Gannon
Member Username: Gannon
Post Number: 5543 Registered: 12-2003 Posted From: 70.236.198.22
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 4:07 am: | |
I heard some traffic late tonight in the parking lot outside my window. Peeked out the window and noticed a DPD Explorer in the Thai restaurant parking lot...looking REALLY closely at my neighbor's car. Uh-oh. Opened the window to try and get their attention...heard them trying to wake the driver up... UH-OH. I hadn't heard anything. Never even heard him drive up, which is unusual...but I had nodded off while reading in bed, which is not unusual. So I pulled on some layers and trudged out to see what had happened. By the time I got around the building, they had my neighbor out of his car standing up, barely. He had parked his car, then promptly passed out while puking out of his driver's door. Door was still open. If these guys hadn't been cruising through the neighborhood, he might have frozen to death. They obviously weren't believing that he lived above the Thai restaurant...so I had to finally step up and tell them that he indeed belonged here. The whole scene changed then, and they buzzed his wife to wake her. She came down and claimed him. I hope he knows how lucky he is that he met those two good cops. I don't know what led to his condition, but if he was stupid drunk then I hope he realizes his excess and learns to have more control next time. I know I'll hear from angry-mom symps, but if the grace of God gave him another chance I hope he sees it as such and chooses more wisely next time. I'm glad to know they're cruising my neighborhood...we don't get much traffic on my street after the fire department maintenance slows down for the day and the restaurants close. Cheers for Detroit cops!! I bade them a boring but safe night...and just when I got back into bed and grabbed the laptop to write this I hear a volley of five gunshots coming from the general direction of Mack and I-75...something is weird tonight. Now I just got an emergency call from the ladyfriend...coming home from her job with a flat tire...glad I'm not the type who keeps normal hours... |
Jerome81 Member Username: Jerome81
Post Number: 920 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 64.142.86.133
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 5:05 am: | |
Should have arrested his ass for DUI. I have no tolerance for that garbage. And whats with the murders lately? They seem to really be going. Mack and 75 isn't exactly the worst part of town is it? I can't deal with that either. |
Angry_dad Member Username: Angry_dad
Post Number: 1 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 152.163.100.8
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 6:18 am: | |
"Two good cops" because a drunk got home without killing somebody? If the key was still in the ignition, this drunk should be behind bars. |
Machoken Member Username: Machoken
Post Number: 1129 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.85.155.145
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 7:44 am: | |
Wow, I didn't realize you could register and then post in just over 2 hours, especially in the middle of the night! |
Czar Member Username: Czar
Post Number: 2930 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 72.49.166.173
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 9:34 am: | |
I don't think "God" really gave a rat's ass in this instance. Cops not enforcing the law, seems like that part of Detroit hasn't changed. (Message edited by czar on February 18, 2006) |
Gannon
Member Username: Gannon
Post Number: 5545 Registered: 12-2003 Posted From: 70.236.198.22
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 10:49 am: | |
I was ready for this sort of onslaught. They were paying attention to parked cars during their cruising. They drove down a dead street with almost nothing but two closed restaurants and abandoned warehouses (the driver had no idea this building had been rehabbed, he just was transferred to this beat). They noticed something out-of-the-ordinary and probably saved this guy's life. That to me is doing their job...if this action got them back on the street faster to catch someone doing harm to others, I'm all the more for it. I'd much rather this guy learn his lesson the easy way...before anyone got hurt. The way his lesson does NOT include hammering him into bankruptcy or making a few fucking lawyers richer. The dram shop drunken driving laws are too tight and need to be revisited...the minimum penalties are excessive, threshold for legal action is too low..., and the laws obviously don't keep previous drunks from driving drunk again. It does not change the behavior of the ones dangerous to society; it only alters the statistics so lawmakers and the general public can feel good about their action against a true problem. As with all personal use issues, we need to teach and encourage limits and tolerance...not bludgeon with excessive penalties. We need to train everyone from birth how the human machine craves excess or even worse seeks distraction from troubles and boredom...and how it is EASY for something as benign as nourishment or procreation desires or computer pseudo-human interaction to turn into addictions that distract from the greater purpose of the individual's life. Even more so with substances that have pleasurable effects like alcohol, or drugs, or spicy foods. The current laws don't absolutely work with the hard cases we need to reach, while the light cases who should get leniency on first offenses are hammered greatly with legal fees and higher insurance. Who are we making rich by these laws? Lawyers and insurance companies...two of my favorite creations of rational civilization. Nobody will be able to