[TheeBadOne]

June 17, 2003

Crowd Hurls Bricks, Bottles After Police Chase



A high-speed police chase that ended in a motorcyclist's death apparently triggered a disturbance in which several police officers were hit with bricks and bottles and three police vehicles were damaged.

Police in Benton Harbor, Michigan, said gunshots were fired during the three-hour conflict that ended about 2 a.m. this morning. Police said they themselves did not shoot and apparently no one was hurt.

The violence followed the death 24 hours earlier of a 28-year-old man who lost control of his speeding motorcycle before it crashed into an abandoned house. Police said the man, identified as Terrance Shurn of Benton Harbor, was dead at the scene.

An abandoned house across the street from the crash scene was set on fire. The crowd dispersed after police using a loudspeaker warned they would be charged with felonies if they didn't go home.

The chase began early yesterday on U.S. 31 in Berrien County's Royalton Township, where sheriff's Deputy Mark Lundin saw two high-performance motorcycles traveling toward Benton Harbor faster than 100 mph. Shurn was thought to be driving one of these motorcycles, Lt. Joseph Zangaro said from the state police post at Bridgman.

Lundin briefly pursued the pair but broke off the chase because of the motorcycles' high speed, Zangaro said. A short time later, Benton Township Patrolman Wes Koza saw one of the motorcycles speeding and running stop signs.

Koza pursued the motorcycle into Benton Harbor, where it drove through residential yards, came back on the street and ran more stop signs, state police said.

Koza was several blocks behind Shurn when the motorcycle struck the abandoned house, Zangaro said.

Last night, about three dozen people angry over Shurn's death went to the Benton Harbor City Commission meeting to protest high-speed police chases in general. Many of the complaints were directed against Benton Harbor police, who were not involved in the chase.

Meanwhile, several people who went to the crash scene to mourn Shurn's death accused Benton Township police of harassment.

"They harass us. They pull us over for nothing," Evette Taylor said.

State police said they did not know why Shurn was speeding when first observed by police.

Toxicology test results that could reveal what Shurn might have had in his system were expected in 10 days to two weeks.

[LawDog]

"They harass us. They pull us over for nothing," Evette Taylor said.

100+ MPH
Running stop signs
Driving across residential front lawns.

This is nothing?

Goodness.

LawDog

[brownie0486]

LawDog:

Didn't you know we are jack booted thugs to many of the public when we attempt to uphold the laws of the jurisdictions we work in?

Not mention the guy endangered the cops as well.

Brownie

[Standing Wolf]

Last night, about three dozen people angry over Shurn's death went to the Benton Harbor City Commission meeting to protest high-speed police chases in general. Many of the complaints were directed against Benton Harbor police, who were not involved in the chase.

Sounds like a riot in search of an excuse.

[Mike Irwin]

"Last night, about three dozen people angry over Shurn's death went to the Benton Harbor City Commission meeting to protest high-speed police chases in general."

Wouldn't be a high-speed chase if someone wasn't fleeing in the first place... Wonder if any of these upstanding citizens thought of that?


I must say I do have a lot of pity for the dead man and his friends.

Let me find it...

Oh wait, I forgot.

I gave it to someone who apparently gave a damn. :rolleyes:

[Gmac]

How pray tell did the guy endanger the cops? Was he going to force a cruiser off the road with a motorcycle? But I keep forgetting that cops are never wrong! I guess they're superhuman huh?

[TheeBadOne]

How pray tell did the guy endanger the cops?
Well, for one, he lead them on a high speed chase. :)

[capt_happypants]

1. Uncultured, uneducated thugs? Check.
2. Minority group nursing major grudge? Check.

Benton Harbor probably won't be the last city to experience the joys of race riots this summer.

