The Dragonator says: The current punishment for 1st-degree murder by drunk driving is death penalty or life in prison, and the legal limit for blood-alcohol is 0.00%...Unless you're a cop. Cops always hire the best criminal defense lawyers, or rather the FOP uses your donations to hire the best lawyers for cops. Note how the "news" fails to report that dozens of ordinary chemicals and bodily fluids give a false positive of so-called blood-alcohol tests -- a fact all cops know when it applies to them -- proving that "news" corporations are paid by the Police State to lie to you.
Indianapolis, IN. Aug. 20 – Questions about how Indianapolis police have handled a fatal drunken-driving investigation of one of their own officers became that much more pointed Thursday.
Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi announced he would drop the most serious charges against officer David Bisard. Why? Because Bisard’s fellow police officers had botched the case.
The reaction was swift — and far-reaching.
An embarrassed Public Safety Director Frank Straub announced that the FBI will be brought in on the case. He also removed a lieutenant from his positions as commander of the department’s hit-and-run unit and coordinator of the multiagency Fatal Alcohol Crash Team.
One victim’s family called the dismissal a "travesty." A legal expert said the police ineptness leaves the public with little choice but to wonder whether the bungled case was more than an accident. And Mayor Greg Ballard has become increasingly frustrated as he seeks answers, as well.
"The people in the city are not the only ones wondering what happened at the scene," Ballard said. "I am, too."
Straub and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Paul Ciesielski repeated their insistence Thursday that Bisard received "absolutely no deference" from fellow officers Aug. 6 after he crashed his cruiser into two motorcycles that were stopped at a light.
The impact of the crash — which occurred while Bisard, 36, was responding to a request for help serving a warrant, with his cruiser’s lights and siren activated — killed Eric Wells, 30, and seriously injured two other riders.
Bisard surrendered after prosecutors learned a blood test had shown his blood-alcohol level was 0.19 — more than twice the level at which an Indiana driver is considered intoxicated.
But that arrest didn’t come until five days after the crash because of the lag in test results. The delay in arresting Bisard drew scrutiny from some — as did the fact that no officers conducted field-sobriety or breath tests of Bisard at the scene.
Or that nobody seemed to suspect Bisard might have been drinking. Officers who interacted with Bisard after the crash have insisted he showed no signs of being impaired.
But more problematic for Brizzi: The officers failed to follow proper procedures in collecting that blood sample — and it was the only evidence that Bisard was intoxicated…
"Everything else can be explained away," said Henry Karlson, an expert on criminal procedure and a professor emeritus at Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis.
But add in the mishap with the blood draw by seasoned alcohol-crash investigators, he said, and "there’s only so many mistakes you can make before it starts looking like a plan."
UPDATES - IMPD Chief Paul Ciesielski demoted three officers including his second-in-command following the case of Officer David Bisard. Authorities say a blood test showing Bisard was drunk cannot be used in court because the person who drew Bisard's blood did not have the right certification. Hundreds of people packed Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis Friday night to protest the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department's botched investigation of one of its own. A thunderous roar of motorcycle engines permeated the air as bikers showed support for three of their own, those killed and injured when Officer David Bisard struck them while he was on duty and intoxicated, authorities said.
North Carolina Review Finds Crime Lab Fixed Murder Cases - In March, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper ordered an independent review by two former FBI agents of the State Bureau of Inspection (SBI), the state's crime lab, after an agent testified that the crime lab had an unwritten policy of excluding complete blood tests results from reports provided to defense lawyers before trials. The report was released today and it has shocking results. The independent review found that the crime lab omitted, overstated or falsely reported blood tests in dozens of cases. The cases involved three that ended in executions and another involving the murder of Michael Jordan's father. The report found that the crime lab repeatedly aided prosecutors in obtaining convictions over 16 years by misrepresenting blood evidence and keeping important notes and documents from defense attorneys. The report calls on the review of 190 criminal cases in which "information that may have been material and even favorable to the defense of an accused defendant was withheld or misrepresented." The report finds that the lab may have violated federal and state laws that evidence favorable to the defendants must be disclosed to their lawyers. At least four of those cases involve inmates that are on death row and one inmate whose death sentence was commuted to life.
US129Photos.com was parked on the Dragon at Deals Gap TN as usual, catchin the action with a dead eye and steady hand on the trigger.
I believe the going rate for crash photos is FREE to the victim. But worth any penny.
Full face brain bucket was a good investment. Guess that's why them CROTrockets hang off, huh?
Racers teach to fall off like a rag doll, to save broken bones -- complied with. Rode it home. A bottle of hydrogen peroxide spray is a good $2 investment with your tool kit.
BTW Diamond Gussett makes Kevlar jeans, made in Tennessee. Mesh jackets are the best sunscreen.
