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Police chief admits force 'mishandled' investigation into teen truck driver who hit six cyclists

"It has been stated that our agency mishandled the initial investigation of the crash scene. That is true."...

A police chief has admitted his force 'mishandled' the initial investigation into an incident in which a teenage driver ploughed into six cyclists, two of whom needed to be airlifted to hospital. 

The 16-year-old had been 'rolling coal' at the time (as shown in the video above) which is when the driver of a truck modifies their vehicle to enable it to emit thick clouds of black smoke.

The cyclists had been on a training ride for Ironman Texas on old Highway 290 near Waller, around 10km northwest of Houston

> ‘Rolling coal’ is assault, says District Attorney – but still no arrest after Texas teen hits six cyclists

A Special Prosecutor has been appointed to investigate the collision but police in Waller County have yet to make an arrest, provoking outrage among local cyclists. 

Several have even questioned whether the driver of the pick-up truck involved may be related to local law enforcement officials.

> Outrage as teen driver who hit six Texas cyclists as he deliberately blew exhaust fumes at them remains free

After receiving heavy criticism for its handling of the investigation the Waller Police Department's chief has now spoken out and admitted the force made mistakes. 

In a post on Facebook Chief Bill Llewellyn said: "It has been stated that our agency mishandled the initial investigation of the crash scene. That is true.

 "A large part of being professional, is being accountable. The scene was not managed in a manner that is acceptable to me, however; none of the deficiencies that have been identified were due to poor policy or procedure within the department, nor were they influenced by who was involved in the crash or any other personal associations.

"To put it quite simply, they were due to a lack of knowledge on our part and those shortcomings are being dealt with internally and will not be repeated...

"Many of the comments posted on social media accuse police officers, in general, of not being concerned with the welfare of the cyclists.

"Please remember that these men and women have dedicated their entire work lives to protect the safety and welfare of the citizens that they serve.

"Because officers use a sense of humour as a protective measure and because they have to prioritise their mission over sentiment, they are often accused of being insensitive.

"Nothing could be further from the truth and most officers feel a sense of failure when a citizen is injured or victimised within their area of responsibility."

Chief Llewellyn said the case is currently still active and is being handled by the District Attorney of Waller County.

He concluded: "I will state unequivocally that I have never met any of the parties involved in the crash incident and I have not received any influence from any member of city administration regarding this incident.

"Waller Police Department will continue to strive to provide the very best police services that we can to our citizens."

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14 comments

Avatar
Pyro Tim | 2 years ago
3 likes

The bullshit is so strong in this I can smell it from here

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hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
5 likes

Here's some comments from the DA's statement: https://jalopnik.com/district-attorney-accuses-waller-police-of-mishandl...

DA wrote:

This case was not handled appropriately by the investigating agency. PERIOD. Despite being encouraged by the Texas Department of Public Safety to treat the scene as a crime scene and to contact the D.A.‘s Office for advice on how to proceed, the investigating agency chose not to do so. The actions of the Texas Department of Public Safety on scene were professional and we are thankful they were there to assist. We are also working with the Waller County Sheriff’s Office to gather the evidence they are able to provide as they arrived on scene to backup Waller P.D. Sheriff Guidry has been most helpful in this regard.

Also

DA wrote:

There has been some online and community speculation that the incident was handled in the manner it was because of connections between the motorist and Waller city officials. At this point we can confirm there are some connections, but have yet to see evidence of a city official directing the officer on the scene as to how to handle this particular situation. We will continue to look for any such criminal interference as the investigation proceeds.

I'm puzzled as to how the perp's family arrived on scene before the police did.

Avatar
wycombewheeler replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
1 like

hawkinspeter wrote:

 

DA wrote:

There has been some online and community speculation that the incident was handled in the manner it was because of connections between the motorist and Waller city officials. At this point we can confirm there are some connections, but have yet to see evidence of a city official directing the officer on the scene as to how to handle this particular situation. We will continue to look for any such criminal interference as the investigation proceeds.

I'm puzzled as to how the perp's family arrived on scene before the police did.

I'm not reading that as a city official at the scene, the officer was on the scene

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to wycombewheeler | 2 years ago
0 likes

wycombewheeler wrote:

I'm not reading that as a city official at the scene, the officer was on the scene

I think I added that comment after reading here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/teen-in-waller-texas-antagonized-cyclists-mowed-six-down-then-was-let-go-by-cops

Quote:

“His first words were, ‘I’m sorry—oh my God, did I kill someone?’” Ferrell recalled. “We realized everyone was still alive, thank God. Then he said, ‘Am I going to jail?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, you’re going to jail. That was really stupid.’ And he started crying, and that was about it.”

