Police officers speeding without top lights

[Oh Haha]

Just curious and hoping some of the Pelican police officers might help me understand:

e were on I75 today when I noticed an MSP Tahoe coming up fast behind us. I was in the slow lane so I didn't need to move but other motorists didn't seem to notice him until he was right on them. They either moved or he went around them.

My concern was that he was not running with siren or ANY emergency lights. He HAD to have been doing 100+MPH on a 70MPH 3 lane highway.


Isn't it mandatory to run "hot" if you are going to a call? I saw him heading down a service road by the highway and he was using the lights to go through an intersection.

[biosurfer1]

Code 2 probably...meaning urgent but no lights/siren required

[Buckterrier]

Code DEAD when he rear ends someone that isn't paying attention. He was probably just late for dinner.

[steve185]

He was most likely going to a break and enter in progress and didn't want to scare off the burglars. Could be lots of reasons.

[porsche4life]

I see the Local yokels in one of the small towns around here doing 70 plus IN TOWN without lights all the time. Just a matter of time before they kill someone

[URY914]

Donuts are ready!!!

[John Rogers]

Years ago in San Diego there was an officer that hit a lady's car broadside when he was speeding (approx 50 mph in a 25) through a stop sign. One of the local TV stations happened to be a few blocks away and went over to the big wreck. The sgt. who did the initial interview said "for the police, speed limits and stop signs are just a recommendation"! Boy, did the poop hit the fan over that one!

[Buckterrier]

Dang Mr. Rogers, you joined Wayne's forum before he was even born?? (just a guess on how old Wayne is).

[DavidI]

The police are supposed to respond Code 3 (red lights and siren) when there is an immediate urgency to get to a location quickly. This could be anything from a medical emergency such as a baby not breathing call, a traffic collision, or something else. It could also be a crime-in progress such as assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence, robbery now, a shooting, etc. It could also be a request for back-up by another officer. There are a host of reasons as to why a police officer would drive this way. Sometimes, the speed or driving conditions do not warrant driving over the speed limit due to whether conditions, traffic, etc. In California, there are strict rules that the officer must follow which limits his personal civil liability when he is following the rules, using his red lights and siren as necessary, and showing due regard for the public. On some occasions, the officer drives like this without a good reason, but he puts himself and the public at risk and may be held liable should a collision occur.

[UncleRay]

Flew into Vegas for a weeks stay. Picked up a rental and drove to LA (Fontana) for my nieces wedding on the weekend. My niece warned us that we better behave because if the CHP pulls you over it will cost big bucks. On the way back to Vegas I'm cruising at 5 to 7 over the limit. About every 10 minutes or so a batch of black BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and other sport coupes zip by running 90 to 100mph. I start to go around a slower car and all of a sudden another black something comes out of now where and pulls up on my tail. It takes about 10 seconds to recognize that it's a black unmarked Impala. I get around the slower car, tap the cruise down two notches and he stays on my bumper as I move back into the right lane. He stayed there for the next few nervous miles and then pulled out to pass. I waved and he waved goodby and disappeared. A few miles up the road he had the last batch of cars that blew by pulled over. Long story short he was flying up behind a batch of cars, checking speed and if not speeding, blast up the highway to the next batch while not using radar. His speed was way over 100 based on the way he caught up to me took off and caught up to the next fast batch. Ray

[john70t]

I've seen a whole lot of stupid police maneuvers:
Ohio cops parking across a 55mph freeway in order to give (me) a minor ticket.
Or even today, pulling a U-turn w/no lights in the middle of an active intersection.

That being said, doing a buck in the left lane is not unusual for Michigan, and might be doing stupid people a favor.

The swerve-driving, however, is a real problem...
Shame.

[ZLP]

Glad to see so many law enforcement experts here

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by ZLP

Glad to see so many law enforcement experts here

Just our experiences

[Oh Haha]

I have no doubt that this officer was enroute to an emergency as the MSP are not known for being non-professional.

I thought about stopping at the MSP post in Flint to ask this question but decided that wouldn't beinterested in what I thought anyway.

[Christien]

It drives me nuts when cops speed (by which I mean significantly over the speed of traffic flow) without lights on. It's not only dangerous, but sets a bad example. How am I supposed to teach my kids to respect law enforcement when the enforcement doesn't respect the law?

[cashflyer]

The Greens are friends of mine.
They eventually prevailed in their actions.


United States Court of Appeals,Tenth Circuit.
GREEN v. POST
No. 08-1122.

Willis Green was killed when a police vehicle driven by Deputy Post struck Green's 1995 Kia, as Green was attempting to turn left at the intersection of U.S. 50 and Morris Avenue in Pueblo, Colorado.   Deputy Post was traveling straight through the intersection at a high rate of speed and without his vehicle's siren or lights on, as he was attempting to catch up to a vehicle suspected of driving away from a gas station without paying for approximately $30.00 worth of gas.

Green was ejected from his car and died from the injuries he received.

Deputy Post testified in his deposition that he was not responding to an emergency situation and he was not actually in pursuit of the suspect vehicle.   Rather, he was simply trying to catch up to the suspected violator of the law, to verify that it was the vehicle involved in the theft of the gas.   As indicated, Deputy Post did not have his emergency lights on at the time of the collision, nor was his siren activated.

[JAR0023]

My brother is a fireman. Not the same but close. He says they leave the lights and sirens off as much as possible. According to him people in cars do way more stupid crap when they see the lights. -J