Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
Local cops and deputies take an awful bum rap here. I wouldn't dream of climbing up into a locomotive cab and taking an event recorder out. I don't even know where it is. I do know that there's no way my local investigators will be able to read the tape. We send that stuff off to the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, or the NTSB. Alabama State troopers are trained in accident investigations and generally work with the railroads in investigations. Given that NTSB investigators or railroad police are usually several hours from the scene of a grade crossing accident, they usually end up doing Drager tests for review by investigators. Because alcohol does metabolise out of the human body fairly quickly, waiting around for someone to arrive in a few hours is a disservice not only to the engineer, but to the railroad and the investigators. I have never run into a railroad cop or federal investigator who wasn't grateful about local cops doing basic investigation. Of course, we are trained to respect evidence sites- which would include the inside of the locomotive cab- and we try not to tromp through them. The local cops are the ones who are usually first on scene. Think for a moment, though, about a local cop's juristiction. In my case, it's a rural county in Alabama. If I was faced by a Norfolk Southern cop ordering me off "his" property, I'd have a problem with that. The main reason is who signs his paycheck. He's not an officer who does law enforcement county wide; he is a company employee. It would not be an unusual thing to have that company employee "lose" or mishandle evidence, especially if it was evidence concerning the company .... and a defense attorney would have a field day. I don't have a problem relinquishing a scene to a Federal agency; they have investigative resources far greater than mine. I don't have a problem relinquishing a scene to a DOT trained state trooper. When I come onto an accident scene, be it a two car fender bender, a rail-car collision, or the Queen Mary running down a sailboat, I am required- by law- to identify all participants. As stated before, that usually means no more than name and date of birth. You guys need to think through actions before you stand on your "rights"- most of the questions cops ask you are going to clear you of any wrongdoing. Erik
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag