Traffic stop and dead pet

[closet dl]

So I watched the interview with the guy in Texas that was stopped on his way to the animal hospital. His dog was choking and he had to drive 8-10 miles to get to the nearest pet emergency room.

He was stopped because he was doing over 100 mph and weaving in and out of traffic. He states that it took the cop 20 minutes to write the ticket and that "extensive" amount of time caused his dog to die due to a lack of treatment.

My feelings - yes, the officer's comment of "it's just a dog, you can get another one" was callous. But after viewing the video, I have to side with the police on this one. The guy that was stopped got out of the car acting extremely agitated. The cop repeatedly asked him to calm down. The guy was driving a car over 100 mph and talking on his cell phone to the animal hospital, placing himself, his girlfriend and other drivers on the road at risk. As far as the amount of time it took to write the ticket, maybe the cop was trying to get the guy to calm down during that time so that when he got back on the road, he would do so more cautiously.

I am sorry he lost his pet, but the risk he put himself and others in for driving in that manner and with the level of agitation demonstrated far outweighed the level of emergency he faced. Your thoughts?

[King of Clubs]

a dog is a living creature, not only that but an inteligent one, i side with the owner

[mzkkbprmt]

The police where right to do what they did. It is a simple thing. If he is stopped the dog dies. If he is allowed to go on he could crash. Dog still dies (even if the crash doesn't do it, he still fails to get to the vets in time), as could a large number of people. You don't even have to use the arguement that human beings > animals here, because the dog dies if he crashes or if he is stopped. So the police were fully correct.

The only thing they could have perhaps done is take the dog to the vets themselves, but I expect that goes against policy and if another crime occured, they might not get there in time. Of course they could have been more tactful, but he seriously endangered a large number of people. They had to stop him.

[Darkfinn]

That's horseshit. If you are transporting someone who is experiencing an emergency you are not required to stop. Simply turn on your 4-way flashers and continue on your way to the hospital. The cop will probably understand when he/she sees you pull into an emergency clinic.

You can also call 911 on your cell phone and inform the operator that you are in an emergency situation and have a police officer behind you. The 911 operator can inform the cop of your situation and more than likely the officer will then safely escort you to your destination.

[ballucanb]

Going a 100 miles an hour, is likely to kill more people and the animal, it's like being stuck in a traffic jam and to make up time, you are going to go a 100 for a few miles, your chances of makeing up the time are slim to none.

I can see where the guy tought he would do the animal good, but killing more people to do it just isn't the way.

[ayanna]

Ummm...even in an emergency situation you have to obey the traffic laws (the only time the police are "allowed" to speed is when they're in a high-speed chase)...even ambulances and firetrucks are required by law to obey traffic signals (although they do have the option to go through if traffic stops (and it is illegal NOT to stop for them anyway)) and posted speed limits!

Travelling 100 miles per hour seems a bit excessive to go 8 miles. The claim is it took the officer 20 mins to write the ticket and the dog died. Well if the guy were driving a reasonable speed...60mph would have got him there in 8 mins...30mph (usual posted speed limit within towns) would have got him there in 15. He was already on his way sooooooooo...add the time he was driving and weaving in and out of traffic to alert the officer to the time the officer took in writing up the ticket. 15 mins at 30mph 'n the dog would have been saved!

[Mr Alex]

By Ayanna's logic you cant speed when your wife is in labor.

Depends on the posted speed limit if you should or should not.

[Pojo]

Well he should have been prepared to be stopped by police when he was speeding...But he could have still have been speeding, just not as much...I understand that is was an emergency, but it's still not an excuse...When exactly did the dog die during this ordeal? If it was near the start of the pulling over, then the dog wouldn't have survived either way...Who knows if he would've been stopped with traffic or something later on...I think it's a lot of hooplah over something small like this...The cop's comment could have been avoided though

[Footed P.J.]

We are all animals. We are all trying to survive ourselves without trying to put an "animal's" needs before ours. What the speeder did is in violation of all that is decent. He should be imprisoned for doing as he did. Even highly skilled drivers such as policemen should not be risking their lives for someone's pet, and I am glad that did not occur.

[Valerye]

Originally Posted by ayanna

Ummm...even in an emergency situation you have to obey the traffic laws (the only time the police are "allowed" to speed is when they're in a high-speed chase)...even ambulances and firetrucks are required by law to obey traffic signals (although they do have the option to go through if traffic stops (and it is illegal NOT to stop for them anyway)) and posted speed limits!

All they have to have is the sirens on for you to stop or them to speed And run traffic Signs.