Very sad from two sides.

The kid died side one

Side two the officers chased him which ran him farther on the ice to where it was thin and stood by because it was "too" unsafe for them as he died. They should have ended the chase long time before they got that far.

Was the kid in the wrong, you bet and should have been held responsible for his actions.

Was the officer’s wrong, by chasing no; but being professional’s to serve and “PROTECT” and still pushed this kid into a more dangerous position yes they are wrong and CAN be held liable if it can be shown that ANY reasonable person would have stopped for their and the other persons safety

A good lawyer will have the cops in court too their judgment as adults will be put up against the judgment of a 14 year old kid. The cops will have a bad day with the right lawyer on the other side, especially in civil court.

Many stats show that the ending a chase by the law enforcement leads to less injuries and deaths.

Do I support running, NO you play you pay. Do I support an professional to judge the situation and decided if the offense is worth putting lives at more risk and waiting another day, YES.

Lets us know how the whole mess turns out.

 

Big Black,
while I personally dont wish death on anybody,I stand behind these cops 100%..They have a job to do and they did it..It was not the cops decision to chase this 15yr old,this kid made that decision the second he decided to run from the law.It was not the cops decision to allow the kid to ride without an adult present and without a valid ORV safety training certificate,it was the PARENTS decision,and they will be held liable for this in a court of law.I do hope these parents get some type of jail time for these infractions.

And I further stand behind these cops decision to NOT try and rescue this kid and jeapordize their own lives in the process.NOWHERE in''PROTECT and SERVE''does it say''DIE TRYING in the PROCESS''!!

These cops also have families,and I'd be damned if I'd go in freezing water and risk my life to try and rescue some uncontrolable jerk on four wheels that has no respect for the law.Its a shame it had to end this way,maybe the next ''runaway'' MIGHT think before acting so stupid?

 

MUDDY4LIFE, I agree with everything you say except "I do hope these parents get some type of jail time for these infractions."
These people have lost a son. I think the price for thier stupidity has already been paid and then some. As the father of 2 boy's 17/19, It would be worse to lose your child's life than your own. Just my opinion.

 

Mywifesquad,
I agree with you,these parents have lost their son and thats a big punishment,but they have also violated a SERIOUS ATV law in Michigan regarding youthful operation and should serve a sentenance for their stupidity.

Michigan ranks # 4 in the entire Nation in ATV related injuries.And of those injuries,about 47% of them are happening to our youth that are under the age of 16yrs old.If these parents would have abided by the Michigan ORV laws and seen to it that their youth did NOT operate ANY ATV without ADULT VISUAL SUPERVISION and a legal ATV safety certificate,im betting this incident would have NEVER happened in the first place!

We need to send a strong message across America that PARENTS and GAURDIANS will be held responsable for incidents that happen on an ATV if they allow it to be operated by a youth who violates the laws of their State.

These parents violated the law,that,if followed,more than likey would have saved their kids life,and should have to answer to their ignorance of violating the ORV laws of Michigan,even if it means some jail time.

 

MUDDY4LIFE, I understand where you are coming from and your position. I just am willing to give the parent's the benefit of doubt on this one. It has been 29 years since I was 15 and I remember the rebelous attitude I had then. Wife says I still do. This kid could have taken the quad with out permission, borrowed a friend's, who know's. And yes he was breaking the law but he was just a kid and made a bad choice and paid the ultimate price for his decision. Now if we know that these parent's blatently ignored the law then I guess I would side with you. However I also struggle with atv laws everywhere, especially when you can legally put your 6yr old on a cr500 if you want. One of the many reasons my boy's rode dirt bike's. No I did not allow my boy's to ride the 500R until they were 14 and had some time on their 250's. The youngest still turns down the opportunity. The oldest is a HP freak, I think he get's it from his mom, lol.

 

First and foremost I am a law abiding citizen and support law for I donate too many of their causes.

BUT…

As I stated cops have a job and DUTY to serve and PROTECT. Who were they PROTECTING here? This kid would have stopped the run away if they had lifted and they would have had another day to get this kid. I do not support this kid’s action but for an ADULT and PROFESSIONAL to knowingly continue a chase into a more dangerous situation is absurd. Cops have been convicted of liability in the past for car chases accidents. There is a point when the cop must make a decision, "Is this chase worth this kids or other people’s life?" Also since you support him "doing his job" it is also his job to exercise all means available to save lives. He has family but HE made the decision to continue this chase so his job also includes going in and trying to safe this kid’s life.

Pick your stance, he cannot be commended for "doing his job" and then looking out for self when it is convenient and then blaming a blooming 14yr old for this.

Come on he was 14yrs old, I hope the officer who is an adult and professional would have better judgment?

Many agencies are beginning to have policies banning police chases for minor infractions which I am sure this was.

Read the following news story for a couple examples of this type of policy.

Cops must begin to know when to say NO

 

Although as I stated I support the law but the absurd police chase you described contributed to that 4%. Without chase another atv accident could have been avoided.

 

BigBlack, I assume you are not saying that police should not ever chase down people breaking the law. So where do they draw the line? And The kid chose when, how and WHERE to run, he made all those decisions, which turned out to be fatal to himself and I would assume, ruined his parents life in the process. I just cant blame the police in this situation. If they let all quad's ride anywhere they want that could be a bigger problem, dont you think?

 

Many states are adopting policies that forbid their officers to commit to a pursuit unless the suspect has or suspected of committing a felony. This is OK in my book I support this 100%.

Any of you with kids should feel my pain here. I am a law abiding citizen and support the law but there has to be someone responsible enough to step up and decide if it outcome is worth it, period.

1st we have all been teenagers and know the mindset and trickery that goes on behind our parents back. To blame the parent’s right out is ridicules unless it is proven they knowingly supported this behavior.

2nd he violated no law that would earn a death penalty in court but we are giving police officers the ability to hand out death penalties for crimes that do not warrant them.

Let me give you another scenario to better illustrate my point.

Scenario: This same kid ran from the law and was unknowingly headed for a dangerous cliff on the side of a mountain. Should the police still give chase knowing if they do this kid will unknowingly run off this cliff and get killed all under the protect, “I was doing my job.”. I am sure this kid would not head in the same direction on the ice if he had the opportunity to do it again. But do you really feel this 14 year old saw the danger when he hit the ice? Would he run most likely yes teenager will do stupid things but should the law potentially kill them for such petty actions?

 

Oh yea, give chase? yes, if your department does not have policies against it, but be professional and reserve enough to realize when a suspect is not going to give up. Let them go and get them another day.