4 ms·

Do cops really type things into a computer and read the results while in motion?

MichaelApproved 12y ago
Yes. Deputy who killed former Napster COO after drifting into the bike lane while distracted by his laptop will not face charges because he was answering a work-related email - Milton Olin Jr, 65, was fatally struck by a Los Angeles county sheriff's patrol car December 8, 2013, as he rode in the bike lane in Calabasas - Deputy Anthony Wood was returning from a fire call when he took his eyes off the road to type a work-related message on an electronic device - Olin was director of operations for Napster between 2000 and 2002 and was a prominent entertainment lawyer - The victim's wife and sons have filed a wrongful death lawsuit claiming Wood was negligent Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2736376/Deputy-killed-former-Napster-COO-drifting-bike-lane-distracted-laptop-NOT-face-charges-answering-work-related-email.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2736376/Deputy-kille...
- untog 12y ago
  In conclusion: yes, they do it, and yes, it's a bad idea.
- jacquesm 12y ago
  > while distracted by his laptop will not face charges because he was answering a work-related email Somehow I feel that if I struck a cyclist while answering a work related email (not that I'd ever do such a thing) that I would not be getting off that lightly.
  - x0x0 12y ago
    eh, in sf, you get a ticket for killing cyclists. Sometimes not even that. It's really not a big deal. So it isn't as if the cop got a special deal. "We do not know of a single case of a cyclist fatality in which the driver was prosecuted, except for D.U.I. or hit-and-run," Leah Shahum, the executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, told me. [1] [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/is-it-ok-to-kill-cyclists.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/is-it-ok-to...
    - khc 12y ago
      Do people get prosecuted anywhere for fatal traffic accidents, except when they are severely breaking the law?
      - jacquesm 12y ago
        In NL if you hit a cyclist as a motor vehicle driver you're in deep trouble.
FireBeyond 12y ago
(Firefighter/medic, not cop) - we have an exemption from cell phone laws, but with the stipulation that it is to be used sparingly, and only in an emergency, i.e. it's recognized that it's not a good practice but sometimes needed (for example in my area, ambulances contact the hospital via cell phone, not radio, and depending on the severity of the patient in back, there may be a need for a driver to make contact - whilst ideally we either have additional manpower, or similar, it's not always possible). Personally, I think there abuses of this.

Yes. Deputy who killed former Napster COO after drifting into the bike lane while distracted by his laptop will not face charges because he was answering a work-related email - Milton Olin Jr, 65, was fatally struck by a Los Angeles county sheriff's patrol car December 8, 2013, as he rode in the bike lane in Calabasas - Deputy Anthony Wood was returning from a fire call when he took his eyes off the road to type a work-related message on an electronic device - Olin was director of operations for Napster between 2000 and 2002 and was a prominent entertainment lawyer - The victim's wife and sons have filed a wrongful death lawsuit claiming Wood was negligent Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2736376/Deputy-killed-former-Napster-COO-drifting-bike-lane-distracted-laptop-NOT-face-charges-answering-work-related-email.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2736376/Deputy-kille...

untog 12y ago
In conclusion: yes, they do it, and yes, it's a bad idea.
jacquesm 12y ago
> while distracted by his laptop will not face charges because he was answering a work-related email Somehow I feel that if I struck a cyclist while answering a work related email (not that I'd ever do such a thing) that I would not be getting off that lightly.
- x0x0 12y ago
  eh, in sf, you get a ticket for killing cyclists. Sometimes not even that. It's really not a big deal. So it isn't as if the cop got a special deal. "We do not know of a single case of a cyclist fatality in which the driver was prosecuted, except for D.U.I. or hit-and-run," Leah Shahum, the executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, told me. [1] [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/is-it-ok-to-kill-cyclists.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/is-it-ok-to...
  - khc 12y ago
    Do people get prosecuted anywhere for fatal traffic accidents, except when they are severely breaking the law?
    - jacquesm 12y ago
      In NL if you hit a cyclist as a motor vehicle driver you're in deep trouble.

FireBeyond 12y ago

(Firefighter/medic, not cop) - we have an exemption from cell phone laws, but with the stipulation that it is to be used sparingly, and only in an emergency, i.e. it's recognized that it's not a good practice but sometimes needed (for example in my area, ambulances contact the hospital via cell phone, not radio, and depending on the severity of the patient in back, there may be a need for a driver to make contact - whilst ideally we either have additional manpower, or similar, it's not always possible). Personally, I think there abuses of this.