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Friday, November 28, 2014

Cop Cruiser Crashes: You Pay The Cost When Local Police Cause Accidents

WASHINGTON (WJLA) – They’re sworn to serve and protect. But police officers are not immune to causing harm, especially behind the wheel. An ABC7 I-Team investigation discovered police officers in the D.C. area have been found at fault in hundreds of accidents, causing deaths, injuries and thousands of dollars in damages.

The ABC7 I-Team obtained databases from six jurisdictions, looking at accident reports from Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland, as well as Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties in Virginia. We crunched the numbers and discovered that since 2010, there have been more than 2,300 at-fault accidents in those counties.

Among those reports, we found what the departments classified as “improper backing” as the leading cause of accidents where police officers were to blame. “Driver inattention” and “failure to maintain control” were also large contributors to departmental accidents that were later deemed preventable.

The accidents detailed in hundreds of reports range from minor incidents, like a 2014 Prince William County police crash in which the officer sideswiped a car after looking down at a cellphone, to more serious ones, like a 2012 incident involving an Arlington County officer. In that case, an officer assisting with a foot chase drove his vehicle down a steep embankment, injuring himself and causing approximately more than $11,000 in damages to his cruiser.

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The problem is that they don't train their officers to be able to drive above the posted limit while typing on their laptops and talking on their cellphones, yet tell them they can do it because they are "Highly Trained".

That's the problem; lack of training, is what the story is!

Just WOW!

Anonymous said...

Bet you'd find the same cost associated with SPd and Sheriffs office. I bet the sheriff's offic has a lot of at fault accidents that cost tax payers through higher premiums. Joe why don't you post what it cost Wicomico County and city in auto claims as a result of LE. do they also require them additional driver training other then in their academy training. Bet they dont?

Anonymous said...

MSP is the same way. Like a few years back when the trooper was speedy across an icy Vienna bridge and killed a lady. he has been issued 2 new vehicles since that (not accident). if that was a civilian it would at least been manslaughter and driving no more.

Anonymous said...

MSP is the same way. Like a few years back when the trooper was speedy across an icy Vienna bridge and killed a lady. he has been issued 2 new vehicles since that (not accident). if that was a civilian it would at least been manslaughter and driving no more.

Anonymous said...

5:30 the sheriff's office acts like they are above the law and don't hold themselves accountable since their boss is elected and doesn't answer to anybody except voters. Deputies can also hide behind the FOP and don't answer to policy as does all other county employees.

Anonymous said...

Wonder how many at fault accidents they have had?