This isn't going to be the post I originally planned because one of the victims of the Taipei P.D. (a 68 year old) has had part of his leg amputated, and may wind up with brain damage.
Pretty. Fucking. Incompetent.
At least, that was my first reaction. Maybe for an encore the cops could run over a couple of kids in a playground zone.
Second reaction: This is what happens when the Taipei's law enforcement routinely undercounts the number of participants at these protests. The men in the squad cars hear the low-ball figures, and discount the need to drive safely in the area.
Only 50,000 people? Why, that's not so many. We can afford to drive like maniacs only a few blocks away . . .
(Or, to use the playground analogy, which playground would you be more careful driving next to — the one which catered to a school of 50 kids, or another catering 600?)
With further information, it appears that reaction one was off the mark:
Lin denies being on the phone.
Prosecutors said Lin told them he was driving between 30kph and 40kph, but the broken windshield indicated the car was traveling much faster. Witnesses told reporters at the site that the driver was going at least 80kph.
Prosecutors said Lin did not apply the brakes before hitting the two men.
That's not incompetence — that's flat-out vehicular assault. Moreover, I believe I was too quick to dismiss the initial assessment of demonstrators at the scene, who insisted that the police DELIBERATELY ran down the two elderly men.
Now that we know the police DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO HIT THE BRAKES, we ought to at least entertain the possibility that this crime was intentional.
Taipei City Police reacted as they usually do to such incidents. By lying to the public:
[…]
Fang denied accusations by some other demonstrators that the police officers had purposely hit the two men.
In the absence of an official investigation, Fang was instantly and without error able to ascertain that the tragic event was PURELY AN ACCIDENT. How fortunate for Taipei that it employs the dedicated Fang Yang-ning, who is not only an exemplary officer, but a clairvoyant one as well !
In contrast to the Move along, show's over attitude of the police, the prosecutors seem to be handling the case about right. We'll see how long that lasts, though. Taipei's prosecutors have demonstrated they can be a pretty crooked lot themselves, once they receive orders from the presidential office to bury a case.
UPDATE (Jun 10/09): Surprise, surprise. The case against police officers in the cruiser gets buried. The winners of Taiwan's Deathrace 2009 are given the draconian punishment of a single demerit on their work record.
That'll learn 'em !
One of the victims has turned into permanent vegetative coma :
五一七遭警撞傷民眾 已成植物人
http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2009/new/jun/21/today-p6.htm
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Yes, I’ve been meaning to blog on that, but the last couple days have been busy.
Back when I wrote this post, I wondered if it wasn’t irresponsible of me to speculate about possible brain damage.
But a car hits a guy at 80 kph. He’s sent flying through the air, and hits the pavement. Not wearing a helmet. And he’s in the hospital with a brain hemorrhage.
You don’t need an M.D. to guess the result.