[LawDog]

How pray tell did the guy endanger the cops?
Cops, and anyone else on the public road he decided to do 100+ MPH down. Not to mention the stop signs he blew through to catch the attention of the second cop.
Was he going to force a cruiser off the road with a motorcycle?
Noooo...but I figure hammering into a house at a speed high enough to kill himself would probably put a hurt on anyone who might have been watering the lawn, or putting out the cat.
But I keep forgetting that cops are never wrong!
Being just as human as you, I figure they probably have just as much chance of being wrong at any given time.
I guess they're superhuman huh?
Ah, the fog cleareth. Nevermind.

LawDog

[Sir Galahad]

I'll tell you what the poor dear was doing wrong.

Drove a tow truck many years back. Saw a Harley that struck a station wagon broadside. Harley was doing 80+ (estimated) in a 30mph zone. Station wagon? Just making a left into a Taco Bell. Occupants in back seat dead on scene. Real charming to look at, too. Another case, a Honda hit a Chevy full-size truck backing an Ingersoll-Rand trailer compressor into a driveway. Cycle hit the bed of the truck at 110mph+, TORE bed off truck and BENT the trailer's yoke. Had he hit the cab of the truck, driver and probably passenger, too, would have been killed instantly. As it was, just the cycle rider was the only charmer to look at that evening. THAT is why speeding motorcycles are not harmless.

I'm failing to understand this whole "any port in a storm" attitude of taking shots at the cops here. Here is a cop doing his job, a speeder killed HIMSELF and, thankfully, no one else (and, as a bonus, he'll never be able to kill anyoe with his speeding ever) and people are angry. Not me. I scraped up lots of other Darwineers' motorcycles that learned the back of a gravel truck at 100+ does not an pen casket ceremony make. Some, you had to pick the guy from the bike and vice versa piece by piece by flashlight. Real fun. But I still fail to see why all the hate for the cops? Hey, if you have an honest beef, that's one thing. Articulate it and lay out your reasons. But this posting BS anti-cop stories style of backshooting is utter and crass pablum. I couldn't care less if every speeding motocycle crashed into a brick wall tomorrow. And I'd care less if they were being pursued by cops. But this digging and needling is really ridiculous. Geez, it's like reading a Weather Underground or a Students for a Democratic Society newsletter someone found moldering in a basement somewhere.

[agricola]

one must remember that in some cases people are told, by word-of-mouth, untruths which cause them to come out onto the street.

as a case in point, last Monday there was a murder on an estate in Hackney, in the immediate aftermath of which someone told the residents that the Police had shot both the victim and a 12 year old boy. as a result, about 50-60 people came out onto the streets and the situation was only resolved when Police reinforcements arrived and people found out that the story was nonsense.

[seeker_two]

I'm against these high-speed, drawn-out police chases too. I think that, since a vehicle IS a deadly weapon, police should be able to use lethal force to stop them. THAT would deter a lot of this s:cuss: ...

As for the motorcyclist: Too bad, so sad. Don't run.

As for the "community" at Benton Harbor: Police should have responded to deadly force w/ deadly force. They were just waiting for their own "Rodney King"...:rolleyes:

[Navy joe]

2. Minority group nursing major grudge? Check.

I'm so confused. One of the grudgers whined that "they harrass us" Hmmm, it certainly appeared to be ethnically motivated from what I saw; but I also saw that they had a black police chief in that town. I guess the evil white man has subverted him too? Police chief came across as a pretty decent guy. Now the rioters want a review board to make sure the police don't work at all.

Here's the cause as I see it. The town of Benton Harbor has banned police chases for 3 years. The township has no such ban. I think the biker knew that and acted with impunity as a result once in town.

I certainly have a foul taste in my mouth for JBT type law enforcement, but it isn't all done like that and there is absolutely no evidence of the town cops doing anything of the kind. The fact that the police haven't shot any of these rocket scientists is proof of their professional restraint. I don't think I could have resisted the urge in the same situation.

Don't think a bike at 100 is a public safety hazard? Go ride one like that until you hit something solid and tell us how it was.