Eagle-eyed photogs at US129Photos also caught Brittany failing to wear her gear:
THE DRAGONATER WINS IN TRAFFIC COURT AT DEALS GAP, RAISES SPEED LIMIT TO 65 MPH ON THE DRAGON - NOLLE PROSEQUI BY BLOUNT COUNTY ATTORNEY GENERAL. NO TESTIMONY, HEARING NOR TRIAL WHATSOEVER. 60 MPH SPEEDING TICKET DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE, COSTS PAID BY THE STATE, IN BLOUNT COUNTY GENERAL SESSIONS COURT WITH JUDGE BREWER. THP TROOPER RANDALL HUCKEBY ADMITTED ON VIDEOTAPE DURING TRAFFIC STOP THAT ALL SPEEDING TICKETS NORTHBOUND ON US129 AT MILE MARKER 0.5 ARE FEDERAL JURISDICTION, NOT STATE JURISDICTION (VIDEO BY THE DRAGONATER). HUCKEBY WAS ALSO CAUGHT ON VIDEO SPEEDING AT 60 MPH ON THE DRAGON, WITHOUT THE MANDATORY EMERGENCY LIGHTS AND SIREN REQUIRED FOR IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION (VIDEO BY THE DRAGONATER). TDOT ADMITTED IN WRITING THAT THE MANDATORY TRAFFIC ENGINEERING SURVEY SPEED AUDIT WAS NEVER PERFORMED, IN VIOLATION OF TN CODE, THUS THE POSTED 30 MPH SPEED LIMIT ON THE DRAGON REVERTS TO THE DEFAULT 65 MPH IN TN CODE. THE DRAGONATER ALSO MADE VIDEO OF TROOPER HUCKEBY SPEEDING UP TO 60 MPH ON THE DRAGON IN A 30 MPH ZONE, WITHOUT MANDATORY EMERGENCY LIGHTS NOR SIREN, IN VIOLATION OF TN CODE, AND PERJURY IN HIS PERSONNEL FILE, WHICH SHOWED HIS $100,000+ SALARY. 2007 TDOT SAFETY AUDIT REPORT CONFESSED THAT THP'S JOB IS TO BAN ALL COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES ON THE DRAGON, SO THP TICKETS INCREASED 11,400% IN BLOUNT COUNTY. THP'S STALKER RADAR OPERATOR MANUAL CONFESSED THAT RADAR CANNOT MEASURE THE SPEED OF VEHICLES WITHIN 18 MPH OF ACTUAL SPEED. WATCH THIS SPACE FOR FULL EVIDENCE FILE. UPDATE 7 MARCH 2011
Victor Steen, a 17-year-old high school senior from West Pensacola, Florida, was murdered while riding a bicycle home from a post-Homecoming Game party last October 3rd. His murderer, Jerald Ard, ran him down in an automobile. According to eyewitnesses, Ard dragged the victim a considerable distance, nearly severing his body in half.
Ard had endangered other drivers and pedestrians as he veered into the wrong lane and even drove onto a sidewalk in pursuit of Victor, repeatedly attempting to shoot the teenager with a lethal weapon. After he ran down the youngster, Ard tried to cover up his crime by planting a gun on the victim.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Ard is a police officer. Nor should it be considered unusual that he will suffer no significant punishment for his act of vehicular homicide: After it was established last April that Ard’s actions had exposed Victor “to unreasonable risk of harm and injury” — gee, ya think? — Capt. Jay Worley suspended Ard for two weeks without pay.
In a coroner’s inquest last February, Escambia County Judge John Simon blamed the victim for his death.
“Mr. Steen desired to avoid apprehension on October 3, 2009. That desire led to Mr. Steen’s ill-advised decision to ignore a lawful command.”
What about Ard’s reckless driving? According to former police officer Dave Klinger, a use-of-force expert who examined the case, Ard was driving with “one hand on the steering wheel and looking out the window when he [fired] the Taser, which [meant he didn't] have complete control over the car.” This not only led to Victor’s death, but placed other lives at risk.
Judge Simon says that “Officer Ard violated no traffic laws in light of the fact that he was actively pursuing Mr. Steen.”
All of this depends, of course, on the assumption that Ard had just cause to be pursuing the 17-year-old — and he’s never told a straight story about his reasons for doing so. He initially claimed to have seen the young man at a construction site and suspected that he may have stolen something. After an eyewitness testified that Victor had passed the site without stopping, Ard changed his story, claiming that there was no reflector or light on the bike Victor was riding.
Given Ard’s equivocal description of his reasons for pursuing Victor, he clearly had no “lawful” right to detain the young man, let alone assault him with a Taser — thereby directly precipitating the victim’s violent death when he lost control of his bike.
Dashcam video recorded by one of the police cars that arrived on the scene showed Ard unlocking the passenger side of his cruiser and retrieving an object, then crawling under the car. He stayed there for more than a half-minute. When paramedics arrived two minutes later, they found a silver-and-black 9mm semiautomatic handguns in one of the victim’s pockets.
“Lab tests showed the gun had been wiped clean,” reports the St. Petersburg Times. “No fingerprints were on it — not Victor’s, not anyone’s.” Either the mortally wounded teenager — despite being nearly cut in half by Ard’s cruiser — managed to wipe the gun clean in the seconds before he died, or Ard planted a “drop gun” to provide a retroactive pretext for his pursuit of the teenager.
