Teen killed; is sheriff's deputy to blame?
*UPDATED WITH LINK TO FOLLOW-UP ON 7/31/08; SEE END OF POST*
On March 23, Randy Privrasky, an 18-year old Marysville-Pilchuck High School student was killed after his car careened into a ravine following a high-speed chase with a Snohomish County sheriff's deputy.
This Everett Herald story was first to suggest that the teen's car may have been vaulted into the ravine following a "PIT" maneuver executed by the deputy involved in the chase, making it the first death as a result of the PIT in Washington's history:
Privrasky apparently was speeding along Westwick Road near Snohomish when a deputy tried to pull him over, said Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz. The teen did not stop.
Less than two miles and two minutes later, the deputy initiated a Pursuit Immobilization Technique, or PIT maneuver, Goetz said. That's where a police car pushes a fleeing vehicle in an attempt to get it to spin out and stall.
A PIT maneuver involves an officer nudging the back corner of a car at speeds between 25 and 45 mph, to make it spin out. When it does, the car's engine usually dies because of the change in motion.
A sad story, no doubt...no one deserves to have their life cut short at 18. But my real reaction to this story came while listening to KIRO 710's Dori Monson Show earlier this week.
Monson posed the question to listeners of who should bear the brunt of responsibility for this incident. The overwhelming response? That the officer should be held accountable for the death because of the age of the driver and, as one female caller put it, his overreaction to the "the stupidity of teenagers."
I can't help but think that maybe the police officer used poor judgment in terms of where he executed the maneuver (eyewitness accounts say that had the officer waited a short distance, the road would have been level and the car would not have careened into the ravine). And if the maneuver was attempted at any speed above 45 mph (which seems like it would be hard to prove at this point), the officer should be reprimanded for not following code.
But to place the majority of the blame on the officer and not on the potentially drunk 18-year-old (toxicology reports are not back yet, but alcohol was found in near the car) who chose to flee from police at speeds over 80 mph is simply ridiculous.
The argument that the teen was "just being a teenager" and making poor decisions does not hold water with me. In this country, at 18 years old, you are seen as mature enough to be considered an "adult." That means you have been designated as someone responsible enough to make your own decisions. The teen involved chose to make a poor decision, and paid for it with his life.
If the chase had continued and the Privrasky's actions had taken an innocent life, the reaction to this case would no doubt be different from the mood currently pervading his former high school:
In mourning, students hung posters around the school with Privrasky's smiling face and the letters "RIP." They left flowers and candles in the cafeteria and taped a sheet of paper over the computer monitor he usually used. The paper said, "Please don't sit here. In loving memory of Randy."
To honor their friend and help pay funeral costs, students plan to make T-shirts with Privrasky's artwork. He had a flair for writing friends' names in a style that resembled spray-painted graffiti.
I feel for the family of this young man, I truly do. But our society has become one that, in the words of Harry S. Truman, "passes the buck." This young man chose to risk his life over what would have been a traffic stop and possibly a DUI charge. His story is a sad one, but so is the fact that nobody in this case wants to place responsibility on the real offender (who, whether we're willing to admit it or not, is ultimately Randy Privrasky, not the officer who took whatever means necessary to bring this teen's joyride to an end).
UPDATE: According to a toxicology report received by family members in mid-May, Randy Privrasky was NOT under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of his death. See our post, "Threatening email prompts follow-up on Marysville teen's death," 7/31/08.jpg)