[Sergeant Bob]

Wednesday, June 18, 2003


Emergency declared in Benton Harbor


By Associated Press

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BENTON HARBOR -- A state of emergency has been declared as several hundred people and police in riot gear gathered at the site where a motorcyclist died while being chased by police.

The vacant two-story building where Terrance Shurn, 28, of Benton Harbor lost control of his speeding motorcycle and crashed early Monday was set on fire Tuesday night.

The burning building was heavily damaged as firefighters were kept at bay by the crowd. At least seven people have been arrested.

"Several hundred people are creating a significant disturbance in the streets," said Berrien County Sheriff Lt. William Tucker.

The city manager and Berrien County Board of Commissioners declared a state of emergency in the city, which would allow the National Guard to be brought in, if needed.

Police officers in riot gear gathered at the scene Tuesday night for the second night in a row and were trying to maintain crowd control. Officials had feared continued disturbances and had planned to have up to 40 state troopers on standby to assist the city police department.

During a three-hour melee that ended around 2 a.m. Tuesday, officers were outnumbered and unable to arrest any of the hundreds involved.

During that disturbance police said shots were fired, several police officers were hit by bricks, four Benton Harbor police vehicles suffered extensive damage and three more received minor damage.

Two fire department vehicles also were damaged. Police said gunshots were fired early Tuesday morning, but they did not shoot. There were no injuries reported.


Emergency declared in Benton Harbor (http://www.detnews.com/2003/metro/0306/18/e02-196724.htm)

Lots of people up here call it Benton Harlem.

[Ol' Badger]

Face it. Ever been to the zoo when the monkeys start acting up? They don't need a reason to go "Ape Sh*t". They just do. Thats why we have Tear Gas for Guys!

[seeker_two]

Forget tear gas. You deal with lethal force w/ lethal force. Violent riots are only stopped when the violence is turned on them.

Too bad Preacherman closed the LEO poll thread before I could vote. Here's my vote anyway (esp. for the ones in Benton Harbor today...)

I'm glad they're around... :D

[Nathaniel Firethorn]

Has it really gone downhill in the last 20 years? I was there just once, in 1980, to buy a Heathkit from the source. Didn't at all impress me as the sort of a place that would riot. Or maybe my memory is faulty or I didn't see the wrong side of the tracks.

Any racial stuff in this?

- pdmoderator

[Specialized]

If this guy was "blocks ahead" of the cops and still managed to hit a house, of all things, all by himself -- this is no ordinary idiot. This guy was special.

The things that struck me about this story, in rough order of occurrence:

1. 100mph plus, in town, on a bike.
2. Failure to stop during police pursuit.
3. Endangerment of the cops and the citizenry, before and after the chase.
4. What kind of dumbsh*t hits a house, all by himself, while operating the most maneuverable vehicle on the road?

It also sounds to me like the people doing the "rioting" are discontent and looking for a catalyst. This is a pretty lame one, so they must be really unhappy about something. Anybody live near there that might know what it is?

I'm filing this one under "Voluntary Thinning of the Herd". People this stupid have the right to kill themselves, but they don't have the right to endanger others in the process, for fun or any other purpose. It sounds to me like the cops acted prudently and professionally, and that the outcome was about as good as could have been hoped for. The right guy now has his *ss permanently wedged between his ears and nobody else got hurt.

Is there any legal basis for impounding this fool's children? I'd hate to think his genes could still be running around loose somewhere...

Specialized

[Gmac]

My argument against high speed chases is as follows:

The motorcyclist was endangering the public, no question.

The cop,by chasing the suspect, added another speeding projectile to the equation.

Add more cops=add more danger (high speed vehicles).

Which can do more damage, a 400 lb. motorcycle or a 4000 lb. cruiser ?

The motorcyclist was breaking the law, not to mention being really stupid BUT, why not call for roadblocks, helicopters etc.
He can't outrun a radio signal.