After seeing the video, an investigator for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement asked Ard if he had planted the gun. The subject was promptly dropped when Ard denied that he had done so.
According to Klinger, Ard’s use of a Taser in these circumstances was impermissible: “You don’t Taser people in circumstances that increase the likelihood of injury unless they’re a suspect for something like rape or murder.”
Assuming that Ard’s second story is correct, Victor Steen was suspected of what Judge Simon called a “non-criminal” infraction — hardly the kind of thing that justifies the use of lethal force. However, Judge Simon placed his imprimatur on Ard’s lethal actions by insisting that Steen precipitated the chase by engaging in “unprovoked flight” from Ard, which created a “reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.”
This neatly closes the circular argument: Ard didn’t commit a crime by murdering Victor Steen, because the young man — a mere Mundane, after all — made a criminal of himself by fleeing the armed stranger who eventually killed him for no reason.
When Police Videos Go Missing - The Tennessean reports on its front page today that 1,300 dash cam videos from the Nashville police department have been erased. The police department blames the video camera vendor. The vendor blames the police department. More disturbing, DUI defense attorneys interviewed by the paper who had sought video of their clients’ arrests were told by the police department that the videos didn’t exist, not that they had been erased.
"Shit's gettin way too complicated for me. There are white folks, and then there are ignorant mutherfuckers like you! You can put lipstick on a pig. Sorry ass mutherfucker's got nuttin on me. I inhaled frequently - that was the point. Pot helped, and booze. A little blow when you could afford it. Junkie, pothead. That's where I'd been headed. You ain't my bitch nigger, git your own damn fries!" -Barack Hussien Obama Soetoro, Dreams From My Father MP3
Obama's in charge of growing Gangsta Govt's opium supply, so he gets the best shit
In Knoxville TN, even the cops shoot traffic scameras. In USA, 85% of drivers just ignore the tickets and throw them away, without penalty. 80% of revenue from traffic scameras is exported to private companies in Australia and Communist China.
A state trooper rolled his car multiple times while chasing two reckless motorcyclists, one of whom returned to taunt the injured trooper trooper, officials said.
The incident happened on the northbound ramp from Interstate 5 to State Route 599 at approximately 6:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Washington State Patrol Trooper Cliff Pratt said the trooper was chasing a group of at least nine members of a south King County motorcycle group who were speeding dangerously and getting too close to cars. As the trooper tried to close in on the fastest biker, he told Pratt that two other bikers cut him off.
"Had he not slowed down and slammed on the brakes, he would have hit them," Pratt said. "At his speed that made him lose control."
The trooper's vehicle rolled several times, finally landing in a ditch alongside the ramp.
"It's infuriating when all we're trying to do is enforce the laws in the state of Washington and protect the public, said Pratt. "Obviously these motorcycles traveling at 100 miles per hour with no regard for the safety of anybody else is a huge problem for us in this area."
As he waited for help to arrive, one of the motorcyclists he'd been chasing returned to the scene, Pratt said. The motorcyclist parked across the street, approached the mangled patrol car on foot, then laughed and clapped at the injured and bleeding trooper before speeding off.
"Now you're talking about a state trooper who rolled his car several times. He's obviously injured, pinned inside his vehicles and you've got a couple of motorcyclists who really don't care whether this trooper lives or dies at this point, to the point where they think it's funny," Pratt said.
Investigators believe they have the motorcyclists' registration information, Pratt said, and they are searching for the two people. No description was available.
Passersby stopped to help and call 911, and the trooper was pulled out of his car by emergency crews and taken to Harborview Medical Center where he was treated for serious injuries, including a head injury. He was released early Wednesday morning.
He was identified as 46-year-old Brian Salyer of Spanaway. He is a 22-year veteran of the force.
Comments: 380
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HAHA. That's all I have to say. What goes around comes around. The cop would have been clapping if the motorcyclist had crashed. Funny when the tables are turned!
That takes balls.
texting and driving are dangerous combo. then add a high speed chase too it.
Well... If he didn't have his lights on behind the bike, then technically he wasn't pulling the motorcycle over, and it's still only a speeding/reckless ticket. You guys get all excited like "OOh. He's going to get what's coming to him. Poor cops.". But down here on earth and in reality, usually nothing major comes of it.
I had an experience near Tukwila with the W.S.P. a couple of years ago. I got pulled over for no reason by an old grey haired motorcycle cop. I had a bag of garbage in the back of my truck which contained a couple of beer cans, I got hauled in for D.U.I. and my vehicle got towed. I passed the breathalyzer so they wrote me a speeding ticket (which I later proved I didn't do in court) Then they dropped me of in a parking lot 10 miles away from where my truck was towed to. So I had to hire a cab to get back to my truck then pay $350.00 to get my truck out. I also missed work that day. I have seen with my own eyes how unprofessional some of these cops are. I wouldn’t be surprised if in this current situation it was an old man on a Honda 90 and the W.S.P. just wanted to test out there new pepper spray and billy clubs.
