking lot. She is a very honest and trustworthy person. The police should have at least given her an incident report for her insurance company. It was not her fault that she got hit and def not her fault that the dumb!@# that hit her left without telling her. She was also in an accident earlier yesterday afternoon and that was yet another point of where cops are wrong. She was in Kmart parking lot crossing over into Taco bell parking lot and another ex cop came flying out of the gym parking lot and hit her. Of course it was ruled as her fault because the ex cop that hit her knew the salisbury cop personally. It would really be nice if the cops actually cared about the people and were honest and did the right thing but unforunately thats not always the case.
Like others have said...what is there to investigate? what was the make, model, tag number of the suspect vehicle, what's that? nobody saw anything? Oh, maybe the trooper should have pulled the information out of her arse, it would probably have been more credible than what the complainant was giving her. People think that because they tell police something and police write about it, that it makes it absolute fact, wrong! Sounds to me that the trooper actually did some investigating which was not apprecitated. The trooper would have been well within her rights to go there, hand the complainant a case number for her insurance company (which is about all that could be done with no witnesses) and leave, but instead it seems that the trooper actually put some thought into the matter which is not what the complainant wanted. Now they are using this forum to unjustly bash the police for doing their job. Hey moron! fess up! you left the scene of an accident and don't want to admit it!
I know Trooper Tingle personally, and have worked with her many times at accident scenes. She is a model Trooper. One that others could learn from. I mean really....what did you expect from her?? Call your insurance company, quit whining, and get a life. It was an accident most likely. Should the other party have stopped?? Certainly!!! But they didn't, so it is what it is. Get off her back, she's out there protecting your asses and you ridicule her because she didnt do what you thought was appropriate???!!! Get real. Go out and do some good in the world and quit trying to ruin our local cops all the time!!!
Roger Christian
"Every and I mean Every agency in this county would have done the same thing. I have worked for three of them and their policy on hit and run accidents with no suspect vehicle does not get a maars report.
Anon 10:45 AM"
Not completely true. I'm retired from Delmar and if it was a hit & run we did a MAARS even if it was in a parking lot with no suspect vehicle. Same thing on the Delaware side of town.
I saw a car throw out a styrofoam bowl and fork yesterday on the road at a red light, and was wishing a police officer was around. 5 seconds later a trooper pulled up right behind this car and I was giddy thinking of the fine they were going to have to pay. I look over and this trooper is talking on his cell phone but I think, no way he is going to let that slide. I am positive that he saw it. Well, the light turns green and off they go, the car gets in turning lane and the trooper speeds right past down the road at 75mph or more. I did not get any information because I was positive he was going to do the right thing. Apparently I was wrong!
The photo of the deputy helping one change a tire must have been pre-staged.
I have only seen a police man change a tire for someone else once in my life and she was on rt 50 near annapolis headed for o.c. and she was wearing a bikini.
This is true no joke.
That is a lot to read. I did so twice. This is very concerning. How many other cases have we like this? 5 I can count right now. Who the hell is going to investigate our police here? Salisbury City seems to be the best agency around all of the sudden.
tool bag comments!!!!!! the agency makes policy that "hit and run accidents, with NO suspect info" do not require an accident report or investigation. PLEASE TELL ME WHY THIS IS ANY OFFICER, TROOPER, OR DEPUTY'S FAULT IF THE POLICY OF THE AGENCY IS SUCH???????? PLEASE TOOLBAGGERS, COME FORTH AND EXPLAIN WHY. be upset with the department and the policy! not the officers who abide by the policy
Hear say, hear say! Hmmm, lets believe someone who we don't know, who seems to have no proof of this happening and who has every motive to lie about the situation!! Or should we look into the MSP policy on parking lot accidents. If this is the case and parking lot accidents are not investigated with no suspect, than the "victim" has good reason to blow this whole thing out of proportion!
Officer Tingle is an awesome lady. Regardless of hit and run, the MDSP obviously does not deal with accidents in a parking lot. So, she did her job and did nothing wrong. Take it up with the insurance company and stop making a waste of tax dollars.
If the police are so great why don't they go to the places where EVERYONE knows they sell drugs and start arresting people. Man, cops are sooo lazy
I just love how everyone keeps referring to this as an accident and not the HIT and RUN that it is. I can understand no report for a minor, parking lot accident. I can even understand no report for a minor property damage accident occurring on a public roadway. I don't understand a no report for a hit and run. Isn't it the job of the police to record crimes? Last time I checked, motor vehicle HIT and RUNS were misdemeanors. And unless I read the post wrong, the person writing the post wasn't the reporting person, it was a third party that heard the exchange between the reporting person and the trooper, and from the way the post was written, I suspect the person writing it has some police experience.
Having been a police officer for the last five years, I have seen a lot people attempt to file false accident reports - Often when they don't realize that there are surveillance cameras in the area. They swear up and down that damage wasn't there when they walked into the store...and then you come back and tell them that you reviewed the parking lot video tape, and there was no accident. They get so angry and offended, and then you advise them that you are considering charges for filing a false report....suddenly their whole demeanor changes. The damage is no longer a big deal, and all is right with the world as long as you just forget everything that they lied about. Happens more than I would have ever imagined.
Trooper Tingle is hotttt..i would let her investigate me...lol. Keep your head up LT
Joe I had a long post detailing why the Trooper did what she did but I dont see it up here, was it the lenght, I can reduce it if there is a rule about long posts. but I did not know you had a rule about long posts
It would seem to me that the victim thought that Trooper Tingle did her job improperly therefore the complainant called the Salisbury Barrack and was told by the Sgt. on the desk that she was correct and did excately what she was supposed to do. So whats the complaint here?
