by Bob Walsh
It is rare, but it does happen. The CHP has recommended misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charges against an on-duty Stockton P. D. officer in the death of Marilyn May Bettencourt, 84, a year ago.
Ms. Bettencourt pulled across a main street from a side street into the path of a police SUV running code 3. She was t-boned and died. The police vehicle was doing 86 MPH on city streets five seconds before impact. The CHP concluded that Ms. Bettencoourt could not reasonable see the oncoming police vehicle due to the nature of the road and the speed of the vehicle.
The D.A. has the final say-so as to whether or not charges will be filed. I remember a roughly similar case (very roughly) years back when a deputy driving a jail transport bus stopped the vehicle in a gore point of a major offramp from the freeway. She was tail-ended by a motorist on the freeway. The CHP also recommended charges in that case. The D.A. declined to prosecute.
The family has just filed a lawsuit in the Bettencourt death. I strongly suspect the city will work hard to reach a reasonable settlement with the family under the circumstances.
1 comment:
86 is too fast.
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