TV Helo Midair Collision

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by Chairboy
To threadjump a bit, should the person being chased by the police be charged with murdering them?

Wow, talk about about a stretch!  Why don't you change your handle to Mr.Fantastic since you can stretch so much from so little?

[REP0MAN]

There is no actual footage of the collision. Fox 10 was trained on the "chase" as well as the others. Newschannel 3 (Independent station) and ABC 15 collided. There is a picture from a still camera on the ground showing the ABC 15 Chopper in a non-recoverable dive with damaged main rotor. The white clump seen next to it is the NewsChannel 3 Chopper with no tail. Here is some places to get info...

News Channel 3

12 News (NBC)

ABC 15 News

Fox 10

Truly a sad day in Phoenix.

[GtoRA2]

Originally posted by Ripsnort
Wow, talk about about a stretch!  Why don't you change your handle to Mr.Fantastic since you can stretch so much from so little?

He was right, on the way home the news was saying they are considering charging him with their deaths.

[rpm]

Rip, it's actually not that far of a jump. I forget the exact name of the law, but if someone dies as the result of a crime you commited or participated in you are criminally responsable.

Example: Two people rob a store. One is caught, the other escapes and starts a chase. During the chase a police officer crashes and dies. The person already in custody and handcuffed in the back seat of a patrol car 30 minutes before the chase began is liable for the death of the officer.
It all goes back to the initial cause of the incident.

[Maverick]

It's called felony murder.

The person that is responsible for the original felony crime that resulted in the death of another because of it will / can be charged with felony murder.

[REP0MAN]

I forgot to add, in a press conference the Phoenix Police Chief told reporters that they will be seeking charges on the suspect of the low speed chase. I'm not sure what the charges will be but I'll keep an eye on news and post what I hear.

He was in a stolen vehicle and rammed several police cars in the early minutes of the chase. The Phoenix Police department, and most of the Valley Law Enforcement agencies, have a no pursuit policy. They will initiate a traffic stop but will not pursue if you don't stop. They allow the police helicopter to follow the vehicle and they parallel while waiting for the vehicle to stop and the occupants run away.

[rpm]

It may not have been a totally low speed chase. I might have spoken too quickly on that, but it was after watching an early report that only showed a white truck driving slowly thru a parking lot.

Whether it was 30mph or 130mph is neather here nor there. The helos were in the air to make money from sensationalistic (did I invent a word?) news coverage. They were the live version of a supermarket tabloid. The only thing that would top a live pursuit is a celebrity live pursuit.

While the perp is criminally resposable for the deaths, should the TV stations that sent reporters on the story be responsable civilly?

[TalonX]

Originally posted by Chalenge
http://www.breitbart.tv/html/3645.html

Mind you they are already discussing charging him with negligent homicide for the deaths of the helicopter crews.

I supported the charging of a criminal (escaped felon) with murder for the death of a responding officer.

I can't support charging this dude with murder because news people crashed and died...  Sorry.  It's optional to them to cover such news.  It's the job of the police to respond..... big difference in my mind.

Where is the line, if you disagree?  If the copters were showing speeders on a certain stretch of highway, and they collided, would you charge the speeders with murdering them?   I think not.

[lazs2]

I think the news stations should be sued for billions for endangering the public.

I don't watch the news except for very rare occasions.   I think they are scum.

I am glad they didn't kill anyone but themselves.

Was the guy in the "chase" in the act of committing a felony?   what was going on?

lazs

[LePaul]

So this criminal is going to be charged with the deaths of bad piloting?

Look, I know we want to assign blame here...5 people are dead.  Was it rescuing children or saving the world?  

No.  They augered into each other chasing a low speed police chase.

This was all about ratings.  And sadly, their deaths will show that, based on video replays, website stories, etc.  Its a sad, vicious cycle.

[LePaul]

Originally posted by REP0MAN
There is no actual footage of the collision. Fox 10 was trained on the "chase" as well as the others. Newschannel 3 (Independent station) and ABC 15 collided. There is a picture from a still camera on the ground showing the ABC 15 Chopper in a non-recoverable dive with damaged main rotor. The white clump seen next to it is the NewsChannel 3 Chopper with no tail. Here is some places to get info...

News Channel 3

12 News (NBC)

ABC 15 News

Fox 10

Truly a sad day in Phoenix.

A friend emailed me this

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=882_1185574862

From another pilot that was there as they hit

[DREDIOCK]

Originally posted by Chalenge
http://www.breitbart.tv/html/3645.html

Mind you they are already discussing charging him with negligent homicide for the deaths of the helicopter crews.

I just watched this...several times to make sure I wasnt just imagining it.
There is something else the chopper pilot is uttering right at the very very end.

VERY sickening.

RIP to all involved

[mensa180]

What is it?

[soda72]

Originally posted by DREDIOCK
I just watched this...several times to make sure I wasnt just imagining it.
There is something else the chopper pilot is uttering right at the very very end.

VERY sickening.

RIP to all involved

Yeah that one is disturbing, you can hear him scream...

It doesn't seem safe to have the pilot talking to an anchor, while watching the guy in the vehicle and flying all at the same time espically with all the other helicopters around in the same arena reporting on the same event..

People get in enough accidents in their cars talking on a cell phones..

[tedrbr]

Depending on Federal, State, and local laws, yes the suspect can be charged with the deaths of the helicopter news crews.  

America has had 231 years of voted in representatives that add layer and layer of law upon law upon law to the judicial system.   Something happens, another law gets added to the system in usually a knee jerk reaction.  Enforcing existing laws takes a back seat ("Hate crimes" being  a classic example of this trend).  

The end result is that prosecutors and DA's tend to lay as many charges onto a suspect as possible, and they get to cast a very wide net these days.  Then the process usually  turns to plea bargaining of those charges down to something with the defendant and his (usually appointed public defender) legal counsel.  
Why you will see things like a suspect charged with "over two dozen counts of blah blah blah" when being arraigned.  

It's the system we live in that has developed over time.  "There outta be a law!"

As to whether or not it's justified here is another argument, but then, the actions of those half dozen news choppers (in addition to the police air presence that was probably there) operating independently in close proximity to a chase.... that's been a disaster waiting to happen for 20 years now since these "Televised Live chases" have been "popular" in the media and public.
They operate so far out of standard aviation safety practices at times to be very scary, and they do put many others at risk.  Hate to see it happen at all, but I can't say as I'm surprised at all that it did.  

Had those choppers come down on a few houses or civilians on the ground, undoubtedly the suspect would have been charged with their injuries and deaths as well.... but all the wrongful death and injury suits would have been against the television stations.