But, when Waller cops showed up on Saturday, the teen was questioned and released. His parents arrived at the crash site before police responded, according to Ferrell.

Avatar
wycombewheeler replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
1 like

hawkinspeter wrote:

wycombewheeler wrote:

I'm not reading that as a city official at the scene, the officer was on the scene

I think I added that comment after reading here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/teen-in-waller-texas-antagonized-cyclists-mowed-six-down-then-was-let-go-by-cops

Quote:

“His first words were, ‘I’m sorry—oh my God, did I kill someone?’” Ferrell recalled. “We realized everyone was still alive, thank God. Then he said, ‘Am I going to jail?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, you’re going to jail. That was really stupid.’ And he started crying, and that was about it.”

But, when Waller cops showed up on Saturday, the teen was questioned and released. His parents arrived at the crash site before police responded, according to Ferrell.

that is ominous, it could be considered reasonable for a teen to phone their parents after the police have been called in such an event, but for the parent to drop everything and rush to the scene before the police get there, what is the reason for this if not to influence the officers actions?

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hawkinspeter replied to wycombewheeler | 2 years ago
1 like

Maybe the parents happened to be closer, but this case smells funny just due to the police letting the perp go without charges.

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eburtthebike | 2 years ago
6 likes

"To put it quite simply, they were due to a lack of knowledge on our part and those shortcomings are being dealt with internally and will not be repeated..."

Lack of knowledge that driving into cyclists and seriously injuring them is a crime?  Sorry, they're going to have to try a bit harder than that.

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sparrowlegs | 2 years ago
5 likes

Still all sounds like a load of shit to me. Like someone trying to save themselves. What's worse, corruption or pure ineptitude? The whole police force should be fired because you can bet they'll have done something like this before and will no doubt do it again.

The problem with the UK police is that its populated with pure fuckwits who couldn't be arsed doing anything even if the law allowed them to.

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eburtthebike replied to sparrowlegs | 2 years ago
6 likes

sparrowlegs wrote:

The problem with the UK police is that its populated with pure fuckwits who couldn't be arsed doing anything even if the law allowed them to.

I didn't realise Texas was in the UK. yes

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sparrowlegs replied to eburtthebike | 2 years ago
4 likes

It was in reply (but I didn't reply to) secret_squirrels reference to the UK police. But any time there's an opportunity to take a dig at the feckless boys in blue I'll take it 😀

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eburtthebike replied to sparrowlegs | 2 years ago
0 likes

sparrowlegs wrote:

It was in reply (but I didn't reply to) secret_squirrels reference to the UK police. But any time there's an opportunity to take a dig at the feckless boys in blue I'll take it 😀

I thought it was the Garda who didn't give a feck.

Avatar
GMBasix | 2 years ago
7 likes

It is encouraging that a police chief faces the issues and takes the hit to some extent.  However, a degree of back-pedalling as you cross the finish line will lose the race:

Quote:

"A large part of being professional, is being accountable... however; none of the deficiencies that have been identified were due to poor policy or procedure within the department.

"To put it quite simply, they were due to a lack of knowledge on our part and those shortcomings are being dealt with internally and will not be repeated...

So they were due to poor policy/procedure, because officer training and review is, or should be, part of that policy & procedure. The fact that those are apparently being addressed now is positive, but it does not mean this was solely the responsibility of an individual or group of individuals.

Quote:

Because officers use a sense of humour as a protective measure and because they have to prioritise their mission over sentiment, they are often accused of being insensitive.

Unless a police force sees its mission as including being sensitive to the untrained victims of incidents, then it is failing its mission.

Barrack room bants is OK in the barrack room - we all get that it goes on and why; but if that attitude spreads out onto the street or social media, or it prevents officers completing an effective investigation, then they are not only insensitive but negligent.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to GMBasix | 2 years ago
2 likes

I do wonder what "humour" was used whilst initially investigating this for that part of the statement?

"A little black smoke doesn't harm anyone. If you were in a car you would have been alright. If you lot had voted for Trump it wouldn't have happened. If one of you was pregnant, you could have sued the driver for giving you an abortion."

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Secret_squirrel | 2 years ago
7 likes

Do you know what -  on the basis of that I would be prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt, providing someone is charged soon.

It seems more honest than the PR massaged anodyne statements you would get from Ms Dick or another UK Chief Constable.

 

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