Treasure wrote on November 05, 2009 09:56 PM: I support cops not wearing seat belts. It seems to be thinning the herd.

...the union makes it impossible to fire them. Dying is the next best thing.

WatchCommander wrote on October 27, 2009 03:22 AM: Please! We do driver's training every two or three years, yet we qualify with our firearms and do defensive tactics every 3 months. That shows the priority. It is proven that driving is a higher liability area than use of lethal and non lethal force combined, so why the lack in driver's training? Let me guess...money. Metro can afford a new multi million dollar helicopter hangar, a new multi million dollar headquarters building, several million to furnish these fabulous and extravagant buildings but refuse to spend money on the best training for their beat officer's. We as a community should demand that our police department spend money more wisely so we can put the best trained officers on the street. C'mon Sheriff have your DC's call Sheriff Arpaio in AZ rather than UPS??? Does UPS even own a Crown Vic

patricia wrote on October 24, 2009 11:17 AM: I am not a cop but would like to tell you that I always support the police because of the simple fact, we need them! We need them most in an emergency and having had a life threatening traumatic experience, we need them to come FAST in an emergency. Our own Sheriff is now second guessing his own officers that have and continue to to do a fabulous job protecting our community. The only people that will smile with joy through all of this are the criminals as we sit and second guess an Officer's decision. I think the Officer's of metro and other agencies need more high speed and high stress driving draining thats all. If we try to handcuff our own police department we may de motivate the officers and motivate the criminals, Sheriff Gillespie please support your Officers and don't politicise this issue to make yourself look good. Thank you

wtf wrote on October 23, 2009 04:04 PM: Sorry, but a lack of good judgement is not heroic. 71 mph in a 45 with no emergency is stupid and reckless. 109 mph with or without emergency equipment on is homicidal/suicidal. There have been comments about all the multitasking officers must perform while driving a patrol car. In many states just texting while driving is illegal. But these officers look at a computer, use the radio, use the phone, etc? Looks like we need 2 man vehicle patrols at all times. Officers who complain about the criticism of these two officers need to regroup their minds. The two officers are excellent bad examples. Officers need to take note. The lives they save may be their own. Chances are if you really need the couple seconds it would take to undo your seat belts, you are probably screwed anyway.

Patty wrote on October 23, 2009 11:28 AM: Oh the drama! Mr. Smith isn't vilifying cops, saying we don't need and want cops or that their job doesn't deserve respect. All he's saying is that they need to drive in a safe manner! If they are exceeding the speed limit by 25 to 50 miles, they should have lights and/or sirens on to protect themselves, other drivers and their passengers. To excuse driving behavior which threatens the safety of others, simply because of the driver's career choice, is not acceptable. Making involvement in a traffic accident "heroic" clearly diminishes the meaning of the word.

john wrote on October 23, 2009 09:05 AM: @ Ault and John Smith
"Thank you" for your efforts at "broadbrushing" all MPD officers while allowing the leadership to get by without accountability. I have a suggestion. Why not have Mike Ault come to Nevada and give Smith a tour of the emergency driving course at MPD? Wait! The largest LE agency in the State doesn't have one. We "borrow" the area from someone else. We have built a number of other facilities for "administrative" purposes though, and still have a firearms range "in the works" after being many years overdue, overused and inadequate. Perhaps Mr Ault will "guarantee" that officers receive refresher training "every two years" (that may be the intent, it is -not- reality). Mr Ault may then be able to explain the "progressive discipline" and "efforts at remediation" for an officer who reportedly had 6 accidents in 3 years and was in an assignment ideally so that he would -not- drive.
Two realitively new officers died as a result of their own poor decision making, exacerbated by a lack of training and poor leadership. The department growth so touted by the RJ and Sheriff Gillespie has created a wide swath of new officers, too many lacking seasoning and additional training efforts because department leadership still views all they accomplish though rose colored glasses (nothing is -ever- questioned regarding effectiveness...) and Mr. Smith allows this to happen when he takes the easy way out in his commentary. Rest in Peace officers. We failed you.

sadened wrote on October 23, 2009 07:59 AM: When an Officer gets dispatched to a call lets say a it's a female on the line screaming asking for the police, a common call.That Officer has no idea what race that victim is, he has no idea what she looks like, is she thin, heavy, old or young. He doesn't know what religion she is, or her income. He is unaware of her criminal history. He isn't even sure if she is in real danger and as is often the case wether she is going to be cooperative or "Pro Police" when he gets there, But that never crosses his mind. He responds quickly to the scene with little regard for his own safety to help someone he knows nothing about. Because that is what he swore under oath to do. Protect the Community that understands so little of what he goes through and is so quick to judge when he is not " Perfect" Milli was a great friend and a great Police Officer and he made the decision that the need to quickly exit his vehicle if confronted with a suspect and not get caught in a vunerable position sitting in his Vehicle or " coffin" as we are taught in the Academy, outwayed the the risk of getting in an accident and needing to wear his seatbelt. He was wrong on that day, but how was he to know. Everyday since his accident when I get in my vehicle wether my work vehicle or personal I think of Milli and I put on my seat belt. Mr Smith, Milli did not die a Heroes death but more importantly he lived a Heroes life. He deserved the motorcade procession and the community wide send off and he will always be remembered as a Hero.

T wrote on October 22, 2009 07:19 PM: Mr. Smith I have a scenario for you. I'm not saying this is what happened in this accident. An officer is driving down "A" street. Going the opposite direction he notices a vehicle that matches the description of a vehicle that was involved in several robberies. The officer turns around to catch up to the car to investigate further. If the suspect vehicle is driving the posted speed limit the officer will have to break the posted speed limit to catch up to it. The officer is not allowed by department policy to operate code three in this instance.
So my question for you is this. Does the officer let the vehicle go or does he break the posted speed limit to catch the car. I'm sure that you will provide an answer since, by the way you wrote this article, you are now a specialist in how an officer does his job.

TC wrote on October 22, 2009 01:54 AM: To those of you that agree with Mr. Smith I propose a challenge. Go down to the nearest sub station and ask for a ride along form. Fill it out and come see what we do for just 10 hours a day, and remember that you are going to have to sign a death wavier. Why is that because you never know what can happen from on call to the next.
Why do we speed without lights and sirens because we must follow policy, but just think of this; One of your fellow brothers arrive on a domestic call and you are 2 minutes away. As we all know bad things can happen in an instant, so it is a natural reaction for anyone to want to get to their brother or sister to make sure they are safe.
What it comes down to for me is that you just never know what can happen during a 10 hour shift, and yes we signed up for this but don't judge us when you really have no idea what the job is all about. I don't pretend to think that I can write a column in a newspaper, so don't think that you know what being a cop is all about.
You cannot judge something you have no experience in doing. No matter what is said we will still go out there 10 hours a day and serve this community because that is what we live for and love to do.

Q. wrote on October 22, 2009 01:21 AM: RIP Officer Beitel. Sheriff Gillespie can easily fend off the "there is a cover up" crowd by having the NHP Troopers handle the serious injury LVMPD crashes. The NHP is an agency with statewide authority that specializes in vehicular crashes. I cant believe that an agency in this day and age does their own Fatal Officer involved crashes. This just opens the door for the public to scream "cover up". I remember that the NHP had Metro do the investigation on the Corcoran crash on I-15 years ago. That speaks well for the NHP's professionalism. Even though the Trooper involved went to prision the NHP did the right thing. Come on Metro, do the right thing and turn these type of investigations over to the State Agency. Don't let your ego get the best of you.

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