Motorists blame Newport Beach police for flat tires after spike strip falls out of vehicle
At least three motorists got flat tires after a "spike strip" designed to stop car chases accidentally fell out of a Newport Beach Police Department vehicle.
Newport Coast resident Meghan Marcum was driving home down East Coast Highway on a rainy night last month when she felt the front left tire of her 2003 Honda Civic give out.
When Marcum got out of her car, she discovered that her left rear tire was also flattened.“It scared me,” Marcum told the Daily Pilot. “It was raining and cold. I was in heels, and I don’t have any family in California.”
Marcum and at least two other motorists had their tires spiked Feb. 27 by a tire-deflation device that police use to slow fleeing suspects. Marcum’s tires deflated within seconds and without a sound, she said.
The device had fallen out of a Newport Beach police officer’s Chevy Tahoe after he forgot to shut the back door, according to a police report. Now, Marcum and at least one other driver want the city of Newport Beach to pay to replace their tires. Read the full story here.
-- Brianna Bailey
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EDITOR'S PICKS:
ahhhhh I think it much to easy to become a cop....why do we give these idiots so much power.
Posted by: Daniel | March 17, 2010 at 11:31 AM
Obviously negligence led to it, Newport PD should definitely pay for it and be thankful nobody got injured from their foul-up. If I had something fall out of my vehicle and cause damage or loss, I'd expect to have to take care of it.
Posted by: Rubber the wrong way | March 17, 2010 at 11:49 AM
That'll teach them for trying to run away from the police...oh you say it was an acciedent? Pay for new tires NBPD!
Posted by: My opinon means nothing | March 17, 2010 at 11:50 AM
Is this really big news???
Posted by: Joel Johnson | March 17, 2010 at 11:55 AM
The police are only human and not without their faults. Surely it is the NBPD's fault for this misstep and they should pay for the tire replacements. Are there crooked police folk, sure? Are they all idiots or incompetent? Quite doubtful.
Posted by: bobo | March 17, 2010 at 12:48 PM
@Joel
Nope. That's why it is in the local section. Looks like you missed that part.
Posted by: EJ | March 17, 2010 at 01:18 PM
The cop should be given a ticket and pay the repair costs or at least his insurance should. After all, why should the tax payers pay for a cops mistake? I am sure if it happened to a civilian, we would be ticketed for unsafe driving. Make the cop pay for the damages and not the NPPD. After all they have no mercy when they ticket us right?
Posted by: Ticket the cop | March 17, 2010 at 01:39 PM
who will arrest or reward the irresponsible dangerous cop?
Posted by: count | March 17, 2010 at 01:41 PM
Let's see, you go to college, you take a battery of tests, psychological, intelligence, background, etc. Go through a sometimes very intense police academy for several months. Then you then make a small error and Daniel thinks that makes you an idiot. To err is human, Daniel. Glad you are so perfect.
BTW, Newport Beach owes someone for new tires.
Posted by: Mulligan | March 17, 2010 at 01:55 PM
I really think the Newport Beach PD should replace all the damaged tires because of their negligence. I hope next time they'll be more careful as this incident could have gotten a lot worse especially on a rainy night.
Posted by: Cheska Crawford | March 17, 2010 at 05:49 PM
Ok, this is pretty funny. I don't see where the news comes in, the Newport Beach Police just need to pay for the tires. It is their fault, but still funny!
Posted by: Police Academy | March 18, 2010 at 09:32 AM
the city should reimburse those drivers and move on. they don"t need to wait for more reports
Posted by: LEXUSRY | March 18, 2010 at 07:35 PM