Anonymous 5:27, I have been gone all day and someone else has been moderating, so I can't tell you what happened to your comment and or why it's not up. You are more than welcome to put it up again and I'll perhaps see why it didn't make it. That's up to you. Thanks, Joe
hey joe this is anon 5.27 thanks for replying. i had to get my post off my chest after talking to the Trooper. I feel better now.
Im sure they are busy and I dont know what the law is in this case. What I have a problem with is the officer accusing the person of doing it themself.
Can't wait until the writer speaks with Ernie Leatherbury and learns that the Trooper was correct in her actions. However, I'm sure they won't have anything to write then.
1:51 Like you, I see more and more police officers yuking it up on their cell phones while operating a police vehicle. As if the police radio and six speaker stereo system in the car wasn't enough for them to listen to. I suppose the cognitive distraction that makes talking on a cell phone while operating a vehicle as dangerous as driving while intoxicated doesn't apply to police officers. If I were a mayor, chief of police, or superintent, one of my first orders would be no cell phone use while operating a government vehicle.
Anon 7:28 this would never happen. Most of us have departmentaly owned cell phones and 75% of the calls are from supervisors or the dispatcher about a certain call for service. Also Govenor Omalley just passed and executuve order that prohibits all state employees from using cell phones while operating a state vehicle, however he exempted fire and police. This was done becuase they are necessary in todays environment. I agree they are a distraction but with the piss poor radio systems and private information cell phones are required. We use to be able and pull over and get the department to call us on a payphone, but most payphones are gone now and the ones that are there can not receive incoming calls.
Tingle may come off "harsh" but she has to deal with idiots all day! Should she have kissed this lady's @$$ just b/c she called the police?! Give our law enforcement officers a break! They bust their butts every day protecting the public. Just b/c someone doesn't agree with department policy the officer is automatically bashed. Try to do her job for one day...most of you wouldn't stand a chance!
First off, you people who are bashing this trooper because she would not investigate a "hit and run", need to learn the definition by law. Here you go:
Hit and Run Laws in Maryland
§ 20-102. Driver to remain at scene - Accidents resulting in bodily injury or death.
(a) The driver of each vehicle involved in an accident that results in bodily injury to or death of another person immediately shall stop the vehicle as close as possible to the scene of the accident, without obstructing traffic more than necessary.
(b) The driver of each vehicle involved in an accident that results in bodily injury to or death of another person immediately shall return to and remain at the scene of the accident until the driver has complied with § 20-104 of this title.
[An. Code 1957, art. 661/2, § 10-102; 1977, ch. 14, § 2; 1986, ch. 472, § 1; 1988, ch. 6, § 1; 1991, ch. 346, § 1; 1998, ch. 781; 2001, ch. 483; 2002, chs. 461, 462.]
§ 27-113. Violation of § 20-102 of this article.
(a) Serious bodily injury defined.- In this section, "serious bodily injury" means an injury that:
(1) Creates a substantial risk of death;
(2) Causes serious permanent or serious protracted disfigurement;
(3) Causes serious permanent or serious protracted loss of the function of any body part, organ, or mental faculty; or
(4) Causes serious permanent or serious protracted impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.
(b) Penalty for serious bodily injury.- A person who violates § 20-102 of this article ("Driver to remain at scene - Accident resulting in bodily injury or death") and who knew or reasonably should have known that the accident might result in serious bodily injury to another person and serious bodily injury actually occurred to another person, is guilty of a felony and on conviction is subject to imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than $5,000 or both.
(c) Penalty for death.- A person who violates § 20-102 of this article ("Driver to remain at scene - Accident resulting in bodily injury or death") and who knew or reasonably should have known that the accident might result in the death of another person and death actually occurred to another person, is guilty of a felony and on conviction is subject to imprisonment for not more than 10 years or a fine of not more than $10,000 or both.
[2002, chs. 461, 462.]
§ 5-106. Prosecution for misdemeanors; manslaughter by automobile, motorboat, etc.; homicide by motor vehicle.
At best, it would be failure to remain at the scene of an accident resulting in property damage. But the trooper is right, no police agency will enforce this on private property, unless personal injury was a result. Case in point my brother two years ago had his car totaled, by a guy who left the roadway and crashed into his car sitting in the driveway. The Kent County sheriffs office, and MSP responded because the lady next door called 911 and said the vehicle was embedded in the house. After finding out that the car was not into the house, no one was hurt and there was no injury or life safety hazard, the police turned around the fire/ems crews. The guy fled in his vehicle, and my brother had to file an accident claim, with "phantom vehicle" as the other car involved. Two weeks later the guy was bragging in a restaurant, at the bar to what he was unaware was an off duty officer having a few drinks waiting for his wife to meet him for dinner. He calls one of his fellow officers and reports it. They come into the restaurant and question him. They go to his house and find his suv with the same rare blue color of my brothers car transferred to his bumper. He was only charged with failure to remain at the scene of the accident resulting in property damage and failure to maintain his vehicle on the roadway. They told my brother if both cars would have still been drivable, they wouldn't have been able to charge him with anything, even after they found him.
MSP = stops,tickets and drungs WRITE 2 YOUR REPRESENTATIVES!!!!!!
Prob only 2 troopers working the entire couty that day also WHAT MORE DO U WANT MSP IS 2nd to last in pay out of ALL STATE POLICE AGENCIES IN THE US 4 COST OF LIVING
Anonymous 2:48 AM, I hope you aren't a MSP Trooper. Your grammar skills are very lacking and your lack of education is obvious.
most troopers have poor grammar skills.
FMR trooper
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