U-turn cop to stand trial

[Grahameeboy]

the cop has no sympathy from me.

The timing of "retiring" from the force is interesting in relation too golden handshakes etc.

jerk

Guess that is where you site name came from...I have sympathy for the cop despite the fact he made a mistake...it's called "Grace".

[Conquiztador]

This is the real world...he joined the force by qualifying. He was a cop for 30 years...don't tell me you expect him to be constant all this time."Better judge of risks than me"....we were not at the scene...in a Criminal Court they have to decide beyond all reasonable doubt and it is fair to say he did make a mistake...but like I said we are all human whether we have degrees, qualifications etc....people are trained to do the right things but at same time we are not like I said earlier robots...He was judged and punished but does that make him a bad cop..."No"

I have never argued for him being a bad cop. But as this was his job he is expected to do better then non-cops here. In same fashion as doctors, firemen, plumbers, sparkies, politicians etc. We pay them all to get it right.

I do not accept that someone who is paid to make decisions that will affect peoples lives can get away by saying "sorry".

Take a pilot who makes a mistake while landing that puts the passengers lives in jeopardy. Do you think he will fly again???

[Grahameeboy]

I have never argued for him being a bad cop. But as this was his job he is expected to do better then non-cops here. In same fashion as doctors, firemen, plumbers, sparkies, politicians etc. We pay them all to get it right.

I do not accept that someone who is paid to make decisions that will affect peoples lives can get away by saying "sorry".

Take a pilot who makes a mistake while landing that puts the passengers lives in jeopardy. Do you think he will fly again???

So what over his 30 years he made 1000's of good decisions to protect us and makes one mistake...same for pilot...he would probably get suspended and reviewed but he / she is responsible for more than a cop is as well as more highly trained..We will have to agree to disagree because that is a very draconian view of life...

[Mikkel]

Bugger!

I wish I'd known THAT when I joined!

Look at the brightside. You can now argue that you'd never have to ever pull a U-turn again - unless it's something quite a lot more serious than speeding (dunno what that could be, but a bus filled with WMDs and terrorists, maybe). As such your job should become a breeze from now on out

the cop has no sympathy from me.

The timing of "retiring" from the force is interesting in relation too golden handshakes etc.

jerk

Care to guess at the size of this particular golden handshake?
Do you sign all your posts?

[The Stranger:Me]

I've been thinking about the penalty this guy got, on and off, all day.

Many of us on this site are quick to point out the slightest of injustices perpetrated by the cops and courts.

I have concluded the penalty the cop got was more than manifestly unjust and so consistency requires those who grieve about injustices to jump to this man's defence.

As Scumdog pointed out, even totally pissed-and-killed-someone drivers don't often get lumped with such penalty.

Everyone makes mistakes. Should we all be punished for each of our mistakes? My personal view is NO we shouldn't - necessarily.

However, I know if I make a mistake in my line of work I put it right at my expense.

The 60k is simply fixing his mistake, that is NOT punishment.
The loss of license and community work is the punishment/penalty.

[terbang]

Mistakes in my line of work would cost me more than sixty grand. Such a consequence tends to clarify ones thoughts though.

[Conquiztador]

So what over his 30 years he made 1000's of good decisions to protect us and makes one mistake...same for pilot...he would probably get suspended and reviewed but he / she is responsible for more than a cop is as well as more highly trained..We will have to agree to disagree because that is a very draconian view of life...

Perhaps it is draconian. But it also comes down to trust and respect. I want to be able to trust that the police makes the right decisions. Every time! If they are only expected to make same decisions and mistakes as we would in same situation, then the respect goes away.

Just because he has made 1000's of good ones does not give him the right to make a bad decision. Each decision is measured on its own merit not on what has happened in the past.

[Marmoot]

Mistakes in my line of work would cost me more than sixty grand. Such a consequence tends to clarify ones thoughts though.

Mistakes in your job have a high probability of not costing you a cent.
Or should I say MistakE as singular?

[Winston001]

I've posted this in the other thread too:

Being frustrated with the minimal and barely accurate news reports, I have made my own enquiries. Incidentally the Otago Daily Times has the best report of sentencing http://www.odt.co.nz/58043/police-pa...osts-him-60000

For those who think Bridgman was convicted for being a liar, that's wrong. Here is what the judge said - "You thought at the time you were doing your duty in trying to apprehend a speeding motorcyclist and you made an awful mistake."

My earlier posts were not quite right - hate that. Here are the correct facts.

Bridgman was ultimately convicted because the jury visited the crash scene. This is unusual, but it meant they got to see how narrow the road is and the tight corner.

The NZ Police do not use insurance, they paid out directly for the bikes. All done some time ago.

The reparation ordered of $30,000 is payable to each motorcyclist. It represents compensation for post traumatic stress and emotional harm. It is payable by Bridgman personally, not the police.

I'm a bit shocked about that myself because it seems an extraordinary sum given what others pay - or don't pay.

Bridgman offered $20,000 each at the hearing so its hard for him to argue with the final result. He isn't a wealthy man but PERFd last year so 30 years superannuation should be enough to pay up.

[The Stranger:Me]

The NZ Police do not use insurance, they paid out directly for the bikes. All done some time ago.

The reparation ordered of $30,000 is payable to each motorcyclist. It represents compensation for post traumatic stress and emotional harm. It is payable by Bridgman personally, not the police.

That is interesting. Should the police not therefore indemnify him.
As I understand it my third party cover (which does include public liability also) should cover this eventuality. Any employee of mine is similarly covered. Why should the police be any different - or am I missing something here?

[BMWST?]

That is interesting. Should the police not therefore indemnify him.
As I understand it my third party cover (which does include public liability also) should cover this eventuality. Any employee of mine is similarly covered. Why should the police be any different - or am I missing something here?

The "government" dont have insurance,the premiums would be intolerable.So they take the risk and pays the monies

[The Stranger:Me]

The "government" dont have insurance,the premiums would be intolerable.So they take the risk and pays the monies

Exactly - just what I was saying. It's the govenrments risk.
Last company I worked for self insured (i.e. simply cancelled the insurance) vehicles and tools. Saved 80k pa in premiums, BUT they still accepted the liability and paid out whenever there was an at fault accident or break in etc.

[Winston001]

That is interesting. Should the police not therefore indemnify him.
As I understand it my third party cover (which does include public liability also) should cover this eventuality. Any employee of mine is similarly covered. Why should the police be any different - or am I missing something here?

Good question and wondered about that myself. I think the answer is an employer is vicariously liable for the employees actions. Thus the police had to pay the cost of the bikes.

However an employer is not normally liable for penalties and fines etc imposed on the employee. Those are personal consequences of breaking the law.

For example how would an employer feel about being disqualified from driving because an employee caused an accident?

[The Stranger:Me]

For example how would an employer feel about being disqualified from driving because an employee caused an accident?

I expect similar to being fined because a stupid employee cause a workplace accident.

[Ixion]

Mistakes in my line of work would cost me more than sixty grand. Such a consequence tends to clarify ones thoughts though.

Your employers, however, might be less willing to issue instructions along the lines of "Do X regardless of circumstances" eg "Ensure you land on time at the scheduled destination regardless of weather".

I suspect that Bridgeman's orders may have been "Ensure that you ticket speeding vehicles regardless of circumstances". He tried to comply.