Hawthorne CA motor officer dies in funeral procession

[longjohn]

From the radio reports it seems two motor officers collided in a funeral procession today for a Manhattan Beach policeman, and one of them died, the other is in stable condition with a broken leg.

 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/05/motorcycle-officer-dies-crash-funeral-procession.html

[Danny caddyshack Noonan]

That's just too sad.

 

I did escort once. Once. After that, I wrote a memo detailing how dangerous I thought it was and that too many things could not be accounted for in the normal liability exemptions provided by the CVC.

 

Didn't have to do it ever again.

 

That said, there is a need for doing the escorting on large funerals because no one seems to want to follow the rules of the road anymore.

[upflying]

The most dangerous phase of an escort is the leapfrog. You go from the rear after the last car clears an intersection and then it's a high speed sprint to the front to catch the next intersection before the hearse gets there.

Not sure what happened here but I assume it was during the leapfrog. Because processions are normally slow,cross traffic has to wait and things get backed up. Civilians in the procession will be courteous to let cross traffic to pull out..directly in the path of the bike. Sad news.

[Glenn Reed]

The most dangerous phase of an escort is the leapfrog. You go from the rear after the last car clears an intersection and then it's a high speed sprint to the front to catch the next intersection before the hearse gets there.

Not sure what happened here but I assume it was during the leapfrog. Because processions are normally slow,cross traffic has to wait and things get backed up. Civilians in the procession will be courteous to let cross traffic to pull out..directly in the path of the bike. Sad news.

 

From the report here , it appears that they were in the leapfrog phase of the operation as upflying put forth. However, it does not mention anyone coming out from the side streets, the description seems to indicate the officers just came in contact with one another, causing the one bike to go down into oncoming traffic.

 

Both articles mention that these two officers were from different departments, I would assume therefore that they did not have much time riding in close formation together. I would think that this could lead to what happened here, if they were unfamiliar with one another and one rider made a move that the other did not anticipate. Obviously, pure speculation, but I wonder what our motor officers here think about mixing across departments in this type of situation?

 

Condolences out to the officer's family and friends.

[upflying]

Mixing agencies commonly happens as the procession normally meanders through different jurisdictions. Communication could be an issue but all Ca LEO's have access to a common shared frequency.

Processions do not involve formation riding..unless they were slowly leading it.

This incident will be closely reviewed and new policies/procedures/training and perhaps laws will result.

[ellaguru2u]

Obviously, pure speculation, but I wonder what our motor officers here think about mixing across departments in this type of situation?

 

In the UK that usually is'nt a problem as an escort in a county would be performed by officers from that county that have trained together.

National events like the Milk race (cycles a la Tour de France) are covered by officers from many counties who train together before the tour starts.

That said we've lost 3 colleagues at least in the last 20 years from just that manoeuvre.

 

[Glenn Reed]

Again, I am hoping that any of our motor offivers can help me understand this:

 

"The officers were engaged in what's called 'leapfrogging,' during which motor officers handling traffic control during funeral processions block traffic at alternating intersections.

 

When the procession passes the last officer, he races up to the front of the procession to block the next intersection.

 

Garton and Fowler collided head-on in the southbound lanes of Hawthorne Boulevard, according to witnesses.

 

The crash sent Garton flying off his motorcycle into the windshield of a car driving northbound on Hawthorne."

 

I don't understand what portion of the process would have had the officers going in opposite directions in order to collide head on.

 

I hope I don't come across as negative or judgemental, I am really just trying to wrap my head around this scenario.

 

Thanks again and thanks for your public service.

[James Clark]

Again, I am hoping that any of our motor offivers can help me understand this:

 

"The officers were engaged in what's called 'leapfrogging,' during which motor officers handling traffic control during funeral processions block traffic at alternating intersections.

 

When the procession passes the last officer, he races up to the front of the procession to block the next intersection.

 

Garton and Fowler collided head-on in the southbound lanes of Hawthorne Boulevard, according to witnesses.

 

The crash sent Garton flying off his motorcycle into the windshield of a car driving northbound on Hawthorne."

 

I don't understand what portion of the process would have had the officers going in opposite directions in order to collide head on.

 

I hope I don't come across as negative or judgemental, I am really just trying to wrap my head around this scenario.

 

Thanks again and thanks for your public service.

 

They were both headed south. Garton tried to pass on the left and clipped the front crash bar of Fowler's BMW. He then crossed through the gap and struck the stopped Toyota head on, his Honda flipping over the car.

[Glenn Reed]

Again, I am hoping that any of our motor offivers can help me understand this:

 

"The officers were engaged in what's called 'leapfrogging,' during which motor officers handling traffic control during funeral processions block traffic at alternating intersections.

 

When the procession passes the last officer, he races up to the front of the procession to block the next intersection.

 

Garton and Fowler collided head-on in the southbound lanes of Hawthorne Boulevard, according to witnesses.

 

The crash sent Garton flying off his motorcycle into the windshield of a car driving northbound on Hawthorne."

 

I don't understand what portion of the process would have had the officers going in opposite directions in order to collide head on.

 

I hope I don't come across as negative or judgemental, I am really just trying to wrap my head around this scenario.

 

Thanks again and thanks for your public service.

 

They were both headed south. Garton tried to pass on the left and clipped the front crash bar of Fowler's BMW. He then crossed through the gap and struck the stopped Toyota head on, his Honda flipping over the car.

 

Thanks, this explanation makes much more sense. I guess the article is wrong in the description of events.

[motorman587]

This is a very sad event. At our last police motorcycle rodeo I did a classroom presentation on police escorts. We start with there is no such thing as a high speed escort. The speed should be controlled by a supervisor or the lead motor. If the speed is too fast then the motor in front of package slows down so motors do not have to go to fast to catch up. Training is also very important and we would train with other agencies so we all understood how an escort is conducted. In a leap frog type escort is also very important “not” to pass another a motor when leaping towards the front. Unless that motor is controlling an intersection. The motor that has control of an intersection does not leave until the last motor has passed. In some agencies the last motor wears a vest and is not part of the escort. Some agencies use a trail car and also a lead car. Once they motor gets back up front the motors should go back in a staggered formations. Again this should all be covered in training and also prior to doing an escort. A well trained motor unit that has trained together really does not have to communicate on the radio. There is an agency in Florida that if you do not attend their mandatory escort training that agency can do escorts with them. After I gave my lecture, at the time there were no motor officers fatalities, and after there have been three all in escorts.

[Beemer_Nancy]

These were off duty officers doing the escort, volunteers. I think the problem is they have x number of escorting bikes for however many cars show up for the procession. The greater number of cars the longer the procession and they need to speed ahead to grab the next intersection. The area where the accident happened is 3 or 4 lanes in each direction, it's a busy street with a lot of businesses and intersections. The procession was easily obstructing several intersections (I'm guessing based on knowing the street and the fact the funeral was for a fellow officer).

 

Very unfortunate, tragic event. Officer's funeral is tomorrow.

[Edmun Santos]

I wear this on the hwy and on the track http://www.safermoto.com/products/hit-air-vests.html

[upflying]

Another motor officer crashes while leaving the funeral of the Hawthorne motor. Sounds like a left turner violated the right of the motor in this case. Tragedy never ceases.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/06/03/1692394/calif-motorcycle-officer-hurt.html

[Indy Dave]

Terrible news. A sad epilogue to a series of tragic and sad events.