argue me into agreeing that the current system is good, and it is getting worse as more people react with emotion against the loss of loved ones. I've lost family members to drunk drivers, but I realize that the problem is systemic and we need teach people tolerance and also create options for people who will excessively party (like real public transportation that doesn't shut down before the bars let out). Czar, I think IF he pushed his 'luck' with bad decisions partying and driving but he survived and nobody got hurt...indeed he did bump into the edges of God's grace. I think God gave enough of a rat's ass to allow him another day to breathe and think and choose more wisely this time. Cops not enforcing the law...but saving lives and serving the public...which is more important, every line of the law or the people caught within it?! If the greater good is served, and he learns his lesson and grows into someone who makes better decisions...then I'm happy. If he doesn't learn a lesson and continues driving drunk, then I'll turn him in myself. (will it make me or these cops more culpable if someone gets hurt next time? absolutely not, the decision to drink and drive always rests within the individual and they have total responsibility for their actions) Cannot know this morning which road he'll take...hope his hangover brings some of this to his attention deeply. |
Drm Member Username: Drm
Post Number: 861 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.252.124.153
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 11:05 am: | |
The real issue here is that you need to buy your ladyfriend a AAA membership! |
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz
Post Number: 162 Registered: 12-2005 Posted From: 68.2.191.57
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 11:09 am: | |
Gannon, applause for interrupting your night to help the officers and your neighbor. You didn't have to do that but you did it anyway. Good citizenship. |
Gannon
Member Username: Gannon
Post Number: 5547 Registered: 12-2003 Posted From: 70.236.198.22
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 11:22 am: | |
LOL, Drm, I got a slight reprieve from that one...forgot to come clean on it...she left the car at the corner and checked with the gas station attendant that they would NOT tow it away...then got one of her girlfriends from work to drive her home. I an heading out there NOW to play with tires. AAA might not be a bad idea, but only for when I'm NOT available. I wouldn't have made her wait alone for a tow truck anyways... |
Knocturnal Member Username: Knocturnal
Post Number: 82 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 24.176.50.206
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 2:03 pm: | |
Im in Gannon's corner on this one. Nice of you to stroll outside in sub zero temps (w/ wind chill) to help out not only your neighbor but also the cops. Hopefully your neighbor does learn from this experience because he is truly lucky to be alive today. |
Alexei289 Member Username: Alexei289
Post Number: 1033 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 68.61.183.223
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 4:53 pm: | |
i agree 100% with gannons long winded posts... and will add to it to the overprotective baby boomer hipocrits who think that drinking before your 21 is the equivilant of murder. As a matter of fact, you are in deeper shit if you get caught drinking or smoking a doobie than you would be taking someone's shit... which I think we can all agree is a much lower mark on society. I dont understand why its somehow worse for americans to drink before their 21 than the rest of the world... becuase every other industrialized nation's driking age is lower than 18... 21 being absolutely rediculous... Canada is considered strict at 19. |
Czar Member Username: Czar
Post Number: 2931 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 72.49.166.173
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 4:54 pm: | |
Spare me the holistic bullshit, they should have dragged the guy to jail. |
Alexei289 Member Username: Alexei289
Post Number: 1034 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 68.61.183.223
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 5:42 pm: | |
he obviously made it home didnt he? no im not excusing it... but what would be the point in hauling someone sitting in a parking lot drunk.... he cant puke in his own car that he paid for? Lets just assume that he is a criminal... that makes alot of sense... how do you know he couldnt smoke in his place so he stumbled out to his car to have a smoke... and turned it on because it was cold... and then the last shot finally hit him... or the drug that he was taking... How you know he was drunk and didnt just have a seizure?? My mom was assumed drunk after she was asked to do a sobriety test, and a beligerant cop said she failed... even tho she was 100% sober... Trying to explain to him that she has balance problems due to brain surgery 4 years ago... (she has a huge hole in the back of her skull to prove it..) but no... the cops wouldnt listen... and threw my mom on the ground after she tried in earnest to explain that she cant stand on one foot because her cerebellum had been chopped up at one point in her life... she sat in jail for a weekend crying... ( my mother is 50 and had never been in any trouble in her life).. even AFTER a blood test revealed her 100% sober... before the judge could release her on monday... they obviously couldnt prosecute her, but 2 weeks later some prick from the court left a shitty message telling her that she is deliquent on her court fees and that "no matter how hard you try, those bills are just going to keep piling up and this one is just not