Sorry to say it but the whole thing doesn't add up. Use your critical thinking skills folks.
ps: who is the hot looking Military babe in the lower photo...right side of the WSP car..? 10+ bay-ba..!
yeah..who did pull the cop out of the car? was it by chance one of the motorcycle riders that pulled over to help?
In the still picture above it looks like there are four, maybe five motorcyclists standing there. Are they part of the 9 bikes that the trooper was chasing?
I love how KOMO stated that it was a Ruff Ryder on a white & Blue GSXR... No clue who that could be.. LOL Then went on to say that Ruff Ryders are the equivellant to the Hells Angel's but a sport bike club. LOL Obviously KOMO did not research at all on the motorcycle set, because that is so far off! Understand what you are reporting before you start telling the public unresearched facts. The trooper was not injured or bleeding as he was sitting in his car on his cell phone calling disbatch, completely embarassed. If you are going to try and clip bikers to make them crash & end up crashing yourself, then the only people that stop to come to your aid are bikers, then you want to faulsly report to the news.. Your just a punk cop trying to abuse your power. There were about 30 bikes that stopped to make sure he was OK and stayed with him until other WSP arrived. KOMO is faulsly reporting this story, just from the troopers stand point, of course they dramatized the whole situation. I will never believe anything I ever see on the news again!
Has anyone noticed that KOMO has changed the above story from what they reported since last night? It now says that 2 bikes cut the patrol car off and he slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting them thus causing him to lose control of his vehicle. Also, they are reporting what officer Pratt said or was told by officer Brian Salyer. Keep in mind officer Salyer was the driver of the patrol car that rolled 5-6 times that resulted in serious injuries including a head injury. I wish Salyer a fast a full recovery. supposedly there were more than 30 bikes..where are all the witnesses and video from this incident? I am sure that some of the riders had helmet cams and we know the patrol car has a camera. Video is the only way we will know what really happened.....
Sadly, I have not seen one question as to how Pratt knew the biker taunted and ran. So, now I'll ask. How did Pratt know that a biker came back and taunted the trooper? Was it the trooper with the head injury that reported it? BTW I do hope the trooper makes a complete recovery; however, IF he caused this--I hope that he is also prosecuted.
Awesome. Sounds like the cop got overly agressive in his pursuit and paid the price for his hubris. The public doens't need rambo lone-ranger cops because their actions put the public at greater risk. This is one case out of 100 where the cop is punished for his foolish behavior rather than the public. In this case natural laws punished the guilty. I add my voice in mockery.
his whole story sounds made up from the cops point of view. Lets see the cop vid of the chase. More like in a hurry to get to the donut shop.
With all the stories in the news about various cops doing stooopid and dangerous stuff to citizens, why would you think there isn't a population out there that hates them ? Sometimes deserved...maybe sometimes not,,,,,,but hates them none the less.
Cops LIE all the time, they really lie to get out of a jam they cause. We had a cop in Hawaii that rolled his car and claimed there was a drug deal going on he was chasing. Turns out he was drinking on the job and rolled his car chasing deer. Do NOT believe everything you hear from the police.
“Put some faith and trust in our authority figures. You can’t name 10 incidents where a citizen video has shown a police officer to have lied on a police report.” -Jim Pasco, Fraternal Order of Police national director
Rider died within sight of the Tree Of Shame at Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort, and nobody noticed. No comment by CROT.
"After a fun week-end tragedy strikes the Dragon. Details are sketchy, but apparently the body of a rider missing since Monday was found down the bank at Wheelie Hell corner on the North Carolina side of the Dragon. The body was discovered when another biker wrecked in the same corner and saw the wreckage. This is the first fatality of the year near the Dragon. Technically it was not on the 11-miles of the Dragon. Please ride safe." -TailOfTheDragon.com, August 3, 2010
"No major incidents that I'm aware of until Monday, when a rider went off at the top of the hill in front of the resort, and wasn't found until the following day when apparently another rider went off on the same (first) turn and saw the previous wreckage. Please be careful out there and remember to let your tires warm up and get sticky before riding your usual pace, no matter what kind of vehicle you're on/in." -Killboy.com, Update 4 August 2010
ETR: Body of Missing Rider Found - "I'll quote from unnamed sources. According to what I was told the dude left at around noon on Monday headed up the hill to make a run. He never came back and they started looking for obvious signs of someone crashing, I.E. skid marks, scratches in the roadway etc. They never located him. He was with a group staying at the CROT and they said he mentioned maybe taking a ride somewhere else. They also said he had a video recorder on his bike and may have filmed his accident. It was also stated he had some sort of issues with his brakes recently and maybe he could not stop. They also said he has been on the Dragon several times and one would think he knew that corner turned left. They reportedly called Blount county sheriffs office to report him missing but no one really knew where he could be so no extensive search was implemented at that time. Also as far as I heard there was no other accident at that scene that caused someone to see the wreckage and call police. One of the workers at the CROT just went and looked over there and found him. *This is what I heard* It does not make it fact....."
