Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Deputy Who Fatally Struck Cyclist While Answering Email Will Face No Charges

Posted by samzenpus on from the off-the-hook dept.

Frosty P writes The LA County District Attorney's Office declined to press charges against a sheriff's deputy who was apparently distracted by his mobile digital computer when he fatally struck cyclist and former Napster COO Milton Olin Jr. in Calabasas last December. The deputy was responding to routine work email when he drifted into the bike lane and struck and killed Mr. Olin. An official with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department said it is launching its own probe into the deputy’s behavior.

2 of 463 comments (clear)

  1. Re:yet if we did it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    if me or you did this, we would be locked up on vehicular manslaughter

    That's not the point though, this isn't a case of "this deputy just hit a person and killed them".

    Facts:
    1. The deputy was operating an electronic device in a moving vehicle.
    2. This was within standard operating procedure for the deputy.
    3. While doing a prescribed activity, the deputy drifted and killed an individual.

    Therefore, if the deputy was not instructed or given the opportunity to answer his email in a moving vehicle this would never have happened. In this instance, you'll probably find that the deputies are overworked and are forced to juggle paperwork while moving between scenes. The only logical conclusion to be reached is that in the normal course of his duty a deputy broke a law. Generally, when it comes to law enforcement there are rules that allow them to do this and in this specific instance it is most probable there is some insidious political reason that the DA declined to press charges.

    LEOs are in a completely different boat when it comes to them being susceptible to certain laws and in this case I feel the law was not applied unjustly. The family will have a right of recourse against the state through the civil system and the procedure for answering emails has probably changed.

    Do not apply your emotions to the law, that is not how it works.

  2. Re:yet if we did it by jmcvetta · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I too am not a big fan of the police, but that's a hateful slander of the majority police who work hard and are good people.

    Nah dude, that's just a bigmedia bullshit line. In my first-hand experience, and in the experience of many other people with whom I've spoken, the vast majority of police are scum sucking bullies who prefer harassing decent citizens over confronting real criminals. That's my experience as a middle class white guy, and most people say the police abuse is even worse if one is poor and/or brown.