going to go away".. like my mom is someone who cant make payments... the whole thing ended up costing her 780$... and a weekend in jail.. not to mention 3 days of her car being impounded... great... lets give the police more power... i think you guys are fukin idiots... Most drunk driving arrest are from cops with nothing better to do than to sit outside of the bars at 2 am and just pull people over once they drive out... ya chances are that they are going to have had a beer or 2. Its not like they have any other way to get home ... Not to mention that the drunk drivers that get people hurt usually dont have liscences... the people they are pulling over are usually just watching football... Im sorry, but spare me the prohibitionist Salem style witchhunts... Last time I checked btw the number of teens driking had increased since the 0 tolerance laws were enforced.... and anyone that has ever been in one of those cattle style legal slaughter houses knows that your chances of going to jail are slim as long as you keep your pocketbook open... I dont understand why a beer needs to cost $5600 (literally) because i was on the wrong side of the canadian border... and sending me to counseling to boot... like I have a driking problem because i had a beer fishing on the saint clair river... and like its going to keep me from driking beer while fishing... Im sure its that much worse for me now than it will be a year from now. Just because something is illegal, doesnt mean the law is complete bullshit and needs to be changed. If laws are ineffective they should be chanced... but its pretty suspecious when the only punishment is a weekend in jail and overly excessive fines and court fees.... last time I checked that was called usury... but thats ok because its the government right?? and they always know best... Dont you think its ironic that in the land of the free I have much more freedom in Canada than I ever have here?? Wow.. that would be nice to be able to basically live in any neighborhood... even poor ones and know that the crime rate is nill... becuase police are more concerned with people robing eachother and beating the shit out of eachother than the guy smoking a joint on his porch... |
Alexei289 Member Username: Alexei289
Post Number: 1035 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 68.61.183.223
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 5:51 pm: | |
BTW.... wouldnt you think that this guy will make a much more positive life decision after realizing he had his life saved by cops that care? than he would after getting released from jail? |
Gannon
Member Username: Gannon
Post Number: 5550 Registered: 12-2003 Posted From: 70.236.198.22
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 8:26 pm: | |
Alexei, I'm with you 100%...but legalistic folks will never understand. They still think they can legislate a perfect society. It's obviously working for them. |
Jiminnm Member Username: Jiminnm
Post Number: 302 Registered: 02-2005 Posted From: 69.241.164.222
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 8:48 pm: | |
Sorry, but I couldn't disagree with Alexei and Gannon more (and this has nothing to do with someone under 21 drinking). We have a substantial DUI problem here in NM, with people being killed or maimed by drunk drivers on a fairly regular basis. Many, many of these drivers have had multiple DUI arrests, but managed to convince a judge that they won't do it again and avoid serious jail time. I think 11 prior DUIs is the high, but 4-8 isn't all that uncommon. One guy with several DUIs driving a BIA truck, killed 4 people driving thw wrong way down I-40 (he lived but is now doing 15 years). People finally convinced the legislature to up the penalties, require igntion interlocks, changed court rules to insure more go to trial. Voters kicked out a couple of judges that were lenient. First timers can get 30 days now. Finally, we're just starting see a decline in DUI related deaths. One thing is for certain, someone doing time is off the road and too many folks have lost family or friends around here. I don't see drunk driving much differently than someone going outside and randomly firing a gun. Maybe someone gets hurt, maybe someone doesn't, but the act should be condemned because of the risks. Will this episode help Gannon's neighbor more than than a night in jail? I hope so, but I doubt it. Maybe his wife will lay down the law to him. If not, he or someone else might not live to tell about it. |
Czar Member Username: Czar
Post Number: 2932 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 72.49.166.173
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 9:22 pm: | |
Drunk drivers are chronic. Especially this asshole, who wasn't a mere one or two drinks past legal, but passed out and puking. Most likely, he'll be out there again, maybe he'll kill somebody first and Gannon will be there with his new age Hallmark philosophy to comfort him. Unless this guy entered counseling today, I guarantee he'll be out there again. |
Atl_runner
Member Username: Atl_runner
Post Number: 1822 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.209.118.72
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 9:33 pm: | |
My brother in law was killed by a 2nd time offender. Unfortunantly, the 2nd offense was the fatal offense. |
Crazy_pete Member Username: Crazy_pete
Post Number: 16 Registered: 01-2006 Posted From: 72.138.178.249
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 9:44 pm: | |
Personally, if I lived in a city with no recognizable public transit, in an area where its not uncommon to here gunshots at night, I'd drive home from the bar too... (Message edited by crazy_pete on February 18, 2006) |
