Update: post modified to remove "offensive" words
The Maryland State Police have got to be the most cocky, most arrogant, most obnoxious bastards of any cops anywhere -- and, trust me, I've been met more than few of them. They strut around like they're the cock of the walk, and, while they may not be "of the walk", they're most certainly...well, you get the idea.
One of their favorite little arrogant things to do involves (shocker!) radar traps. A trooper sits in his cruiser on the side of the road with his handy-dandy radar gun. When he finds a worthy victim -- I'm not making this up, any Marylander will tell you it's true! -- he walks right out into the fast lane of the freeway with his hand held out in the universal "Halt!" position. Having been pulled over in this manner myself (No! Vulture, say it ain't so! YOU?!?!?!), I can tell you that it's incredibly tempting to just run his arrogant ass over.
Well, now someone has.
Police say Grissom was driving 71 mph in a 55-mph zone on Route 32 when she struck Officer Scott Wheeler. The officer was working a speed enforcement detail and had stepped into the road to flag Grissom down when he was struck.Only 71? On Route 32? Wuss!
But returning to the subject of the dead patrolman. Let me say in advance that I'm very sorry that the officer lost his life in such a senseless way. My heart goes out to his family and friends. But...I'm not surprised.
The dumbasses who thought up the arrogant policy of walking out into the road to flag down speeders are, quite possibly, the stupidest, most hubris-filled individuals in the history of this planet. "They'll stop for us! We're the law!" Uh, sure. And now one of them is (senselessly) dead.
And it's obvious that he was "at fault" in the matter; the woman who struck him was only fined $410 and assessed 3 points, which, in Maryland, is the points equivalent of exceeding the speed limit by 30 MPH (not that I would know or anything - I never drive that slowly).
Only now, after a trooper is dead, is the retarded MSP reassessing step-outs.
Following Wheeler’s death, a committee of officers amended the policy for the “step-out” technique. The technique...is now prohibited on roadways with a speed limit greater than 35 mph, according to police.Darwin award, anyone?