It seems to me that any high speed chase is an invitation to disaster to someone, often an innocent party.

Some of you say the motorcyclist got what he deserved;are you saying you've never exceeded the speed limit by a large ammount
yourself?

Yes I'm a biker and yes I've done some stupid things; the consequences were usually painful, but traffic violations aren't deserving of lethal force IMHO.

[Edward429451]

Mob mentality only sees the uniform. Incorrect thinking.

Good LEO's who take offense at anti-cop jbt statements must not realize this and are also guilty of incorrect thinking.

Good citizens, bad citizens. Good cops, bad cops. If you're a good cop, why take a jbt statement and staple it to your forehead in offense if thats not you? Incorrect thinking on both sides does no one any good.

[Ol' Badger]

Well Said Ed. Well Said.

[agricola]

gmac,

you would have a point if the LEO could say that the biker, or person failing to stop, was solely failing to stop for traffic reasons.

however most Police chases are the result of people having committed crime(s) and not wanting to get pinched for it.

any consequences of a chase are down to, squarely, the person that initiated it - the perp. besides, if you as a criminal knew the Police wouldnt chase you if you refused to stop for them, would you stop?

[Sir Galahad]

Gmac, having been to several fatal motorcycle accidents caused by high speed and seen the pulp, er, perps left over, yes, the motorcyclists got what they deserved. Just the same as the Darwineers that stand upon a fifth floor balcony near a pool 6 feet at deepests and holler, "Y'all watch this!" and proceed to become sidewalk expansion joint jam. The flip side to the coin is I've also seen the innocents killed by some jerk speeding who its a vehicle following the laws of the road. THAT is why I have no sympathy for speeders who kill themselves. I know they will never kill anyone else at that point. Why must I sympathize for idiots? :rolleyes: Roll the hook, scrape up the bike with the shovel, roll credits.

[Sir Galahad]

Specialized, LOL! Great post! "*ss permanently wedged between his ears" LOL! Very true! They'll be able to bury that guy in a TV dinner box with room to spare.

[Duncan Idaho]

My argument against lengthy high-speed chases is as follows:

At first oppotunity, make it plain to the perp that if he/she/it doesn't stop immediately, that they will be shot and killed.
It seems to me that any high speed chase is an invitation to disaster to someone, often an innocent party.If it seems that way to you, then why do you support the person that caused the chase? Why support the one person that could have averted the death and destruction that THEY caused?

[Ol' Badger]

Yeah! We need Police Motorcycles with sidecars that have MG's on them! That'll fix'em
:D

[Sir Galahad]

No, the police need to be able to radio ahead to have a length of piano wire stretched across the road about head high.

"Vrooomm!!! Vrooomm!!!!! Vroooom!!!! ZWWWIIIIINNNNNGGGG!!!! Thump! Screeeeecccchhhh!"

"Hey, could ya hand me that paper sack when ya get our burgers out of it? Thanks." :evil:

[Skunkabilly]

My first impression when reading the headlines was that the mob rioted because the cops shot at some kid.

OK, now this guy hits something, kills himself, then the mob riots, citing racial profiling. They burn stuff down, which I presume, are in their own neighborhood. Um....whiskey tango foxtrot, over?

:rolleyes:

Isn't Nightcrawler in the National Guard out there?

[Ol' Badger]

Lets not forget the true victim in this event! The home owner that had his house smacked into. Imagine, just sitting watching TV and you hear the approach of sirines and then a crash as a Black man come fly'n through you front window! and hits the Wide screen you just bought!

[Intune]

The way it was portrayed on the local news in Nashville was that the cruiser "bumped" (PIT?) the biker and made him lose control. Doubt if that's gonna change any of the "machinegun Kelly's" version of speeder control out there but, if the guy was trying to PIT a biker at high speed he's a murderer. I'll wait for the facts.

