# Controversial encounters between law-enforcement and civilians - the omnibus thread #2 **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 23, 2020, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531 "2020-06-23T20:29:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 119
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2021, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2368 "2021-12-31T06:16:39Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > **Rogel Aguilera-Mederos** was a truck driver who, for some reason passed up a runaway truck ditch and caused a flaming wreck that killed four people. Sentenced to 110 years > **[Colorado governor reduces sentence to 10 years for truck driver facing 110...](https://abc7ny.com/rogel-lazaro-aguilera-mederos-petition-110-years-colorado-truck-driver/11408018/)** > > After more than 5 million people signed an online petition, the governor of Colorado has reduced the 110-year sentence for truck driver Rogel Aguilera-Mederos to just 10 years. And he will be eligible for parole in 5 years–1 year and 3 months for each person he killed. He was driving 85 mph in a 45 mph zone. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2021, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2369 "2021-12-31T06:32:25Z")
So in Colorado a life is worth 2.5 years. If he had been a drunk driver, people would have said 110 years wasn’t enough. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2021, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2370 "2021-12-31T12:26:47Z")
AP article: > **[Colorado governor slashes trucker's prison term to 10 years](https://apnews.com/article/business-colorado-jared-polis-3b3b02c1891b9b1833e08e0f943053ef)** > > DENVER (AP) — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday shortened the prison sentence of a truck driver convicted in a deadly crash to 10 years, drastically reducing his original 110-year term that drew widespread outrage . Governor’s letter here: > **[Governor Polis Clemency Letters 2021.pdf](https://drive.google.com/file/d/129rAnWTqdt5A5AERm_9hE5vS94_vI_h-/view)** > > Google Drive file. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2371 "2021-12-31T16:31:35Z")
This incident happened in 2018 but just recently came to light with the release of body cam footage and the filing of a lawsuit. The quick version is: a guy was riding a bicycle at night without a headlight. Police tackled him to effect an arrest, breaking his leg in three places. Video at the link: > **[Norfolk police tackled a bicyclist for riding without a headlight. Bodycam...](https://www.pilotonline.com/news/crime/vp-nw-bike-injury-lawsuit-20211219-a5ymjmwyrvanbnab73nxvly3ey-story.html)** > > Derrick Rountree was riding his bike about 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve 2018 when two Norfolk police officers noticed he didn't have a headlight, which is illegal in Virginia. The officers tried to get Rountree's attention and when he didn't stop, one of... ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2021, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2372 "2021-12-31T16:58:22Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Police tackled him to effect an arrest, breaking his leg in three places. Then, as police as keen on doing, lied about how the approached the situation. “In the body camera video, Christie tells a supervisor he yelled, “stop” and “police” multiple times before grabbing Rountree. After watching the video, Christie conceded during his deposition he only said “stop” once and never yelled “police.”” ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2021, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2373 "2021-12-31T19:12:07Z")
Turns out in the North Hollywood store shooting which killed a 14-year-old hiding in a dressing room, the officer that pulled the trigger is black. I will not be surprised in the slightest if LAPD decides this time they won’t close ranks and they actually fire him. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2021, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2374 "2021-12-31T20:07:29Z")
I rode for years without a light (commuting to my graveyard-shift job) and never encountered police at night. I was taught “_the sooner they see you, the more time they have to take aim_”. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2021, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2375 "2021-12-31T20:11:04Z")
I had a headlight, but I rarely used it. Back before LEDs lights did not last long before you had to replace batteries. There were a few places where light was useful for my safety in navigating, and I used it there, but for the most part, the ambient light of being in or near a city, plus the moon, was more than enough. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2021, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2376 "2021-12-31T23:20:09Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > The quick version is: a guy was riding a bicycle at night without a headlight. Police tackled him to effect an arrest, breaking his leg in three places. Thus proving that it is indeed dangerous to ride a bicycle at night without a headlight. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2021, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2377 "2021-12-31T23:51:03Z")
