PC runs over 16 y/o. His life is ruined for 3 years as that's how long he's been jailed?

What about the girl who he ran over? Her life was ruined forever? I read that she'd been drinking, but it didn't say she was drunk. Also, the person whom the PC was chasing was driving lawfully.

I think the story was trying to justify or lessen the offense by stating that the girl KILLED had been drinking. Drinking means one, two, three or what? Also, one could have been drinking by having three drinks and not expect a lunatic to come flying down the road at many, many times the legal limit, not of drink but of the speed limit.

Who's at fault here?
Additional Details
The girl for having a couple of drinks and stepping out in front of a PC? A PC out of control chasing someone he had no business in doing? The system that allows training or lack of training of PCs that can let this sort of thing happen?

How can the supervisor of this PC look the parents of this girl in the eye and tell them why their child had to die? I know he didn't intend to hit her, but even after he says "I'm sorry" in three years when he's out of prison she'll still be interred.

Tony

The facts of this case are important. The officer was driving an unmarked car at over 80 miles per hour in a residential 30 zone in order to catch up to a car which he suspected was being driven illegally. As it turns out, it wasn't.

He didn't want to alert the driver of the car to the fact that he was following him. Sirens and lights would have been enough to warn the girl not to walk out in front of the car.

The official police position was that he was not acting in accordance with his training by driving at such a speed without illuminating his lights and using the siren.

As such, he was driving dangerously, for which the maximum penalty is 10 years, recently increased from 5 years.

Let's imagine the officer was driving with his lights and siren on. If she walked out in front of the car then he'd have been in a better position to defend himself had she walked out in front of him and been killed.

In this particular case, it is my opinion that the officer was at fault and the girl was entirely blameless. This doesn't stop it being a tragedy for all concerned because, despite what happened, the officer was still acting with the public's interest in mind. As such, I can't imagine anything being gained by a sentence higher than 3 years. Nothing fills the hole left by her death.

Kara

I understand your anger, but I am sure that the policeman's life will be ruined for more than three years. I am sure he never ever wanted to kill that girl and as a human being I would imagine that he will probably never be able to forgive himself and no sentence would be able to change that. (I say this with the hope that

Yes, they shouldn't have tried to 'blame' the girl by saying she had been drinking as this was definately not her fault in any way at all
However, personally, in the past three weeks I have had two drunk girls walk right out in front of my car at night, and if I had hit them, it really would have been their fault and not mine (one walked out at speed from behind a parked car and proceeded to fall over in the road screaming, another was pulled back from in front of my car by her boyfriend when she suddenly diverted course and decided in the space of two seconds to cross the road and I could never have anticipated it). I went home shaking and upset from those two incidents and the thought crossed my mind 'what if', even though it would not have been my fault- I would still have blamed myself if anything had happened. Of course, unlike the PC, I wasn't speeding.
I hope that this point alerts people to the fact that they are vunerable when drunk and to drivers that they must be aware at all times of pedestrians.

I understand your reasons for posting this question, he should never be allowed to be a policeman again and he should never be allowed to drive a car again.
He probably didn't have his sirens on due to the time of night, but should have at least had his blue lights on and no way did the incident warrant the speed he was travelling at.

My thoughts are with the girl and her family.

(a PC is a Police Constable to all of the above posters)

Rain_x

the pc will prob lose there job and if thats the case his pension to

Lexie

I doubt that the sentence (and I'm only going by what you said, because you haven't provided all of the details or a link to the story) had anything to do with the victim's drinking. It sounds as if the defendant was found guilty of causing death by gross negligence, which does not equate with intentionally causing someone's death.

Three years actually sounds about right to me, in terms of sentence.

Chuckledust

It's not fair, but it's hardly surprising considering the state of our justice system. If he behaves then he'll only end up serving 18 months. Just doesn't seem right, does it?

However, considering he's an ex-cop, he will go through living hell in jail.

Fishguy

A computer ran over a girl and killed her and it is now in prison for 3 years?

My worst fears are coming true, the machines really are rising up to take over!!!

Sham Wow Obama

I knew computers would take over someday.

**BaD-gAl-SaFfY-iN-dA-hOuSe**

WhaT ThE HelL

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