[Sergeant Bob]

(Update: Benton Harbor-AP, June 18, 2003, 11:23 a.m.) Hundreds of people rioted for a second night over the death of a motorcyclist during a police chase.

The rioters set at least five buildings and five cars ablaze in the impoverished city of 12,000. They shot one passer-by in the shoulder and beat and stabbed others, police said.

Police quell 2nd night of riots in Benton Harbor (http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1325884&nav=0RceGRIb)

[Moondancer]

Benton Harbor has a history of the townfolk crying "racism" and getting radical, but not to this extent.

Several years back, IIRC, there was an incident wherein a cyclist (that's BI-cycle, not MOTOR-cycle) was reported to the local LE to be drunk and a hazard to motorists.

The Bentron Harbor police responded, as they should. The located the inebriated individual who refused to stop his drunken, weaving route down the edge of the road. They used their cruiser to ease him off the road, whereupon he fell over. No serious injuries resulted.

He was black.

The townspeople became incensed and complained to the CoP that it was racist actions that lead to this unthinkable police abuse. The CoP promised to investigate the officers in the action.

Stupidity at it's finest, folks.

[toro]

I don't get it. Why would you be so happy the fellow on the bike got killed? I know a police officer who was speeding on his bike on his way home from work. His off time so to speak. He didn't make it home, he was going 80 miles an hour. They had to scoop him up.

A lot of police have been killed in these high speed chases as well as citizens. I know there are times when you need to get a person who is dangerous, but maybe some of this could be stopped and it would save the police officer and the citizen.

We have had a lot of Ohio Troopers killed on the highways in Ohio by people speeding and loosing control when the officers are giving tickets. I guess speed kills, but, it also kills cops.

Mrs. Toro


------------------------------------------------------------
Mark 9:3,4
And his raiment bacame shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.

[CZ-100]

Don't think a bike at 100 is a public safety hazard? Go ride one like that until you hit something solid and tell us how it was.

I disagree... That bike doing 100 mph will cause alot of damage when it hit something, or worse kill someone.

[Cosmoline]

I've seen bikers do some amazingly stupid things. Frankly the best thing to do is simply let them. They will lose any fight with a car or truck.

Actually, one could apply the same logic to these profoundly stupid rioters. Let them burn their own town.

[Sir Galahad]

Why am I "happy" the guy on the motorcycle Darwinated himself? Because he got what he deserved. He won't have the chance to endanger others with his behavior. He wanted to go through life with his head up his fourth point of contact? Well, now his head has been permanently installed. End of story, roll credits, call for an empty pizza box for the remains.

"Yeah, you'll know this motorcyclist. He's the one permanently wearing his ???? as a necklace."

[joenuclear]

I worked at the nuclear power plant a few miles from B.H. last year and the city is in serious decline.
The only employer of any size is Whirlpool. It's the international headquarters so they hire degreed proffesionals which leaves a lot of the locals out of a job.
It has a couple of nice restuarants and a large marina with access to Lake Michigan but I wouldn't want to spend the night there.

[Navy joe]

CZ-100, I was hoping for a tree with that comment. Mother Nature has one traffic law only. The trees always win. She plants little white crosses to commerate their victories.

[jdmb03]

It is really sad that people don't take a look at the facts. They go out in the streets and riot, but they have no clue why the police were chasing him. As soon as the chase ended the cops had several people surronding them and yelling and throwing crap.

It just goes to show how shallow minded people can be. "The cops are bad and they just pick on us because were black" It's the same old excuse for not wanting to take responsibility for your actions.

And I thought Detroit was bad. Oh wait, it is.

