Appearances Deceiving? Or just a little too Casual

Rarely have the writer of Calgary Criminal Lawyer Weekly and I disagreed. We have hitherto never openly disagreed in opinions voiced on our respective blogs.

I suppose there is a first for everything -- or at least a partial first.

"Real Life is Not Hollywood" -- by Michael Bates: http://calgarycriminallawyer.blogspot.com/2010/06/real-life-is-not-hollywood.html

At the outset, let me mark a point of agreement.

Did Cst. Lind "let" the 18 year old die, or somehow contribute to his demise as a result of indifference? No.

I agree Lind is not responsible for the young person's death. I agree, there is no evidence the officer was driving dangerously (in fact the reported evidence is to the contrary); that he rammed the SUV off the road or that he did anything else to cause the crash other than do his job. He did not even pursue the vehicle with emergency lights and sirens. A prudent decision in the circumstances.

I agree, the person may have in fact been dead already.

Overall, I agree with Mr. Bates and others: this is real life, not Hollywood.

But when faced with a burning SUV, an allegation that the vehicle "fled" police and a probable criminal investigation, I would expect -- even in real life -- the investigating officer to act with a little more urgency than what was reflected in the video. The officer's rather lackadaisical saunter from the front of his marked police unit, to the trunk, to the burning SUV and around the car struck me as simply just too casual an approach in the circumstances.

Even if the passenger was already dead, one might think removing the presumptively lifeless body from the wreck would have been a priority? Surely paramedics are not going to administer emergency treatment whilst the body remains in a burning vehicle? Surely preserving what was left of the person inside of the motor vehicle from the possible scorching effects of a spreading vehicle fire is important?

I certainly appreciate the passenger may have been involved in some kind of illegal activity (though since he/she was not the driver, one might still wonder about that); but even criminals, or ordinary persons who exercised a period of incredibly poor judgment ought to be spared the indignity of having their remains potentially desecrated by fire. Let us remember, these people have family too. In my mind, removing the body deserved greater priority than what was displayed; for it seemed to me, that in four minutes, the fire could have spread. And just what if -- what if -- the passenger could have been saved by timely emergency medical treatment?

Now, I am not saying Cst. Lind sauntered his way to the vehicle and then declined to immediately remove the passenger because he was carrying out some kind of street justice, or was operating with some kind of "you get what you deserve" attitude. I am not saying he was even obligated to remove the body or that its removal was even the most immediate priority. Afterall, I am not a policeman. I wasn't at the scene. But even though I want to be cautious acting as an armchair cop, the situation in my mind demanded more urgency than the energyless exhibition displayed on what Mr. Bates correctly characterized as a poor quality homevideo.

See CBC News article, "2 Die Fleeing Calgary Police": http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2010/06/09/calgary-suv-dead-crash-house-asirt.html


Though I wonder about the frequency of car thieves setting vehicles ablaze when pursued by police, Calgary Police Association President John Dooks makes a logical point: "The officer's duties are first of all to check on people in the area, the residents of the building ... even determine if there's anybody in the vehicle...".

Indeed, this makes sense.

However, merely "checking" is not enough; for the entire purpose of making the determination is so appropriate action can be taken. If the situation calls for it -- ensuring a person does not remain in a potentially harmful situation potentially entails quick and decisive action where it can be safely taken by emergency responders.

Now I am not saying Cst. Lind ought to have placed himself unreasonably in harm's way. Indeed, though the video certainly clearly shows a smoldering fire, there is nothing depicted to suggest imminent explosion. What I am saying is that it appeared a little more urgency would not have been unreasonable. At the very least, it might have mitigated concerns that the approach was just a little too casual in the circumstances.

Let me end by saying, this is not about superhero antics, or running around at the expense of keeping a level head; it is about the responsiveness of emergency responders. It is difficult to deny a cautious initial approach within the first minute, but in the other three?

Unfortunately, viewing this case from the outside, we do not have all of the information. Viewing this case through the eyes of this poor quality home video, however, and I cannot fault those for their opinion that the response lacked the degree of urgency required....

I agree we should be concerned about the family, friends and loved ones who are doubtless presently experiencing tragic loss. Viewing the situation through their eyes -- coupled with potential "what ifs" -- I sincerely hope three minutes would have made no difference....


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2010/06/09/calgary-suv-dead-crash-house-asirt.html#ixzz0qeNXPpmM

David G. Chow
Calgary Defence Lawyer
Molle Roulston Chow

www.calgarydefence.com