You and I usually seem to agree on a lot of topics but not this time: Yep, the biker was riding too fast and crossing the double- yellow lines to pass. An LEO stopped him for these actions. The biker did in fact stop, and was in a totally non- threatening manner when the LEO struck the bike with his car. The LEO was clearly enraged, and proceeded to physically assault the biker who again was behaving in a perfectly calm, apparently cooperative and absolutely non- threatening manner.
Did the biker do anything wrong? Sure. And he was stopped for it and we have clearly defined remedies for such behavior (fines, perhaps public service, loss of license, etc.). I also have absolutely no problem with the LEO getting out of his car with his pistol in hand and aimed at the suspect- it was not yet clear if the biker was going to 'behave' or not after he got up and the LEO needed to both control the situation and possibly defend himself. But we simply do not give LEO's (or anyone else that I know of) the freedom to physically assault people who are being accused of a crime (and a very minor one in this case) and yet behaving in an acceptable manner.
I am old enough to have mostly white hair, and still occasionally I misbehave on my motorcycle and have done everything I saw that biker do in that video. Should I be caught doing such things, I would expect to be stopped, possibly be handcuffed and detained, have my motorcycle towed and be charged with a short list of moving violations (and anything else found such as no registration, bike not carrying an inspection sticker, etc.). But I would not expect nor would I accept being struck by the LEO's vehicle while I was stopped or stopping, and I would not expect or accept a physical assault. In fact, I think that guy acted better in the series of events shown in that video than I would.
We hire LEO's to enforce the law, protect the peace and generally try to keep our society orderly. They are not hired to be thugs or overreact, and if they cannot behave w/in those boundaries, they should be removed IMO. LEO's carry batons, often tasers, and firearms to escalate to the level of violence necessary to control or stop an unacceptable situation and I have no problem with them using those tools..... but that guy simply did not 'earn', 'deserve' and especially should not have been physically abused because an LEO could not keep his temper in check. I am also disappointed that the LEO apparently was not given any corrective action for his actions; if his superiors and / or the dept. he works for in general thinks his behavior was acceptable, then we have an even bigger problem than a single, cranky LEO.
Brian
Nothing good can come from this. Bad for bikers, bad for cops. The rider deserves what he gets but the cop let his emotions get the better of him.
http://youtu.be/7Uuo_CiiPk8