March 29, 2024
Annapolis, US 39 F

Cop Not Qualified To Drive Much Less Be A Cop

Did Cop Cross Thin Blue Line?thinblueline

Last Thursday there was a tiny blurb in The Capital about an off duty accident involving an Annapolis City Policeman. It appears he was headed home after a shift on his personal motorcycle on Sunday May 31, 2009 and was traveling at a high rate of speed (ok, we all do this on occasion) and made an abrupt lane change–into a lane that was being shut down for construction.

The officer, Edwin Caraballo, an officer for one year on the force, suffered knee and arm injuries and was knocked unconscious in the 11:00pm crash according to state police.

At this point, it is a tragic accident. But upon investigation, it is revealed

  1. His motorcycle has an expired registration
  2. He does not have motor vehicle insurance on the motorcycle
  3. He does not have the proper endorsement/training to operate the motorcycle

While The Capital did not address this, it does indeed beg the question: do our police officers get a free pass when it comes to complying with the law? It is reasonable to assume that this uninsured, unlicensed cop driving a motorcycle on an expired registration parked his bike in the police department parking lot leveral times in the past year.

Has he given out tickets this year for the very violations of which he himself is guilty? Does the police department have any policies in effect to make sure that the officers who are supposed to enforce the law are indeed compliant?

While the injuries are not life threatening and the officer will recover, should he be allowed to resume his duties as a police officer?  An expired registration can be an oversight, lapsed insurance is harder to do, and driving a vehicle which you are not legally qualified to drive…come on!

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