DEputy has 33 wrecks in 17 years, union fighting for his job.

[powderman]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/20/deputy-wrecks-33-times-in-17-years-but-union-fights-for-his-job/?intcmp=latestnews
 
 
Deputy wrecks 33 times in 17 years, but union fights for his jobPublished February 20, 2014watchdog.org            As a law officer in Minnesota, former Todd County Deputy Sheriff Mark Grinstead didn't miss much.
After all, why try to avoid something when it's a lot easier to just hit it? Grinstead, it must be said, hit many things -- deer, cows, trees, buildings and snow banks, for example. In 17 years, he had 33 wrecks.
Grinstead racked up about $100,000 in losses while patrolling the rural county roads.
A certified emergency vehicle instructor, Grinstead served as a Todd County field training officer, "working with less experienced Deputies familiarizing them with such duties as operation of squad cars under different conditions," according to state arbitration records.
 
No kidding.
His record in the line of duty, while driving a patrol car, includes run-ins with 19 deer, a dog, pheasants, cows, a garage, a fence post and a raccoon.
After hitting a ditch and several trees in pursuit of a speeder in 2005, Grinstead wrote the sheriff:  "I have to slow down," Grinstead was quoted in an arbitrator's account. "Being a pursuit-driving instructor, I have to set the example, not be the example ... I have learned that my crashes put a burden on the Todd County Sheriff's Office, are bad publicity and I should not need to swap squad cars with other Deputies."
 
As "squad car crashes increased notably" - four crashes in two months and three vehicles in the repair shop - Todd County officials fired Grinstead in May 2013.
Case closed? Not by a long shot.
Minnesota's biggest law enforcement labor union promptly filed a grievance with a state arbitrator.
Click for more from Watchdog.org.

[Conan The Librarian]

I think all of the animal collisions should be ignored. That means deducting a minimum of 23 of the collisions. That is not an unreasonable number of animal collisions in that part of the state diuring that many years, especially if his duty was dawn, dusk, or night. The other collisions, like with a garage, a fence, and and a ditch are debatable. If they happened in winter, they may well have been reasonable too. All this article does is give a grand total. It does not say how many of the collisions were do to his negligence.

[Old Syko]

I think all of the animal collisions should be ignored. That means deducting a minimum of 23 of the collisions. That is not an unreasonable number of animal collisions in that part of the state diuring that many years, especially if his duty was dawn, dusk, or night. The other collisions, like with a garage, a fence, and and a ditch are debatable. If they happened in winter, they may well have been reasonable too. All this article does is give a grand total. It does not say how many of the collisions were do to his negligence.

Conan I don't buy it and if they were your cars I'd bet you wouldn't either.  I've known a lot of folks like this guy.  Full steam ahead and don't give for anything.  Some people just never learn that when you ease up a bit you go faster.


Being a "pursuit-driving instructor" with this many crashes should be enough to get him fired for shear incompetence anywhere in the country.

[hillbill]

19 deer? i have heard of people who have hit maybe 4 or 5 deer in their whole life, but not much more than that. myself in 30 yrs ive hit 2 deer and one was my fault. i was 16 and saw the deer in plenty of time and just tried to steer around it. that was dumb.deer jumped rite into my truck.the second deer i did not see and it just barreled rite into the side of my car at nite.also had dozens of close calls with deer and cows.


what i have learned is when a large cloven hoofed animal is anywhere near the road way, clamp on the binders and stop as quick as possible, then idle on by it. if a deer crosses the road its very likely there is another one rite behind it that you dont see.thats why you stop.

[Tommyt]

His record in the line of duty, while driving a patrol car, includes run-ins with 19 deer, a dog, pheasants, cows, a garage, a fence post and a raccoon.

I think all of the animal collisions should be ignored. That means deducting a minimum of 23 of the collisions. That is not an unreasonable number of animal collisions in that part of the state diuring that many years, .

It is ,.............If those deer were on Christmas displays
And the pheasant stuffed on someone's living room wall