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 292 Registered: 01-2005 Posted From: 207.200.116.139
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 11:15 pm: | |
The situation is that of a very marginal -- likely impossible -- DUI prosecution. The officers did not see him operate the motor vehicle. There was no damage involved. There was no third party who saw him drive, much less one who would appear in court as a prosecution witness. This case wouldn't fly. The officers did right. |
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz
Post Number: 169 Registered: 12-2005 Posted From: 68.2.191.57
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 11:24 pm: | |
... and possibly salvaged a citizen's goodwill in the process. Must DPD officers witness a DUI suspect actually driving in order to prosecute? I would assume so but I really don't know. Maybe it's up to a jury? (Message edited by Jimaz on February 18, 2006) |
Ddaydave Member Username: Ddaydave
Post Number: 311 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 67.149.185.244
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 11:34 pm: | |
now this is my idea of a good cop going above and beyond the call of duty http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200 60218/ap_on_re_us/undercover_s ex |
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz
Post Number: 170 Registered: 12-2005 Posted From: 68.2.191.57
| Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 11:37 pm: | |
Somewhere in Virginia there's a wet Spotsylvania. |
Super_d Member Username: Super_d
Post Number: 725 Registered: 08-2005 Posted From: 64.12.116.204
| Posted on Sunday, February 19, 2006 - 1:11 am: | |
'Gannon', you obviously stay in a nice hood'__ cause in ma' hood, when we see a drunk in a car or laying stiff on the grass/or curb, we just walk by like it's a normal night! super d(motordetroit) |
Jfried Member Username: Jfried
Post Number: 722 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 69.47.87.96
| Posted on Sunday, February 19, 2006 - 2:41 am: | |
take his sorry ass off to jail?! how do you know if he drove at all that night? 1. he could have been dropped off by his buddies and wanted to sober up in the car before heading up to piss his wife off. 2. he might have already pissed his wife off and been booted out of the house, 3. he could have gone out to smoke as alexi said, 4. etc, etc, etc. how about we don't send (or expect two cops to send) some dude to prison before we have any real evidence. |
Knocturnal Member Username: Knocturnal
Post Number: 83 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 24.176.50.206
| Posted on Sunday, February 19, 2006 - 9:57 am: | |
My cousin was convicted of drunk driving even though he was merely sleeping in his car. The keys were in the ignition but the car was not running. I have heard of situations similar to this as well where the same penalties were enforced. |
Knocturnal Member Username: Knocturnal
Post Number: 84 Registered: 10-2004 Posted From: 24.176.50.206
| Posted on Sunday, February 19, 2006 - 10:01 am: | |
super d - great cause of concern for your fellow detroiters hey? |
Gumby Member Username: Gumby
Post Number: 894 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 204.39.224.139
| Posted on Sunday, February 19, 2006 - 12:30 pm: | |
Gannon and Alexei289 How can you just brush off drunk driving. Yeah we assume this guy didn't kill anyone but how do we know? Do you know how many innocent people are killed each year because of drunk drivers? There were 42,518 traffic fatalities in 2004, 39% or 16,694 were alcohol related. That is way to many people dead because some ass hole decided he was fine to drive. No I will not excuse this kind of behavior. http://www.alcoholalert.com/dr unk-driving-statistics.html |
Gumby Member Username: Gumby
Post Number: 898 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 141.216.1.4
| Posted on Monday, February 20, 2006 - 2:06 pm: | |
Really shut up the apologists with that one. I am interested in Gannon and Alexei289 response to the facts regarding drunk driving. BTW you can be found guilty of drunk driving even if you are just parked along side the street. The cop is supposed to assume that you have or are about to drive drunk. So a word to the wise if you are drunk do not get behind the wheel of even a parked car. |
Vic_doucette Member Username: Vic_doucette
Post Number: 251 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 65.196.220.198
| Posted on Monday, February 20, 2006 - 2:17 pm: | |
I once lived in Gallup, N.M., a tiny town of fewer than 20,000 in the northwestern part of the state. You'd expect car insurance to be pretty cheap there, but you'd be wrong. I paid about as much there as I did when living in the city of Detroit, maybe even more. Why? Mainly because of the very, very high rate of drunk driving in the area. People got killed every weekend driving between the city and the various Indian reservations nearby, where booze was illegal. And the high school yearbooks always had pictures of several kids who perished in booze-related accidents and wouldn't make it to graduation. I'm glad nobody got hurt in this little incident. And I hope the guy learns his lesson. But you can't minimize or explain away the drunk-driving problem. Society needs zero tolerance for it. |
Track75
Member Username: Track75
Post Number: 2223 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 12.75.18.233
| Posted on Monday, February 20, 2006 - 2:44 pm: | |
I would hope the cops ran the drunk's driving record. If he had a previous drunk driving arrest, haul his "party 'til you puke, pass out, and begin to freeze" ass off to jail. I don't think the cops do us or even the drunk driver any favors by letting the drunk driver off to inevitably repeat his feat another day. |