On April 28, 2024 in New Haven, CT an officer was dispatched to a call in reference to alleged illegal ATV activity. The information provided was that there were ATV’s driving in a reckless manner on a walking path that is only designated for pedestrian use.
The path (Farnam Drive) had been designated only for pedestrian use since 2020.
As the officer was nearing the area of the call he passed multiple bike riders, walkers, and a woman pushing a baby stroller.
It was then that he observed an ATV headed in his direction on the path.
The officer slowed down, engaged his emergency lights, and positioned his police vehicle across the walking path - essentially creating a semi-roadblock (though part of the road was still open). The officer blocked the part of the path that the pedestrians were on - leaving open space the other side of the path.
It is reasonable to believe that the officer expected the ATV rider to stop and make contact with him.
However, instead, the ATV rider crashed into the police vehicle, the rider went flying over the hood of the car, and sustained serious injuries.
Police dash cam video was released and there was a local public outcry - with many people criticizing the actions of the officer.
New Haven Chief of Police Karl Jacobson released a statement after the incident,
“This is an unfortunate and stark reminder of the extreme dangers of illegal ATV and dirt bike riding on city streets, both for pedestrians and the operators of the vehicles themselves. Our police officers engaged in a potentially life-saving maneuver on behalf of this family that was in harm’s way. While we’re glad the family was protected from harm, what happened to the driver is tragic, and we hope for his complete and speedy recovery and we urge the public not to engage in this type of activity.”
The public support for the officer by the Chief is appreciated and evidence of a principled leader.
(A video I made about the case on Tik Tok is currently at 2.4 million views)
Analysis
The more I watched the dash cam and thought about this case - the more reasonable I came to believe the actions of the officer were.
The officer slowed down, stopped, and blocked part of the road - not in an attempt to harm the ATV rider but to protect the pedestrians and bikers that were on the path. The officer did not use his vehicle to crash into the ATV - he merely attempted to stop the ATV and/or (at a minimum) protect the unsuspecting walkers/bikers.
The ATV was likely traveling much faster than the officer expected and therefore had a difficult time avoiding the police car.
That is the fault of the ATV rider - not the officer who had a second to make a decision. And in that second he chose to err on the side of doing what he could to protect innocent people that were following the law.
Final Thoughts
If the ATV rider was traveling so fast and reckless that he could not avoid a police car with flashing lights - then he likely would not have been able to avoid a baby stroller or a bicyclist.
The ATV Case