tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post2018585904071166127..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Scarce data makes new TXDoT study on red light cameras suspectGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-70801869425260679092008-12-03T22:28:00.000-06:002008-12-03T22:28:00.000-06:00Traffic safety data absolutely contains gaps and c...Traffic safety data absolutely contains gaps and can be intentionally (or unknowingly) skewed by officers performing crash reporting. <BR/><BR/>An example is contrasting two law enforcement agencies' crash report policies. For a while agency A took the position that if you call us out, we'll take a formal crash report and submit it to Austin, even if the damage was less than the $1,000 threshold for reporting in state statute. Agency B in many instances ignored state statute and refused to write a formal crash report for non-injury crashes that did not result in a vehicle being towed, even if the crash resulted in well over $1,000 damage. <BR/><BR/>Thus the two areas would have dramatically different property damage only crash numbers. <BR/><BR/>Also, lets compare the Data in <A HREF="http://www.txdot.gov/drivers_vehicles/crash_records/form.htm" REL="nofollow">CRIS</A> with the self reported data at some of the locations to make sure the camera programs are reporting the same data they report to Austin.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-89332152649389796792008-12-02T19:18:00.000-06:002008-12-02T19:18:00.000-06:00Family questions police officer's shooting dea...Family questions police officer's shooting death of Albany man<BR/>By Celinda Emison , Jared Fields <BR/>Monday, December 1, 2008 <BR/><BR/><BR/>Family, loved ones and friends are still in shock over the shooting that claimed the life of Michael Wayne Richardson early Saturday morning in Breckenridge. Richardson, 37, of Albany, died from a single gunshot wound during a confrontation with police, initial reports said. Family members say they want a full investigation into the matter -- and that Richardson's death was unnecessary and tragic. "Our hearts are so ripped out," said his mother, Connie Jackson, of Breckenridge. The case has been turned over to the Texas Rangers. Sgt. Shane Morrow of the Eastland County office is the lead investigator and could not be reached for comment Monday. At 12:36 a.m. Saturday, Breckenridge police received a call about a vehicle accident in the 500 block of North Court Street. A 2007 Dodge Ram pickup, driven by Richardson, 37, apparently had run through an intersection and into a fence, according to a news release issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Richardson may have been trying to flee the scene, but the vehicle was caught on the fence and he spun his tires as he tried to rock the vehicle free, the release said. Officers said they repeatedly tried to get Richardson's attention, but he apparently did not acknowledge their presence and did not turn the vehicle's engine off. According to the DPS report, Breckenridge police officers on the scene believed Richardson attempted to lift and point a firearm at them, and he was shot.<BR/>His mother said her son carried a .22 caliber rifle in his truck and had been hog trapping Friday afternoon. He later went with a friend to Potter's Bar & Grill in Breckenridge. "The bartender asked him to take another guy home and he did," Jackson said. Family members said Richardson drove less than two blocks after dropping the man off when he hit a mailbox and then a fence on Court Street.His father, Wayne Richardson, also of Breckenridge, was waiting for a call from the Texas Rangers Monday afternoon."There needs to be a deep, deep investigation into this matter," Wayne Richardson said. "There is just something not right about this." His uncle, John Henry Jackson, said he examined the truck after the shooting."There were at least seven bullet holes shot through the passenger-side window and four to five shots in each tire, except the left front tire," he said. "I believe the tires were shot out after he was already dead." Richardson's father called him a fantastic young man who had never even had a speeding ticket. "Everybody loved him," Wayne Richardson said. "He was a kind, gentle person. I just hope we can get a reasonable conclusion to this case."A few years ago, Richardson was lauded as a local hero after rescuing a pregnant woman from a car that slid off an embankment during an ice storm.<BR/>Those who knew him said he was known as a happy person who loved to golf, hunt and fish. A lifelong resident of Breckenridge, Michael Richardson moved to Albany two years ago after a divorce.<BR/>He worked as a field engineer for Basic Energy Services of Albany for almost 14 years. "He was like a son to me," said his boss Ronnie Anderson. "He was a great employee and had a great attitude. I know one thing, he did not deserve what he got." He loved his family, his children, Bryant, 12, and Bryson, 14, and his stepdaughter, Lindsey, who had just given him his first grandson, Jaxson, Connie Jackson said. "He would have never raised a gun at a police officer, much less fire a shot," Jackson said.<BR/>Richardson's sister Brandy Sirianna, said her big brother always protected her. The two spent Thanksgiving Day together, which was the last time Sirianna saw her brother. "I still can't believe it and still don't understand why they did that to him," Sirianna said. "He didn't ask for it." His mother said the family simply wants justice. "I want the person or people responsible for my son's death held responsible," Jackson said. "They took my first born and the father of my grandchildren away from me." A memorial service is tentatively set for 2 p.m. Sunday at Bethany Baptist Church in Breckenridge, under the direction of Morehart Mortuary.<BR/><BR/>© Abilene Reporter-News<BR/>http://www.reporternews.com/news/2008/dec/01/family-questions-shooting-death-of-albany-man/?printer=1/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com