FL troopers erred before fatal crash

The last thing we need is more machines that take the place of troopers/police officers. You are profoundly out of touch with the world if you really think that they would take money made from a machine and pay for more troopers or police officers.

Furthermore citizens of the United States of America have a fundamental right to face their accusers and that is pretty hard to do when it is a machine.

I have to ask this, did you eat paint chips as a child?

This was a witch hunt started by Scott and the FDLE were the inquisitors. I read the entire report which is full of opinion and is completely skewed to show FHP at fault. No mention of driving behavior, if drugs or alcohol were involved, speeds of vehicles entering a foggy area, with signs posted may I add, and no mention of the THI investigation. The only thing stressed in the FDLE report was FHP's perceived problems.

FHP's decision to open the road was only a part of the whole chain of events but according the FDLE it was the only reason the wreck happened.

The same wrecks could have happened on a side road where traffic was being directed or in the traffic back up on the interstate at the detour points. You can not predict how people are going the operate their cars.

Scott already had his mind made up that the FHP was guilty before any facts were given and his IG team will never present the facts in a way to go against their boss’s opinion.

The lieutenant made a bad decision but once again Jeb Bushes open road policy comes back to bit the patrol in the rear end.

Get those roads open even if means bull dozing a fatal crash scene off the roadway and you destroy all the evidence that would support a criminal charge.

The same thing with smoke and fog, open that road ASAP due to the open road policy.

Everyone knew this was going to happen and it has so now lets blame the members and ignore the bad policy.

What decision was the LT supposed to make the road was clear, but that fact is only burried in the report. How long do you keep the road closed?

As far as a bad decision goes. From FDLE report:

Once Lieutenant Gourley established that visibility was suitable for safe traffic flow he considered the following:
oSecondary crashes due to road closures often occur.
oHe has investigated several fatalities and bad accidents due to secondary crashes.
oUS 441 was the major detour route used for Interstate 75, and it was closed.
oThe only available detour route involved directing interstate traffic onto a two lane road in a small town without assets in place to assist, which was hazardous.
oDirecting drivers onto unfamiliar roads in the early morning hours was hazardous.

Upon his decision to reopen the interstate, in addition to remaining on-duty, Lieutenant Gourley took the following measures to prepare for monitoring the roadway and ensuring safe travel conditions:
oRequested that FDOT road closure personnel and materials remain on Interstate 75 in preparation for another possible closure.
oRequested variable message boards from FDOT. Fog/Smoke signs were on Interstate 75 from earlier in the day when the Paynes Prairie fire started.
oRequested ACSO to keep one unit on Interstate 75.
oRequested that several FHP day shift personnel report for work early, at 0400 hours.

Sounds like a real radical guy! Can anyone say scapegoat.

Scott already had his mind made up that the FHP was guilty before any facts were given and his IG team will never present the facts in a way to go against their boss’s opinion.

Can we expect Scott to lead a charge for an FHP pay raise during the remainder of his term in office? :lol:

The lieutenant made a bad decision but once again Jeb Bushes open road policy comes back to bit the patrol in the rear end.

Get those roads open even if means bull dozing a fatal crash scene off the roadway and you destroy all the evidence that would support a criminal charge.

The same thing with smoke and fog, open that road ASAP due to the open road policy.

Everyone knew this was going to happen and it has so now lets blame the members and ignore the bad policy.

What decision was the LT supposed to make the road was clear, but that fact is only burried in the report. How long do you keep the road closed?

As far as a bad decision goes. From FDLE report:

Once Lieutenant Gourley established that visibility was suitable for safe traffic flow he considered the following:
oSecondary crashes due to road closures often occur.
oHe has investigated several fatalities and bad accidents due to secondary crashes.
oUS 441 was the major detour route used for Interstate 75, and it was closed.
oThe only available detour route involved directing interstate traffic onto a two lane road in a small town without assets in place to assist, which was hazardous.
oDirecting drivers onto unfamiliar roads in the early morning hours was hazardous.

Upon his decision to reopen the interstate, in addition to remaining on-duty, Lieutenant Gourley took the following measures to prepare for monitoring the roadway and ensuring safe travel conditions:
oRequested that FDOT road closure personnel and materials remain on Interstate 75 in preparation for another possible closure.
oRequested variable message boards from FDOT. Fog/Smoke signs were on Interstate 75 from earlier in the day when the Paynes Prairie fire started.
oRequested ACSO to keep one unit on Interstate 75.
oRequested that several FHP day shift personnel report for work early, at 0400 hours.

Sounds like a real radical guy! Can anyone say scapegoat.

But he didn't call and ask a weather man's permission before he opened the road... :roll:

As a Sergeant, A lot of times I find out I'm the shift commander when the dispatch center calls me on the phone half way through the shift to notify me about something that happened in another district 200 miles away. They say, "didn't you know you are the shift commander?" Then I'm going to get in trouble when a fog/smoke wreck happens because I didn't check with the National Weather service? What a great system we have in place.

Very True. :|

After FHP and the state pay out on the civil trials it will be even longer before we get a pay raise or more new cars.

I guess FDLE needs to justify their existence somehow....since they can't do it with stats.

Why anybody put any faith whatsoever into an FDLE investigation is beyond me. What expertise do they have in investigating this kind of scenario? The report reads like the mandate was put in place before the first person was interviewed. There are so many holes in this so called investigation it looks like a cheese grater.

Anyway what do you expect for the FDLE executive IG? Those people are the worst of the worst. They are the cannibals who eat cannibals.