REVscene Automotive Forum - Cop "confiscates" bikers helmet, biker crashes and dies (Oliver, BC)

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Cop "confiscates" bikers helmet, biker crashes and dies (Oliver, BC)

Quote:

Police had victim’s helmet
Special to The Daily Courier
2009-06-29

OLIVER – RCMP admit confiscating the motorcycle helmet of an Oliver man prior to a June 13 crash that claimed his life.

Robert Charles Mitchell, 41, died in hospital after his motorbike crashed into the rear of a pickup truck in Oliver at about 2:30 a.m. He wasn‘t wearing a helmet.

Police have now corrected an earlier statement given to a local reporter denying they confiscated Mitchell‘s helmet prior that night.

An RCMP news release said that statement was made after only a partial review of the police file on the incident.

“Although police did not have any direct contact with Mr. Mitchell on June 13 prior to the collision, an on-duty Oliver RCMP officer had earlier removed and held two helmets from the unattended motorcycles while they were parked in Oliver, some time prior to the collision,” it read.

An RCMP member had earlier spotted what was believed to be the same two motorcycles being driven erratically in the Oliver area. When found parked, the officer recognized the machines as being owned by persons he knew.

“The officer waited by the motorcycles for the owners to return and departed after leaving a note on the motorcycle advising the registered owner to call the officer in order to retrieve the helmets,” the release said. “The officer did not receive any phone inquiries regarding the helmets.”

RCMP said the officer‘s primary intention of removing and holding the helmets was to prevent the possible theft of the helmets, in addition to preventing further offences.

The same officer later attended to the collision less than a block away from where the motorcycles had been parked.

The officer was accompanied by a volunteer auxiliary constable employed by the B.C. Ambulance Service and first aid was administered to Mitchell. The man was later transferred to Kelowna General Hospital where he died.

http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/st....php?id=195503

More links:
http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/49433982.html
http://www.oliverchronicle.com/frontpage.htm

Apparently the police originally lied about the incident as well.

shouldnt have rode the bike with no helmet

from what I read the biker was pissed drunk both before and after the helment was removed.

At least the helmet was spared from being damaged in the collision...

Lol, he took the helmets, jesus. Tow the bloody bike.

This is pretty concerning on the part of what the cops did there, but it doesn't say the man died of a head injury. The second article alleges he may have hit that truck at about 100km/h. He likely had all kinds of other problems that a helmet wouldn't have stopped.

I don't think taking the helmet was the right thing to do, but I have a sneaking suspision that the death of the biker didn't make the world a worse place to live in.

Poor decision by the cop, but its not like he left a note on the bike saying 'Ride your bike to so and so to pick up your helmet'.

Can't really blame anyone but the rider on this one.

wow unfortunate but still the riders fault

Quote:

RCMP said the officer‘s primary intention of removing and holding the helmets was to prevent the possible theft of the helmets

LoL, I'm sure... I guess the cops should take every single item left attended, just in case!

Quote:

Originally Posted by InvisibleSoul (Post 6497640)

LoL, I'm sure... I guess the cops should take every single item left attended, just in case!

You mean "unattended"?

And why not. It was a simple act of kindness since the article states they knew each other. Kind of like locking a someone else's car door which you find open to prevent theft. The police officer couldn't have had the foresight to know that the biker would be drunk out of his mind to read a note, nor to realize his helmet was gone to begin with.

Of course, this is based on the allegation that the biker was that drunk.

The guy should've known better than to get on a bike without a helmet. Drunk or not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by El Bastardo (Post 6497662)

The guy should've known better than to get on a bike without a helmet. Drunk or not.

Thats the end point no if's and's or but's.
Not the cops fault.

Tow the bikes! Why the fuck would the cop have taken the helmets, that cant be protocol. What did she expect would happen, the guys still need to get thier bikes home.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adsdeman (Post 6497708)

Tow the bikes! Why the fuck would the cop have taken the helmets, that cant be protocol. What did she expect would happen, the guys still need to get thier bikes home.

Small town, he wanted to talk to the rider towing the bike doesn't accomplish this. Giving a drunk a ride home isn't protocol either but sometimes they do it in lieu of tossing people in the drunk tank over night to be nice.

I don't see a problem at all. It's not like he took his helmet, pointed his gun at him and told him to ride like he's never rode before.

No ones fault except the rider. Sure the cop had a part in it by taking the helmet. But in the end the decision was up to the rider.
Would have been a little bit differnt if the rider that got hit, but the rider was the one that hit the truck. To that, i give this rider a:eekthumb:

Why the FU-- would the cop tamper with safety devices like that

To me that's like reaching into a convertible and disconnecting the airbag lol, or removing seatbelts and the windshield to try and force someone to call in. Sounds ridiculous but that's basically the same thing. Why not just tow the bike?

But yeah drinking + riding without a helmet = no one to blame but the rider.

It's a small town, and in small towns, everyone knows everyone and the police would try to take care of the people so the people would take care of them if they needed help.

rider shouldn't have rode, safety first

Shoulda tazed him instead.

The actual truth was...
The cop knew the guy who died, but they weren't friends. He took away their helmets just so that he can ticket him as soon as he rides w/o the helmet. This is why he was campng less than a block away. LESS THAN A BLOCK AWAY, that is WITHIN eyesight!!!
Haven't you seen cops camp in their cars near lounges and pulls people over as soon as they leave the parking lot?

thats what you get for fuckin around with the police. lesson learned, dont fuck with the police or you could get your helmet taken away.

rest in peace.

wow.... what dumb decisions to make.... taking a helmet away and drunk driving