BCSO has no knowledge of its search for missing rider
Graham County Sheriff Office confirmed the death via telephone call. Graham and Swain County Sheriffs have a mutual aid agreement. Blount County Sheriff Office and Swain County Sheriff Office Communications depts had no knowledge of the crash. NCHP worked the crash and told the Dragonator the rider was Michael J Cupp of Middlestown, Ohio. NCHP crash report only listed the bike as a 1999 Kawasaki. Whether a cruiser, tourer or sportbike is unknown. Trooper Aaron Ammons knows the answer. VIN JKAZX4G18XA02 matches a ZX600-G.
Troop G, District VI Swain County US 19 North Bryson City,NC 28713 (828) 488 - 2184 (828) 488 - 2185 fax
Hi guys/gals of ETR. My name is Ike. I am the organizer of the annual meetup of "motorcycle videographers" at Deals Gap/Tail of the Dragon. This was our fourth annual meetup at this great location. I'll do my best to describe what happened.
We lost Michael J. Cupp around mid day on August 2. There was a rain storm move in at CROT and TOD shortly after Mike started to make his third or fourth run up the mountain from the resort. He was alone and was not trying to catch or keep up with our small band of riders who set out 20 minutes or so before Mike ventured out. He chose to remain with another rider back at the resort, and decided to make another run before the rain came. Our group waited for Mike's return, but knew that he was a safe and excellent rider and had been on the dragon many times. Not only with our group but on his own for many years. We thought in the first couple of hours that he might have chosen to check out Happy Valley Rd in lieu of riding TOD in the pouring down rain. We thought that he might have bike problems and was left stranded, and worse case, run off of the road in an attempt to return to CROT. My last conversation with him was regarding how we were going to measure the sag on both of our bikes and make some tweaks that night if necessary. We had enough hands there to make that a pretty easy task that would give us something to do with one of our evenings hanging out at the resort.
Anyways, we waited for the weather to pass and for the road to dry, but trying to conduct a search during peak time is near to impossible as many of you know. My girlfriend and I made a run out to Happy Valley Road to look around out there for Mike, also with no luck in finding him. We called the Blount county sherriff department, and the dispatch said that they would send an officer out and keep an eye out for Mike. We started our extensive search after night fall with flashlights along the entire road for any sign of someone running off. Looking for turned up gravel or any signs of a motorcycle leaving the road at all of the cliffs and especially close to those where no trees or mountain side would have caught him. We looked until around 3AM on the TOD. No sleep that night for those searching. We were all hoping for the sound of Mike coming down the mountain to the resort with a tale of getting stranded somewhere over in the GSMNP and having to get a tow.
With no luck in our searching, we called Blount county again on Tuesday morning from the DGMCR store, and we also were able to get Brad involved. He was getting everyone organized for an extensive search with the mule along the trails below the common places where riders have "disappeared". Ten minutes after that search was conducted, Mike's lifeless body was found in the corner at the top of "wheelie hell" by one of the DGMCR staff. The bike was upright in a balanced position between two trees. Mike was found lying on a large rock lying face down. One of our guys searched 20 feet from that particular spot in our attempts to find Mike on our own, and could not see him because of the brush. There was not a mark or a skid on the road or in the gravel where the bike left the pavement. However, there appeared to be a fresh tire skid coming down the mountain crossing the double yellow intersecting the line at which Mike was taking to make the corner. It appeared that he may have uprighted the bike to avoid striking someone crossing that line, but of course we are not sure.
His father and brother left Ohio and arrived to get Mike's pickup truck on Thursday morning around 9:30AM at DGMCR. His father asked that we leave a memorial on the tree of shame.
Don't take life for granted, each moment that we are given is a blessing.
Pirate attacks Corvette with lack of countersteering skills, same week as this fatal crash
CUPP, Michael J. Age 39, of Hamilton, died August 2, 2010 in Swain County, North Carolina. He was born August 11, 1970 in Hamilton, Ohio the son of Larry and Paula (Combs) Cupp. He attended Fairfield High School. He was employed by Pjax Inc. in West Chester, Ohio. He loved riding motorcycles and working with his hands. He is survived by his mother, Paula Cupp; father, Larry (Sue) Cupp; brother, Wayne (Jenny) Cupp; grandparents, Alpha (Donnie) Hume; cousin, Paula Cupp (Randy) Romer; nieces, Amber Cupp and Emily Cupp; nephew, Christopher Cupp and many other family members. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Robert and Mildred Cupp, Pearl and Georgia Combs and aunt, Kathy Cupp. Funeral service will be Saturday, August 7, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. at Weigel Funeral Home, 980 NW Washington Blvd., Hamilton with Pastor Dale French officiating. Burial will be in Rose Hill Burial Park. Visitation will be Friday, August 6th from 5-8:00 p.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers the family request donations to your favorite charity. Online condolences are available at www.weigelfuneralhome.com
Map of fatalities on the Dragon - One previous fatal crash at Wheelie Hell curve, a deceptively spooky left-hand kink up the hill in front of CROT, if a rider doesn't already know how far he can lean without scraping. Note that 99.999% of riders don't wheelie on Wheelie Hell Hill, which is actually the first Beginners End. Perhaps a decreasing radius, or a right/left whip rather than a 45-degree kink, looking at the satellite photo.
