Sorry you got hit, but that was then, a different cop, and different circumstances. Save your cynicism for some other discussion where it doesn’t dishonor the pathos of this unfortunate circumstance.

Can we take a minute and stop worrying about the officer? I’ll bet he has this incident in his rear view mirror in no time. Meanwhile this husband and son have to deal with this nightmare for the rest of their lives, especially because they lived it. By the way, in 2000 I was hit by a cop flying through a red light at about 60 MPH (in a 30 MPH zone}. He didn’t have on his lights, sirens or anything, so let’s stop assuming that the officer wasn’t negligent and placing the negligence on the civilian. Cops screw up too. This guy will get paid leave for a month and then back to business as usual. Poor guy.

But worse – the cop who hit him wasn’t even directly involved in pursuit of the fleeing motorcycle; he was just heading for the interstate entrance so that he could join it. I know it’s hard to insinuate oneself into a situation you weren’t part of, but since it’s not like the trooper was trying to keep the fleeing cycle in view, what possible excuse did he have for failing to slow down at intersections as he headed for the expressway ramp? You just can’t assume that other drivers know you’re coming.

streatordave: I agree. High speed chases within an urban environment are incredibly dangerous. I keep reading that law enforcement agencies are minimizing them – and then I keep reading about innocents being hurt or killed because of them, whether hit by the police cars or the fleeing perpetrators. This is what helicopters are for.

But let’s be fair: we don’t know who was at fault in that intersection yet. Did Porter get distracted by the sirens and lights and coast through a light or stop sign, or did the cop barrel through the controls at that crossroad? We don’t know yet. I don’t know how you taught it, but I recall – no mean feat at my age – being taught as a teenager in driving school to pull over and stop when I heard ambulance or police sirens.