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Deputy Runs Stop Sign, Hits Vehicle
April 14, 2012
Charges are pending after an Escambia County deputy ran a stop sign and ran into another vehicle Friday in Ensley.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Deputy Michael Carter was responding to a call in his marked patrol car when he ran a stop sign at the intersection of Ashland Avenue and Detroit Boulevard, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Carter’s patrol vehicle collided with a 2012 Mazda driven by 25-year old Andre Cook of Pensacola.
According to the FHP, Carter was distracted, checking his in-vehicle computer for call information and did not see the stop sign. His patrol car came to rest on its side in a drainage ditch.
There were no serious injuries reported by FHP.
Comments
24 Responses to “Deputy Runs Stop Sign, Hits Vehicle”
Just curious…
When an Officer of the Law fails to stop at a stop sign, while operating a vehicle provided to him/her by the agency he/she works for, regardless of whether or not it is in the course of an active call…
do they take away their Krispie Kremes?
I get a kick out out of the comments “When you need help don’t bother to call” or “When you need help you won’t care if the deputy breaks the law on his way…” If I need help, I’ll handle it. It will be a neighbor calling ECSO, not me. I’ll be taking care of the situation myself, instead of relying on a law enforcement official to get there 5-10 minutes after I’ve been shot.
Grow up people. A badge does not set one above the law. This man ran a stop sign, and should liable just as any other citizen is for that infraction.
I completely agree with Not Innocent. Part of this officer’s job is to check his computer. That’s why it is mounted directly beside his steering wheel. Everyone makes mistakes when driving and I’m sure every last one of you that has posted something nasty has too. More power to the officer for telling the truth.
Deputy Carter good man for not lying. Secondly, you made a mistake, I also am human and make mistakes. I will not bad mouth you and judge you like these other cruel people. I have talked on my cell phone before while driving. I have ran a stop sign before, ran off the road, and been careless. To Deputy Carter please understand that the rude posts are just people unhappy in their lives that feel better bad mouthing other people. I am very happy everyone is safe and guess what, the county pays the medical bills of criminals all the time. Only God himself could get on here and judge you, he is perfect. I know that Deputies drive more than the average person therefore they are more likely to be involved in an automobile accident, they are expected to do things others are not and guess what, they aren’t specially trained to stare at a computer screen and drive. Now, let’s all take a deep breath and realize we all make mistakes.
Do NOT text and drive, do NOT talk on cell phone and drive, do NOT look at video screens and drive. Make him responsible for the repair bill on the cruiser.
It is not legal for to have a video screen in your vehickle that is visible to the driver while driving. I know this because I was questioned about my backup camera screen. Anybody can easily understand why you shouldn’t have them.
I don’t care how much cop driver multitask training your have, a computer screen is a dangerous distraction. I have worked accident sceens where a driver was texting, and then gazed at the computer in the cop car and knew this would happen one day.Driving an automobile is too serious of a thing to be multitasking.Get them out of the cruisers before you kill someone. And don’t give me the excuse that we are trained to drive and use the computer. We have just seen that it don’t work.
To everyone that’s not downing the deputy thank you! To all of you that think he should fired because he got into a wreck, since you think you could do our job so much better all you have to do is call George Stone and sign up. Who knows maybe you can train us on how to drive in stressful situations since I’m sure your perfect at driving. You don’t want us to have computers in our cars that’s fine too but expect our response time to double which will give you something else to gripe about. We drive for Atleast 40hrs a week so of coarse we get into accidents every now and then and every one of our wrecks show up in the news, I know mine and I got bashed too when it was clearly not my fault. Carter if you read this don’t worry about the people talking bad about you are just scared little whiners that hide behind a computer.
REGARDING:
“- – - if that was your call he was responding to you wouldn’t have any problem with him being aware of the situation.”
Absolutely and part of the situation is traffic around him. He does me no good if he is tied up at a wreck he caused. He does me even less good if I am the one he wrecked with.