USDOT's Hurt Report proves that 90% of riders don't know what Countersteering is, since all state police censor that word from motorcycle rider tests, thanks to greed by MSF's cop-run riding schools. That would explain why this dead rider didn't leave any skidmarks to find him by. Failure to countersteer feels like the handlebars are welded straight. Bikes steer in the opposite direction of a curve, in order to make the bike lean. Bikes steer in the opposite direction to cars and trikes.
At least one other TN rider crashed there, riding a wheelie up Wheelie Hell straight. He broke his leg and lay there for several hours, undiscovered. A very skilled sportbike rider, with a little ADD on prescription speed. Just tried to ride the wheelie too long. He lived to tell the tale, and continued to ride long wheelies on 129.
Looks like this corner needs a yellow ribbon tied between the old oak trees, as previously done at Rocket Corner at Calderwood Dam, after that undiscovered fatal crash nightmare.
REALITY CHECK
MOTORCYCLE CRASH FACES OF DEATH - Not even safety gear can help you survive Uncle Scam's defective highway designs, and automobiles built for roadkill.
"For decades, speed was the subject of the most widespread slogans drummed into the public. 'Speed kills' and 'slow down and live' are familiar ones peddled by the National Safety Council. The findings showed a more complex picture of the role of speed than had ever been assumed before. Accident involvement rates are at a minimum at speeds between fifty and seventy five miles per hour. Although obviously the severity of accidents is greater at higher speeds, the study revealed that considering accident frequency rates and severity, the number of injuries per vehicle miles traveled is at its minimum [up to six times lower]. The law embodies an invincible rationale: 'He had an accident; therefore he violated the law.' No distinction is made between responsibility for the accident and responsibility for the injury due to unsafe vehicle design or construction. Manslaughter charges are filed routinely against drivers; there is yet to be recorded any similar charges against the manufacturers for vehicle defects. A typical police traffic accident report has a list of 'contributing circumstances' which the officer is to check off: 'Speed too fast; failed to yield right of way; drove left of center; improper overtaking; passed stop sign; ran traffic signal; improper lights; had been drinking; and other improper driving.' Thus the driver is heir to all the dangers created by the automobile designers, not only in terms of bodily injury but also in terms of legal exposure. The result of this drastic imbalance in the law is the very poor quality of accident investigation in this country. Consequently, enforcement of the law brings no pressure on the car makers to increase the safety of their vehicles." -Ralph Nader, attorney at law and presidential candidate, from "Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile", quoting David Soloman in "Accidents on Main Rural Highways Related to Speed, Driver and Vehicle," FHwA (1964). Nader forced GM and VW to start using CV joints, anti-sway bars and proper independent suspensions that don't roll over at 20 mph.
"One hundred forty years ago, the Royal Society in England warned against the railroads, claiming that at speeds over 30 miles per hour, the air supply to the passenger compartment would be cut off and people would die from asphyxiation. And the college of physicians in Munich, for its part, warned that at 30 mph, travelers would suffer headaches, vertigo and possible lose their sight because of a blurring effect. Over 30 mph great catastrophies were predicted, because everyone knew that even a twig would shatter the wheels." -Jules Burgman, ABC News, NASA Langley Research Center, The Impact of Science on Society, NASA SP-482, NASA Scientific and Technical Information Branch, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1985
The illegal speed limit on the Dragon is 30 mph... The reason it's illegal to set low speed limits is they put drivers to sleep, causing a 600% increase in crashes according to USDOT. The only legal speed limit is set by measuring the 85th-Percentile Speed, based on the average speed of traffic, during daylight, without rain or fog, at the end of a straight, not counting trucks or slow vehicles, without a police presence. This is literal democracy in a republic.