> **[Chief justice: Judges must better avoid financial conflicts](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-us-supreme-court-health-judiciary-john-roberts-aebc82d2ead1ec003c4099ef72642dea)** > > Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts says the federal judiciary needs to do more to ensure judges don’t participate in cases where they have financial conflicts of interest. > [@](#): > > Roberts pointed to a series of stories recently in The Wall Street Journal that found that “between 2010 and 2018, 131 federal judges participated in a total of 685 matters involving companies in which they or their families owned shares of stock.” Federal judges and Supreme Court justices are required by law to recuse themselves from cases where they have a personal financial interest. > > “Let me be crystal clear: the Judiciary takes this matter seriously. We expect judges to adhere to the highest standards, and those judges violated an ethics rule,” Roberts wrote in the nine-page report. Or what? [Wikipedia tells me:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_judge#Number_of_judges) > There are currently 870 authorized Article III judgeships: nine on the Supreme Court, 179 on the courts of appeals, 673 for the district courts and nine on the [Court of International Trade](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Court_of_International_Trade). If they were all currently occupied, that means that 15% of the federal judges broke the law. What penalty did they suffer? 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2378 "2022-01-01T01:37:10Z")
Further, why is the Chief Justice depending on a private publication to tell him that this is going on? Would he have known, or would he have said anything, if the WSJ had not made a stink about it? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2379 "2022-01-01T01:49:49Z")
I’ll take “he would not have said anything” for all the money, please. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2380 "2022-01-01T04:35:55Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > If they were all currently occupied, that means that 15% of the federal judges broke the law. What penalty did they suffer? 🤨 > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Further, why is the Chief Justice depending on a private publication to tell him that this is going on? Would he have known, or would he have said anything, if the WSJ had not made a stink about it? The Chief Justice of SCOTUS doesn’t run the federal judiciary, though. The judiciary is controlled by the Department of Justice. Roberts can have all the opinions he wants about this (and I’m not saying he’s wrong), but there’s nothing he can actually _do_ about it. Besides, he’s suspect. He’s had no problem with Thomas, for example, not recusing when his wife has an interest in a case’s outcome. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2381 "2022-01-01T04:58:10Z")
It sure feels like the SCOTUS is gaslighting us all the past year or so. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2382 "2022-01-01T06:15:48Z")
The Chief Justice is the Chief Justice of the United States, not just of the Supreme Court. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2022, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2383 "2022-01-01T06:17:39Z")
Kent, Washington assistant police chief suspended for displaying a Nazi emblem on his office door. “It was a joke, bro.” > **[Kent Police assistant chief suspended for displaying Nazi insignia |...](https://www.heraldnet.com/northwest/kent-police-assistant-chief-suspended-for-displaying-nazi-insignia/)** > > Derek Kammerzell claimed he meant it as a joke because his co-workers called him “The German General.” ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2384 "2022-01-03T06:53:48Z")
Little Rock police chief has been put on paid leave after shooting into a crowd and shooting an innocent person. > **[Little Rock police chief put on leave after NYE shooting in ‘unprecedented’ move](https://nypost.com/2022/01/02/little-rock-police-chief-put-on-leave-after-nye-shooting/)** > > Chief Keith Humphrey saw a fight in a parking lot and as Humphrey got out of his car, a woman fired her weapon into the group. Humphrey then reportedly fired his weapon at the suspected shooter. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2385 "2022-01-03T14:19:20Z")
Rick, you really need to read those articles now and then. Quote from same (bolding mine): > [@](#): > > . Humphrey then reportedly fired his weapon at the suspected shooter, 29-year-old Taz Hayes. > > Hayes was uninjured and police later took her into custody, but **Hayes’ gunfire injured a 22-year-old woman,** who was rushed to a Little Rock hospital and was in critical condition as of Saturday morning… So it was the _person that the Chief was shooting at_ who injured the person, not the cop. And he’s on admin leave, as any officer would be after discharging their weapon. Weather he was justified in shooting is still a topic of discussion, but please get the info right. This does you no service. IMHO as always. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2386 "2022-01-03T17:24:24Z")
And the story says that the shooter was uninjured, so the police chief is clearly a graduate of the Imperial Stormtrooper Academy of Shooting. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/2387 "2022-01-03T17:28:17Z")
Man, I had to read this like five times to figure out you meant “uninjured”, not “uninsured”. I was trying to put insurance status together with Star Wars and bad aim and getting nowhere. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531.md?page=118) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531.md?page=120)