Cops racing? Two dead

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
November 18, 2009

Speculation in the New York Post is that two Milford, Conn. police cars were racing on June 13, when one of them hit a car turning left in front of it, killing the two 19-year-olds in that car.

The police car involved in the crash was traveling at 94MPH, according to an article in the New Haven Register. The speed limit on the four-lane divided roadway in front of a Target store was 40MPH, according to the same newspaper.

The in-car videocamera in a second police car, Car 22, was operating, and it showed a police car passing it on the right and accelerating away from it.

See the New York Post article and the in-car video, which was obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request. Watch the video; it's chilling. www.nypost.com/p/news/local/video_speeding_conn_cop_in_killer_46VZsd1vq4waops50GDfYO

The Milford police chief said, "State law requires police officers traveling without lights and sirens, and not dispatched on a call, to obey prevailing speed limits."

We have the virtually the same law in Illinois, although it is regularly disobeyed by officers of most, if not all, jurisdictions.

See this article in the Connecticut Post: www.connpost.com/ci_13807681

The display on the video shows Car 22 accelerating from 51MPH to 72MPH. Both police cars were returning from a call and were enroute to headquarters.

Does this ever happen around here? Have you ever seen two police cars engaged in a speed contest (racing)? Or operating at what appears to be excessive speed for the conditions present?