David for jobs completed
and people not killed
Maybe they should not be looking at a computer while driving…just like we shouldn’t be on a cell phone while driving. I know they need the computer and it is an important piece of equipment to them, just need to watch the road, too.
Ok…First off if that was your call he was responding to you wouldnt have any problem with him being aware of the situation. I used to ride along with LEO and that computer is their way to know exactly what is happening when they get on scene. I say for everybody who grips about LEO when you need help call the Fire Dept!!
i drove pass this . it looked pretty bad , but the outcome was pretty qood . i took photos and a video of it all .
There’s that word again. “accident”. And a poster used the word “mistake” which is correct. The officer made a mistake. A mistake that leads to harm to a person or property is called “negligence”. Sometimes it is necessary for an officer to NOT use their lights when responding and that requires even a greater awareness of his surroundings. I’ve made “mistakes” and will make them again. I pray that they will not lead to negligence.
PSU1Earl wrote >>>Well to correct the story, the Mazda hit the police car, but the police car did run the stop sign
According to the FHP report, the deputy hit the Mazda. “The right side of Vehicle 1 (deputy) struck the front of Vehicle 2 (Mazda)”.
So the story is correct, per the FHP report. But when I picture what that sentence says, it would sure look to me like the Mazda hit the deputy and I would tend to agree with you.
Well to correct the story, the Mazda hit the police car, but the police car did run the stop sign…neither car hit the brakes or had time, and there were no skid marks to prove that… It was a nasty car crash and glad to hear nobody got hurt… It’s pretty stand up for the LEO to admit to running the stop sign since there were no actual witnesses… Both drivers where very shookup at the scene and the LEO had to crawl out his passengerside window to get out… He had some minor injuries and the Mazda driver didn’t want to be treated or checked by the EMTs, but seemed fine and a bit rattled…
@ Charlie W.— I’m guessing that you have never had an accident or made a mistake of any type. As to who’ll pay for the damages, most LE departments have insurance to cover accidents and so on. I’m guessing that was your question about who will have to pay for the damages. Of course maybe that was not the question, “the public will pay of “coarse” throws the question off a little.
molino jim,
This deputy should be given several days off without pay, maybe forever. You don,t drive and text, use the computor that take your mind off driving. Stop and check if you are lost before you kill someone with your driving. And who will pay for the car repaires? The tax payers of coarse.
John Q. The officer made a mistake—he may have been trying to check the location of the call (there are a lot of streets with poor or no markings). There an old saying in law enforcement that you can’t help on a call if you can’t get there. LEO’s not only get tickets some time — the department many time will give the LEO days off with out pay. If you have an accident would your boss or company make you take days off with out pay?
This has to be stopped before these deputies end up killing an innocent family that’s a shame that these cops think they don’t have to run their lights and put everybody else on the road in danger
Just wondering…who is there insurance carrier? Do we the tax payers get to foot the bill? And do points go against Deputy Carters license?
Checking your computer while driving is a souped-up version of texting while driving. The laws of physics don’t care who you are or why you’re doing it.
I had this almost happen one night coming home from work at 1am in Santa Rosa by a cop in an SUV. I had the green, I drove thru the intersection and out of nowhere this marked SUV with no emergency lights on slammed on brakes and stopped about 2 feet from my driver side door.
I almost owned an SUV and part of the Santa Rosa sheriffs department.
Glad no one was seriously injured.
Everyone makes mistakes including deputies. I’m glad you were not hurt, and the occupants of the other vehicle was not. THAT’S WHY THE GOOD LORD MADE INSURANCE.
Uh Oh, computering and driving.Whatever happened to the good ole’ radio?
According to the FHP, Carter was distracted, checking his in-vehicle computer for call information and did not see the stop sign. His patrol car came to rest on its side in a drainage ditch.
This is what happens when a text message or computer is used while DRIVING. It is just pure luck that no was was killed or hurt real bad.
It does not matter if you are a cop checking their computer or a kid with a text message, driving is a FULL time job. What a good example for the youth to see!