“Today a local police officer struck me head on while turning onto my road,” writes JW Fas in the description of this video. “I was motionless at a stop sign, and he was looking down reading his phone.”
The astonishing footage – which has now been viewed over three million times – begins on the clearest, quietest road you could ever imagine. Skies are blue and views are clear pretty much all the way to the horizon.
As Fas sits on his bike at a T-junction, a police car turns left into the road and drives straight into him. A great many ‘motherfuckers’ ensue.
After the collision, the officer admits he was looking at his phone. “That’s my bad,” he says.
Fas asks the officer how his arm looks – he’s told it looks fine. “How about this one?” he asks. That one’s fine too.
At the end of the video, Fas says that he was “basically just scraped and bruised” but was left feeling “incredibly sore.” He adds that the bike is “most likely toast.”
Canadian Cycling Magazine reports that the incident occurred late last month near Peculiar in Missouri.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol is investigating and the officer has been suspended with pay until the conclusion of the investigation.
19 thoughts on “Video: US police officer distracted by mobile phone hits stationary cyclist head-on”
This is America, he’ll end up
This is America, he’ll end up paying for the damage to the police car. He’s lucky the officer didn’t shoot him.
vonhelmet wrote:
If his skin tone was dark, he would have. I hope that the police officer loses his job, is sued for damages and has his licence removed, for starters.
Aww that’s superb!
Aww that’s superb!
Tops the video charts this week, mos def!
Maybe that’s what passes for
Maybe that’s what passes for normal in Peculiar (@ 0:40).
Suspended WITH pay?
Suspended WITH pay?
CygnusX1 wrote:
Have to admit, that was the question I took away from the story too.
CygnusX1 wrote:
Yep. Basically given a holiday and once it’s swept under the rug, he will be back at work. Greatest country in the world if you ask a lot of them. Dreaming.
Why do so many motorists find
Why do so many motorists find it so hard to take a corner properly? Oh yeah, lazy cunts.
American police seem as thick
American police seem as thick as pigshit compared to UK ones. No wonder people are afraid of them, rather than seeing them as public servants.
Watch motoring stuff on youtube and you can see the culture of fear when some 85 IQ dumbo has just pulled someone over for nothing and starts to make the law up on the spot. Loads of cases of blatant misuse of power and in most cases it ends up with no penalty against the police even when by european standards, it’s blatantly criminal.
All part of the American dream that’s been created when you arm your citizens.
I don’t understand the
I don’t understand the comments about the cop being suspended on full pay. As a lawyer representing union members suspected of crime they are always suspended on full pay. And why not? My experience is most have not done what is alleged and yet investigations can take many months.
Sure, this is as obvious a case of negligent driving as you can get back and I too hope sanction follows and perhaps an opportunity for some internal CoP department training and a greater awareness of cyclists etc that is brought to bear on other road users. But you can’t suspend someone an djust take their pay away.
bobinski wrote:
You must be new here, the arguments in this place change on a daily basis, in this case innocent until proven guilty is ignored, on another day it’ll be the backbone of the defence of someone.who is a paricular favourite.
Happens all the time, there’s even one dude here who’ll argue against themself, or agree with the person that they’re arguing with, in the same thread
bobinski wrote:
In most cases I’d agree with you, but the evidence here is incontravertible and overwhelming and the officer admitted his crime. What is there to investigate? Instant dismissal surely. If this had been anyone but a policeman, they would have been immediately arrested and taken to the cells. He could easily have been facing a charge of manslaughter or the US equivalent, and is extremely lucky that the cyclist wasn’t seriously injured. This isn’t a minor offence like a speeding ticket, his behaviour could have had the most serious consequences, and he clearly isn’t fit to be a policeman.
The police are supposed to protect the public, not endanger them. If he drives like that in a marked police car, how does he drive in his own car.
Even with the overwhelming
Even with the overwhelming video evidence, I’ll bet he gets off. He’ll have some sob story about how his nan’s pet tortoise had just died and he was so overwhelmed with grief that he couldn’t drive properly. He’ll probably get compensation.
Not everyone in Great Britain
Not everyone in Great Britain is an asshole.
But you’d never know it from the sample of comments here.
A440 wrote:
Firstly, I have to agree. It’s too simplistic and easy to get caught up in our own world here. Yes, there are dicks on the road (of all shapes, sizes and choices of transport) and yes, the dicks in metal boxes are the most dangerous to all, but most people are alright you know.
However, I prefer to call those that aren’t ARSEholes.
A440 wrote:
Is that an act of self-confession?
You point the finger vaguely without being specific, so perhaps you might like to name names?
A440 wrote:
I quite agree.
Some of us are arseholes. None of your Americanisms here, if you please….
Whoosh
Whoosh
Terrible driving,
Terrible driving, particularly from a police officer, but full credit to him for admiting that he was texting at the time and for accepting full responsability. How many people would have come up with some other lame excuse.