Brickbat: Pinned Blame

In Orlando, Gerald Neal died after being struck during a police chase that apparently violated department policy. The pursuit began over a driver with an unreadable license plate—an infraction not listed among the forcible felonies that permit a chase under Orlando Police Department rules. Body camera footage shows Neal was first hit by the fleeing suspect, Dornell Bargnare, and then seconds later by Officer Christopher Moulton's unmarked Ford F-150. Moulton didn't appear to realize he'd hit Neal and instead joined other officers checking nearby homes while first responders worked to free Neal, who remained pinned under the truck for 15 minutes before being pulled out. Bargnare was arrested hours later and charged with vehicular homicide. Moulton, whose body camera was off when he returned to his vehicle, remains on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

... Gerald Neal died after being struck during a police chase that apparently violated department policy.

On of the cases where cop law (internal policies) actually aligns with civilian law? Let's see how it goes.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Bargnare was arrested hours later and charged with vehicular homicide.

Regardless of which vehicle delivered the fatal blow?

[SQRLSY]

"Now just you LOOK at twat ye made the cops do! If ye had SNOT taken shit upon yerself to blow upon an unauthorized, DANGEROUS medical device, the cops would SNOT have been FORCED to run over ye and park their truck upon thee severely! We'll have to charge, prosecute, persecute, and PUNISH ye for twat ye have done!!!"

To find precise details on what NOT to do, to avoid the flute police, please see http://www.churchofsqrls.com/DONT_DO_THIS/ … This has been a pubic service, courtesy of the Church of SQRLS!

[Untermensch]

Probably legally immaterial to the charge since Neal would not have died but for the actions of Bargnare.

[Chumby]

Am guessing it also isn’t department policy to park on top of the victim.

[mad.casual]

He was, however, driving a F.O.R.D.

[diver64]

Found
On
Roadside
Dead
is quite ironic and literally true in this case.

[Roberta]

The story's incomprehensible until you follow back thru a succession of links to get to the detail that the suspect had been stopped, then drove away, then fled on foot, and finally broke into someone's home. Without knowing that part, it's a head scratcher, like some driver was being chased by an unmarked truck because of an obscured license plate

[Rossami]

Not really that incomprehensible. He was stopped, then drove away. Per department policy (because of the relative triviality of the crime for which he was stopped), the process should have stopped there. A listing and a warrant for a future arrest, not a high-speed chase. Instead, the cop escalated, initiating the high-speed pursuit, endangering (both directly and indirectly) innocent bystanders like Neal.

The fact that after the vehicular pursuit, the suspect fled on foot and broke into someone else's house is irrelevant to the harm caused during the vehicular pursuit. Yeah, the suspect is a bad guy. The cop was still wrong.

[AT]

Per department policy (because of the relative triviality of the crime for which he was stopped)

There's no such thing as "trivial crime." The reason the policy exists is because of the unreasonable risk of harm to the public in enforcing it.

The very notion of "trivial crime" is an effort to rationalize certain illegal activities as "acceptable." Like stealing a candy bar and declaring, "What, it's not like I murdered anyone."

It does not make theft any less objectionable and wrong. Or illegal and deserving of enforcement and justice.

the process should have stopped there. A listing and a warrant for a future arrest

A warrant for who? Based on what? Was the officer even sure that the driver was Dornell Bargnare at the point when he fled? Everything I've read as I follow the links down the chain omit whether there was an initial confrontation before the perp fled (it sounds like there wasn't). Cherries, and then the perp took off.

So... exactly what would he be asking of a judge? "Your honor, I'd like a warrant sworn out for a mysterious driver behind the wheel of a car whose plate I couldn't read."

I mean, come on. That kind of Monday Morning Quarterbacking is nonsense.

That's not to justify the chase, mind you. (Though "chase" is a fickle word. No police procedure in the world says, "If the guy takes off just let him go." The cop was right to attempt to pursue him - where he went off the rails was how he attempted that pursuit.) Certainly not a high-speed one would have been justified, and likely not one in a residential are either.

Call it in, begin a reasonable pursuit, describe the vehicle and last known location/direction if he loses him.

endangering (both directly and indirectly) innocent bystanders like Neal.

This is also nonsense. The reason Neal was harmed was because Bargnare hit him with his car. Which only happened because Bargnare fled.

That's the reason he's looking at VH. The only thing the cop is guilty of is poor decision making and failure to follow policy, which made a bad situation - caused exclusively by Bargnare - worse.

Which, yes, DOES deserve some administrative punishment. Up to and including losing his badge if the bits about him turning off his bodycam are true.

[Restoring the Dream]

Didn't know he hit Neal, or didn't care?

[LIBtranslator]

That is some grammatically challenging reporting.

[NealAppeal]

True condemnation coming from Hank!