Posted on 12/15/2004 5:53:30 AM PST by Arrowhead1952
By Tony Plohetski, Monica Polanco
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
On the evening of the wreck that killed him and his wife, retired Austin police Detective Kurt Jacobson drove his Harley-Davidson motorcycle into a restaurant where more than 100 officers and other customers had gathered, placed the front tire against a wall and revved the engine.
The rear tire burned through the white vinyl floor and blackened the foundation of the Cedars Bar and Grill on Texas 71.
Now, police officials are wondering what any of the department's officers saw, how they responded and how they were behaving. Assistant Police Chief Rick Coy said Tuesday that the department will launch an inquiry early next week to answer those questions.
"The bottom line, number one, is that if there are things that occurred that we could correct to make sure a tragedy like this doesn't happen again, that is our priority," Coy said. "And number two, we need to ensure that all our officers and employees are professional on and off duty."
Coy said department officials decided to wait to begin their internal inquiry to allow officers time to grieve. Funeral services for Kurt Jacobson and his wife, Cmdr. Shauna Jacobson, are set for Thursday.
The couple died shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday after their motorcycle crashed into a guardrail less than a mile east of the restaurant, near Bee Creek in western Travis County. The couple had joined dozens of other officers, including lieutenants and sergeants, in a benefit motorcycle ride that day to help a police victims assistance counselor who has multiple sclerosis. The bar was the last stop on the charity ride.
Kurt Jacobson, who himself had the disease, retired from the department in 2002 and is remembered for his efforts to sweep drug dealers from the streets. Shauna Jacobson worked tirelessly to crack unsolved murders and help needy families, colleagues say.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers said it will probably be four to six weeks before they complete their investigation. Spokeswoman Tela Mange said that the Jacobsons were not wearing helmets and that "speed was definitely a factor."
The posted speed limit where the wreck occurred — the beginning of a curve on the four-lane highway — is 50 miles an hour.
Travis County Medical Examiner Roberto Bayardo said Tuesday that the Jacobsons died of massive trauma and that toxicology reports should be completed today.
Bobby Joe Bailey, the owner of the Cedars Bar and Grill, said he was standing about 15 feet from Jacobson when he squealed the back tire on the floor.
He said he saw Jacobson burst through the restaurant's double doors and drive through the dining area to the rear wall. Bailey said he asked Jacobson to leave after he had damaged the floor.
"He just turned and shut her down, backed up and left," Bailey said. "There wasn't any arguing or anything." He said that Jacobson offered to pay for damage but that he told Jacobson not to worry about it.
Bailey said the Harley filled the bar with smoke and that many patrons waited outside for half an hour while it cleared.
He said he did not know whether Jacobson left immediately.
A few minutes after 7 p.m., he said, the bartender got a call from someone saying that two people on a motorcycle had been killed.
Bailey said the bar sold about $500 worth of alcohol Saturday afternoon, which he described as a below-average day. He said he did not know whether Jacobson had alcohol at his restaurant.
Carilu Bell, who helped organize the fund-raiser, also saw Jacobson drive into the restaurant.
"He was confronted by a couple of people to stop," Bell said. "He just very calmly rode his motorcycle out of the restaurant."
Investigators with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission also are conducting an investigation. Several hours after the wreck, they arrested and charged the bartender at Cedars with being intoxicated while serving alcohol. Candi Lou Summers, 44, has been released from jail on bond. She faces up to a year in jail if convicted of the Class A misdemeanor.
Summers would not comment Tuesday.
Alcoholic Beverage Commission Lt. Robert Saenz said his agency routinely investigates establishments that victims of traffic accidents visited before their deaths.
"We are trying to find out what condition they were in when they left," Saenz said.
Cedars does not have a history of violations with the agency, he said.
The restaurant was the last of five stops motorcyclists made Saturday as part of the benefit, which included silent and live auctions, a barbecue buffet, live music and an 80-mile poker run in which players made four stops in the Hill Country, then drew hands of five-card stud poker at the last stop.
"We felt so good about everybody coming together and raising the money, and then for the day to have ended so tragically, we were all just in shock," Bell said.
APD ping.
Just one more example of police acting (and frequently being) above the law.
Thanks. I drink, and I ride. I don't drink and ride. Riding is a tightrope between heaven and hell. When your in control, it's heaven. When you're out of control...you end up like this.
Booze & bikes: Never, ever a good combination.
Let me be the first to solve this. Being drunk and riding harleys is a recipe for death, flat and simple.
I was wondering how fast I would be arrested if I ever drove my hog into a nice restuarant and smoked the place out. Yeah, a little double standard going on here I think.
There will be an in-depth investigation into this accident. The APD has had many problems of late, and this is not helping their cause.
Gee, let me translate: Drunk cops destroy property with impunity and get themselves killed.
Will we ever see the MSM report on cops straight up? Ha ha ha. Yeah, that'll be the day.
I just heard the news here and the bartender was arrested for being drunk and serving the cops at the bar. Sounds like there are other factors in this case.
That would depend more on whether it was a cop bar, and you are a regular there, and less on whether you yourself are a cop.
Yep. I'd wager you'd have to have a load in you in the first place to drive your ride into a damn bar and try to burn the place down by peeling out on the floor. Riding a bike is challenging and risky enough: I couldn't imagine doing it with a load on.
It all boils down to control, as you say. The black mark on the restaurant floor, the damage to the guard rail down the road, the guy with MS at the handlebars, no helmets, speed and booze? This unfortunate episode caps off two illustrious careers of hunting bad guys.
Now what are they investigating again?
Hooligan List PING
'swhy I got rid of my ride. It was just waiting out in my garage for a chance to kill me.
One more reason for me to leave this hell-hole.
I'd like to move out of Travis Co. as well. Maybe move to the Taylor area.
Cop bars are cop bars because the management wants them to be cop bars. Cops don't drink, or stay where they are not wanted, because one complaint to the Chief can put a kink in their career.
Second Thing:
Folks are assuming that the driver of the motorcycle (the dead detective) had consumed alcohol. That is not yet resolved. If he did, he is a fool for riding afterwards, if he didn't - well he didn't.
Third Thing:
Those of you who have not been cops (I have) have no idea what kind of social isolation is involved with being a cop. You can't do anything without someone bring up the fact you are a cop. People change what they say around you. They always tell you about that "nasty cop" that did this or that to them and you have to make like you think they didn't deserve it. Only with other cops can you relax. Other cops (hopefully) will drive you home when you get drunk (and yes, we do that - I know damn well better than most about drinking and driving because I have had to help haul people out of crunch-up cars more than most). Other cops treat you like a person, not just a badge.
There is a down-side to social isolation. Every police officer (I am not a cop now) should have friends who are not police officers. Its easy to get separated from "real people" and fall into a us-them mindset without contact with normal folks.
Cut cops a break on this. If the bar owner was ok with the burn out, then we should be too.
Ah, yes. But, when I swing my leg over and sit in that seat, I say "Well, Lord. It's a good day to die."
I'm a Christian. You might say a crazy Christian. This life has been tough, at times, on all of us. I'm not worried about dyin'.
I'm betting on an everlasting life. I still say, if we eliminate clocks and lift each other up, we can have heaven all around us. Pass it on.
I could be talked into getting a new one. But it'd have to be electric start...
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