"Government control of communications and transportation." -Communist Manifesto, 6th Plank
THE DRAGONATER WINS IN TRAFFIC COURT AT DEALS GAP, RAISES SPEED LIMIT TO 65 MPH ON THE DRAGON - NOLLE PROSEQUI BY BLOUNT COUNTY ATTORNEY GENERAL. NO TESTIMONY, HEARING NOR TRIAL WHATSOEVER. 60 MPH SPEEDING TICKET DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE, COSTS PAID BY THE STATE, IN BLOUNT COUNTY GENERAL SESSIONS COURT WITH JUDGE BREWER. THP TROOPER RANDALL HUCKEBY ADMITTED ON VIDEOTAPE DURING TRAFFIC STOP THAT ALL SPEEDING TICKETS NORTHBOUND ON US129 AT MILE MARKER 0.5 ARE FEDERAL JURISDICTION, NOT STATE JURISDICTION (VIDEO BY THE DRAGONATER). HUCKEBY WAS ALSO CAUGHT ON VIDEO SPEEDING AT 60 MPH ON THE DRAGON, WITHOUT THE MANDATORY EMERGENCY LIGHTS AND SIREN REQUIRED FOR IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION (VIDEO BY THE DRAGONATER). TDOT ADMITTED IN WRITING THAT THE MANDATORY TRAFFIC ENGINEERING SURVEY SPEED AUDIT WAS NEVER PERFORMED, IN VIOLATION OF TN CODE, THUS THE POSTED 30 MPH SPEED LIMIT ON THE DRAGON REVERTS TO THE DEFAULT 65 MPH IN TN CODE. THE DRAGONATER ALSO MADE VIDEO OF TROOPER HUCKEBY SPEEDING UP TO 60 MPH ON THE DRAGON IN A 30 MPH ZONE, WITHOUT MANDATORY EMERGENCY LIGHTS NOR SIREN, IN VIOLATION OF TN CODE, AND PERJURY IN HIS PERSONNEL FILE, WHICH SHOWED HIS $100,000+ SALARY. 2007 TDOT SAFETY AUDIT REPORT CONFESSED THAT THP'S JOB IS TO BAN ALL COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES ON THE DRAGON, SO THP TICKETS INCREASED 11,400% IN BLOUNT COUNTY. THP'S STALKER RADAR OPERATOR MANUAL CONFESSED THAT RADAR CANNOT MEASURE THE SPEED OF VEHICLES WITHIN 18 MPH OF ACTUAL SPEED. WATCH THIS SPACE FOR FULL EVIDENCE FILE. UPDATE 7 MARCH 2011
A second K-9 team was then called to the scene, Deputy Chris Morgan and K-9 Hansen.
They searched for the second suspect for 30 minutes. Then, the unthinkable happened.
"Once in the back of the car the K-9 collapsed and was taken to Village Vet with the other K-9 that was taken there for dehydration," said Sheriff Berrong.
K-9 Hansen received treatment for heat exhaustion, but was not responsive. He later died.
"Mainly, his body temperature got above 110 and once an animal gets above 107 it doesn't look good for the outcome of the animal," Berrong said.
The search for the remaining suspect was suspended due to the excessive heat around 3:30 p.m.
Deputy Nathan Payne was taken by Rural/Metro Ambulance Service to Blount Memorial Hospital.
He has since been released from the emergency room.
Bruno was treated for dehydration and released from the veterinary clinic.
"This circumstance with the heat, the heat index, is very unusual. We haven't had anything like this before," said Berrong.
MsPittsburgh writes: This breaks my heart....charge this $$$-hole with manslaughter of a police officer and maybe all of the K-9 units need to give these dogs a break until this awful heat dies down a bit.
be_logical writes: Surely this wasn't due to negligence on the part of the trained officer in charge of the animal?
jakethevolguy writes: If the dog was owned by a private citizen he/she would be under investigation for animal cruelty. This was the fault of the handler not the criminals. I do admit if there hadn't been a crime this probably would not have happened.
slugdiamond writes: Horrible. Tragic. Inexcusable. As a dog owner for many years, I fail to see how anyone can push an animal to the point they die from heat exhaustion. At no point in time would I continue pursuit of a simple burglary suspect when it puts the life of a partner in danger. I have a problem to start with putting an animal in a situation an armed human would not enter. If you push yourself to the point you can not function you not only endanger yourself, but those who depend on you as well.
pudgy102097#218220 writes: I love dogs very much. Probably more than the vast majority of people in this world, but charge these people for the death of this dog? Seriously people. I love dogs and K-9 dogs but they are not people. Some perspective needs to be observed when thinking about dogs.
Engloid2 writes: in response to southerngal: "Poor little guy died doing his job. I totally agree with Brian, charge these two thugs with manslaughter..." yeah, all except that it wasn't a MAN, much less even a human. Are they going to have a full military funeral for this "officer" now? Can we spend thousands of taxpayer dollars on a funeral service, receiving of friends, burial plot, headstone, and more? Maybe even a BBQ dinner for all the cops? I hate that this dog died, but saying the "thugs" should be charged with manslaughter is like charging somebody with murder for running over a squirrel in their car. It is a dog, no more and no less. I love animals, but an animal life is not as valuable as a human. If you want to argue this point, just go ahead and tell me that you'd rather have seen the human officer die than the dog....and yes, I would like to hear why the HUMAN officer is not being charge with animal abuse for driving his dog to the point of death. Even if he is not charged, he needs to relinquish his responsibilities of being a K9 officer. He should no longer be allowed to have a dog with him on the job. Other officers should be trained on how to recognize heat stroke and other problems in dogs...or not be allowed to have them on the job.
dragonator writes: Corrected headline: "Blount County K9 Cop Kills Cop, Arrested for Animal Cruelty and Neglect." Who steals more from the taxslaves, teenage burglers or BCSO?
“I’ll burn your house down, set your dog on fire and there won’t be a member of your family left, do you understand me? I won’t hire it done, I will do it myself! Do you understand me?” -Blount County sheriff James Berrong, United Stated Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, Nuchols v. Berrong, No. 04-5645, July 11, 2005
Tennessee Auditors Arrive - 48 Blount Sheriff cars missing - "The state auditor arrived in the County a few weeks ago. The auditor was able to find only 239 vehicles. What happened to the other 48 vehicles? But the Sheriff wants the taxpayers to support a tax increase, so that he can have even more money to spend next year. Does this make sense to you?"
