A Dallas police officer has been fired, and another suspended after they failed to stop and help at the scene of an accident, where a car they had been pursuing crashed heavily into an intersection. Senior Cpl. Leonard Anderson was heard saying, "That's his fault," while training the rookie Darrien Robertson.
The officers had initially pursued the car, which was driving without headlights, but once it became clear that the chase would reach unacceptable speeds, they called off their pursuit. This is standard practice, since chasing a car at breakneck speeds is significantly more dangerous than calling off the pursuit and tracking the car later.
But just as soon as the officers made a good decision, they made one that was very bad. An incredible camera angle shows the driver crashing through an intersection, just missing a t-bone, and swerving around a pedestrian in as close a call as you can have. Upon seeing the incident, instead of rushing to help, the same camera catches them making a left turn, away from the crash. Pedestrians carry the man away from his burning car.
While it is somewhat understandable that Robertson did not want to disobey his superior, it is preposterous that a training officer would make the decision against stopping at the scene of the accident his own chase initiated. At least for once, it seems that justice has been laid down.
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