[Gmac]

Let's see, some advocate decapitation, some shooting on sight , what about tactical nukes for traffic violations? The point I was trying to make was that there should be a better way to stop the motorist without adding to the present danger. I believe that pursuit by wheeled vehicle only prolongs the problem at hand. A fewyears ago in Columbus ,Ohio a woman was struck and killed by a police cruiser involved in a high speed chase that originated in another county ( I think). The car was being pursued for a traffic violation iirc. If the officer hadn't continued the pursuit would the violator have slowed? Noone can say, BUT the woman wouldn't have been killed by the cruiser. As far as letting violators get away because they know you won't pursue I have no answer but it seems to me that one should weigh possible consequences
prior to any high speed pursuit. The rioting/burning is the esssence of stupidity------- burning my own house down because I'm angry at someone is not exactly logical. I am not an eloquent speaker/composer and a worse typist but I hope I clarified my position.

[Ex-Doc]

GMAC,

The guy was going 100 mph and running stop signs BEFORE the pursuit. He wasn't getting pulled over for a broken tail light...If the police didn't pursue him and he killed someone else what would you say then?

Tactical lazerbeams to deactivate motorcycle engines don't exsist yet so what else did you want them to do? Spike strips, road blocks at 100 mph?! Helicopters are only good for taping the crash when an idiot is already reckless driving...the police attempting to pursue had no bearing on the crash. Please enlighten us on how this should have been handled.

Comparing one high speed pursuit to another is like comparing the North Hollywood shootout to a kid stealing a candybar from a grocery store.

[Kcustom45]

What kind of dumbsh*t hits a house, all by himself, while operating the most maneuverable vehicle on the road?
Just a side note. I speak from experience when I say that as speed increases steering capability decreases. They might be very maneuverable, but not at 100mph. At those speeds the bikes prefer to go in a straight line.

Unless some new information comes out or it turns out that the cops did bump him, I think the cops did nothing wrong. The problem lies with the idiots who are willing to burn houses in their neighborhood and drag people out of their cars to beat them, because they feel oppressed. Do these people think beating people driving through their streets is going to win people over to their side?

For all of those wondering I ended up in a corn field after trying to take a corner to fast on my brother's bike. Lesson learned

[jdmb03]

I see people driving down my street going two and three times over the speed limit and there are no cops chasing them. Who is to blame when they cause an accident? Not the cops.

[El Rojo]

GMAC. According to this article, it reads as follows. The chase began early yesterday on U.S. 31 in Berrien County's Royalton Township, where sheriff's Deputy Mark Lundin saw two high-performance motorcycles traveling toward Benton Harbor faster than 100 mph. Shurn was thought to be driving one of these motorcycles, Lt. Joseph Zangaro said from the state police post at Bridgman.

Lundin briefly pursued the pair but broke off the chase because of the motorcycles' high speed, Zangaro said. A short time later, Benton Township Patrolman Wes Koza saw one of the motorcycles speeding and running stop signs.

Koza pursued the motorcycle into Benton Harbor, where it drove through residential yards, came back on the street and ran more stop signs, state police said.

Koza was several blocks behind Shurn when the motorcycle struck the abandoned house, Zangaro said. The first officer did break off the pursuit because of the high speed. The 2nd officer obviously wasn't in a "high speed pursuit" because he was "several blocks behind Shurn". I don't get your point. The only person that appeared to be driving fast in this case is the guy on the bike. There was no high speed "chase."

I can't wait to rob, loot, and burn my neighborhood! Now when is that black officer going to shoot that white trash from South Taft so I will have a reason? Well we don't have black officers in my po-dunk town. Maybe I can just do it when a black haired officer shoots a fellow red-head. I am tired of red-head oppression! Take to the streets and burn the place down, wait, that is my house. :what: STOP!...

[jimpeel]

Benton Harbor probably won't be the last city to experience the joys of race riots this summer.They will if the other cities throughout America place "Rioters will be shot on sight" signs at the city limits. Oops, I forgot, that would take gutsa in a nation of political cowards. My error.

[CZ-75]

The cops were pretty much in the right this time.

Maybe things like this won't happen in the future if they all have SMGs. ;)









:rolleyes:

[Gmac]

FUBAR