Blount County cops buy college degrees at massaage parlor - In August, after discovering another tuition reimbursement payment for an unaccredited college for Maryville Police Department Capt. Sharon Moore, The Daily Times requested tuition reimbursement reports from the past five years from the city of Alcoa, city of Maryville and Blount County. The only payments identified were for Moore and Blount County Circuit Court Clerk Tom Hatcher?s tuition that was discovered in 2006. On Nov. 20, The Daily Times requested that Berrong research reimbursements that were directly paid to individuals for out-of-pocket tuition payments to unaccredited schools. Berrong confirmed that Detective Lt. Danny Wilburn, Lt. Patrick England, K-9 Deputy Gary Perkins and Sgt. Rick Baker had all submitted invoices for tuition reimbursement from Columbus University and received reimbursement from the county. Neither the U.S. Department of Education nor the Council on Higher Education Accreditation recognizes Columbus University as an accredited school. It is commonly referred to as a ?diploma mill? by both organizations. In hopes to better himself for his family, the sheriff?s office and the community, Wilburn said he signed up for the program in 2003. He said the university had a professional Web site and he began a program to get a bachelor?s and master?s degree for approximately $3,500. Baker said Wilburn told him about the university and he also signed up for the program in hopes of obtaining a master?s degree. Baker got his bachelor?s degree from Lee College in 1988. The master?s program he signed up for with Columbus University cost between $2,500 and $3,000. Mayor Cunningham would not comment on the additional Columbus University tuition reimbursements, telling The Daily Times it was ?old news.? In 2004 following a CBS News exposé¬ the state of Louisiana shut down Columbus University. A few months later it relocated in Picayune, Miss., where it operates today. Diploma mills are commonly defined as colleges or universities that require little or no course work from students. Many claim to offer credits for life and work experiences, and most operate exclusively on the Internet and by mail and have no campus. While online diploma mills typically provide bachelor?s and master?s degrees for less than $5,000 over a period of months, the College Board, a nonprofit association founded in 1900 to work with students and educational institutions, estimates that the average cost of a bachelor?s degree from a public university is now ?$87,000 to $200,000 and takes the average student 6.2 years to complete. A prospective student who drives to Columbus University would find an empty storefront at its address in Picayune, Miss., with a small ?Columbus University? sign taped in the window. Jeremy Pittari, a reporter for the Picayune Item newspaper, told The Daily Times he has investigated Columbus University in the past. ?Columbus University has a building here in Picayune,? Pittari said. ?But I?ve never seen anyone working there. ?There was a paper sign that said ?Columbus University? taped up in the front window for a while and a small sign on the front door instructing people to deliver any mail or packages to a business across the street.? The business across the street from Columbus University?s address is a massage parlor and ?body sculpting? studio. So far, the Mayor has done nothing to publicly chastise Hatcher. Hatcher said Tuesday he has not completed the master's program yet, but the $3,910 check issued by Blount County covered both a bachelor's degree and master's degree. "The county has no control over how the elected officials spend the money appropriated to their budgets," Cunningham said. Apparently, if you misuse funds in Blount County and get caught, all you have to do is repay the money, and all is well with the Mayor. Tom Hatcvher's son, Dustin Hatcher, was a county judicial commissioner, depsite only passing a test for car stereo installation. Judge Dustin Hatcher pled guilty to raping a teenage girl in the Justice Center, then posting photos of his crime on the wall in the Court Clerk's office. Dustin Hatcher was faced a five year prison sentence, but was sentenced to probation, after county taxpayers paid $40,000 to his rape victim. Clerk Tom Hatcher was formerly a deputy for the Blount County sheriff.
COP. 2. to steal; filch. 3. to buy (narcotics). 4. cop out, a. to avoid one's responsibility, the fulfillment of a promise, etc.; renege; back out. 5. cop a plea, a. to plead guilty or confess in return for receiving a lighter sentence. b. to plead guilty to a lesser charge as a means of bargaining one's way out of standing trial for a more serious charge; plea-bargain. -Dictionary.com, Random House Unabridged Dictionary 2006
"Sorry for the questions, I just find him interesting. When I'm on the freeway in LA (which is very rare) and I'm riding in a straight line between all of the stopped cars in traffic I think to myself, "Yeah, I'm Ghostrider right now". Then I look down at the speedometer and it's showing, "25 mph". Sigh..." Ghost rider dead or alive ?
"You haven't lived until you've heard a live police chase, on a car radio in a car you're driving." -Danny Bonnaduce, a/k/a Danny Patridge, VH1 100 Top Child Stars
"The MAINTAIN TOP SAFE SPEED sign may be used on highways where conditions are such that it is prudent to evacuate or traverse an area as quickly as possible." -USDOT, FHA, Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, Chapter 2I. Emergency Management Signing, 2003 Ed
Car 64 Where Are You? Blount County deputy sheriff flipped off by sportbiker for shooting and killing his dog, lured to his demise on the Dragon at Deals Gap
