re: East Baton Rouge taxpayers doled out $350k for police-caused crashes over past 2 years

I don’t doubt that BRPD has been at fault in some stupid crashes, but this article seems like a weird example.

quote:

---

Wednesday afternoon, another at-fault BRPD crash occurred at the corner of Shelley Street and North Foster. Neighbors said a cop blew through a stop sign as he was chasing a suspect and slammed into a woman in a black Honda.

---

The article immediately says it’s an “at fault” crash - according to whom? Surely there hasn’t been any litigation yet for something that occurred yesterday. If it was a legit police chase with lights and siren on, I find it hard to believe BRPD will be held at-fault. If anything, it’ll be the fleeing suspect.

Additionally, why the frick would anyone expect a police car in pursuit of a fleeing suspect to stop at a stop sign? Again.. that’s assuming lights and siren were on.

quote:

---

"I thought she was dead," a neighbor said.

---

quote:

---

Another neighbor said she watched as police tried to blame it on the guy they were chasing who got away.

---

Well… yeah. If a bystander had been killed in the chase they would 100% charge the fleeing driver with felony murder.

quote:

---

Our neighborhood, we live in a combat zone.

---

I think we may be getting closer to a root cause here…

quote:

---

If people want to smoke weed, that's their business... why would he run behind one person and jeopardize everyone else?

---

And there it is. Someone in NBR doesn’t want the police enforcing the law in their neighborhood. Color me shocked.

Again.. BRPD is a shite show and probably deserves most of the criticism they receive. But unless there’s other evidence of negligence on BRPD’s part in this particular case, I’m inclined to place the blame on the guy who decided to run from the cops.