Bad police! Bad, bad, police!
Posted on 02/03/2006 5:39:09 AM PST by devane617
A teenage driver dodged police twice before eventually slamming her car into a cab early Thursday morning, killing its driver.
St. Petersburg police said they tried to stop 18-year-old Leyana Rich twice for erratic driving and speeding, once on Wednesday afternoon, and again early Thursday morning.
Both stops failed, and at about 2 a.m. Thursday she barreled through an intersection and T-boned the cab.
St. Petersburg Police Department Spokesman Bill Proffitt explained why officers opted not to pursue Rich the first two times.
"We have a pretty strict pursuit policy," Profitt said. "We only pursue for violent felonies, and it's my understanding this was not in that category. It could have been a traffic stop. I'm not sure, but it wasn't enough cause for us to pursue."
Police said early Thursday morning Rich was traveling north on 47th street without headlights when she ran a stop sign and slammed into the cab. The cab flipped and hit two trees before smashing into the porch of a house.
Paramedics pronounced the 53-year-old driver, who worked for Independent Cab, dead on the scene. The cab driver's name hasn't been released because his family hasn't been notified yet.
Officers said they found a large amount of cocaine and marijuana in Rich's rental car, but there is no indication she was under the influence at the time of the crash.
Rich, of 2600 29th Ave. N., is charged with vehicular homicide, driving with a suspended license and possession of cocaine and marijuana. She is being held at the Pinellas County Jail on $35,000 bond, with her first court appearance scheduled for Friday.
Rich was also arrested on Jan. 22 on charges of driving with a suspended license and possession of controlled substance. Rich's father, John Rich, told Bay News 9 she's a former straight-A student who fell in with the wrong crowd.
Lots of chances they tried. Not the police's fault in this at all.
Bad police! Bad, bad, police!
They should have beaten her to death for "resisting arrest" when they pulled her out of the car.
damn
Leyana Rich, 12, has attended the program for five years. Rich said it is not like going to school because there is more freedom and teens do not have to sit at a desk all day. She said a person can be active and not bored.
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 9, 1999
I'm sorry. I just don't understand this remark. Police don't try or sentence, their powers of detention are limited. I can't figure out what chances the police had.
I was refering to the previous two days when "stops" were attempted for traffic violations. With modern communications I would think this person would have been easy to find a few mile down the road.
As for being "easy to find a few miles down the road", I dunno. You put out a BOLO and describe the vehicle and the tag and all, and hope that the cops aren't otherwise engaged at the time she passes them.
I work in St. Pete. this is tragic. however, the hands of our police, etc. are being tied by the sensitive left-wing crackheads who are in power. how dare our police infringe upon a criminal's civil rights. they have to be so careful what they do anymore to ensure they are not sued or fired. It's sickening.
Damn shame, if true. But wrong crowd or not, she had freedom of choice every step of the way.
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