Rx Robbers Fatally Collide with Errol Morris Editor

the dodge avenger in this incident was surely fast cheap and out of control, damn

if only there was someway to keep criminals out of the city so they weren't such a danger to decent folk. something like not allocating tax dollars to let them live here for next to nothing. or if we have to do gov't assistance then forced abortions for people on it at least.

Let this be a reminder that you need to look both ways even if you have the light.

Even on one way streets. If the motorists don't get you, the bicyclists will.

Yeah, just think of how many people died in the last year from being his by cyclists. Wow.

However motorists are more likely to kill you, instead of just injuring you.

That's comforting.

it's not nypd's problem (yet) that there're stupid criminals out there. if there were no stupid criminals--as i hope there will not be, one day--this wouldn't have happened in the first place. too bad a few people seem to assume that there will always be crime, thereby giving these stupid criminals the right to exist in the first place, and blaming nypd who were just doing their job, at least in this scenario. of course there're crooked cops out there; and they are in the same category as those stupid criminals.

now, if there were no criminals then nypd will face a new and a real problem. at least a funny one, anyway.

Too bad so sad don't jaywalk next time

get some class

I know the NY Post implied that Ms. Schmeer was jaywalking by writing she was crossing Broadway between 90th and 91th St., but it was unlikely she was jaywalking. Along that busy part of Broadway, there are medians--enclosed with barriers AND small chain link fences (presumably to discourage jaywalking). It would have been difficult for her to cross anywhere except at the designated red light crossing. But even crossing at the light wouldn't have necessarily saved her since the perps were speeding through red lights.

The earlier NYPost account also incorrectly stated she was from California instead of Boston, MA. It's no secret that the NYPost values sensationalism more than accuracy.

Nobody crosses in the middle of the street on that section of Bway. It has huge medians that you'd have to climb over. No way she was doing it.

Regardless, I once dated someone who was hit on a sidewalk by a car fleeing the police. So it doesn't make much difference.

Do you practice being a jackass every day with a mirror in hand, or is this a natural talent that manifested itself even before your first words?

Police always have the option whether or not to initiate a chase; in many departments they are taught to weigh the risks versus the crime. I don't think someone stealing Zyrtec qualifies for putting anyone at risk for a chase through the UES at 8pm on a Friday night. So yes, that girl's death is ultimately partially the fault of overeager cops thinking with adrenaline rather than brains.

Just curious--

So by weighing out the risk v. crime, since zyrtec isn't worth it obviously, (and I agree with you on that).....what would have been appropriate then? If it were say....100,000 dollars? Then it would have changed the course of events, so that the lady wasn't hit? Or......made it OK that she was hit?....And how would that training you spoke of apply here do ya think?

On another note, how exactly would that work? They stop by the store and ask for a list of items stolen, run it through a check-list, then go after the perps?

It's obvious if you're not trying to pick an argument. They would probably initiate a chase for a violent crime, like armed robbery or murder. Somebody who has demonstrated he's a danger to people would be a good candidate for pursuit. Property crimes like shoplifting, not so much. It's only money and it's replaceable.

Well said.

Ok, that part makes more sense.

I'm not a huge fan of the police, but if ever they were to take out their dystopian suburban rage on a group of criminals, it ought to be this lot -- who, as it happened, cut down a decent person. Instead, though, the criminals will get 7 years in jail, and we'll all forget... and it will happen again... and again...

Nice job NYPD. I'm sure it was really worth someone's life to initiate a car chase for stolen Zyrtec. And you pathetic bastards couldn't even catch everyone.

I'm not sure they knew what the thieves had stolen. We only know about the Zyrtec after the fact because the news stories tell us the packets were strewn everywhere.

So...What would have been the way to handle that for the police? Run the other way? Is it really their fault? Honestly, what would have been the proper way to deal with that?.....being realistic.

ITs funny in this city. Police can't catch a break.

Perp gets away- police are no good and lazy loafers.

Perp gets caught-police are too rough on em.

Perp gets hurt- its the cop's fault.

Police gets hurt- its the cop's fault.

Ps-I don't feel one way or the other about the po po.

Nabbing one of them should be enough to get the rest. I vote the death penalty for all tweakers. It's time to finish them off.

The best way to kill them off would be to make meth legal and cheap. Then they'll do the job themselves, and we won't have to pay for their court-appointed attorneys.

More sad news, the victim was Karen Schmeer, Errol Morris' editor:

http://edendale.typepad.com/weblog/2010/01/acclaimed-documentary-editor-karen-schmeer-killed-in-manhattan-hitandrun.html

Lucky for the perps, they killed the lady with a car and will be free from prison in 6 months, just like the fat kid from SI

I'm missing something here. What is the attraction of Zyrtec? Since it is safe enough for pregnant women, its effects can't be all that high-inducing. I mean, it's hardly vicodin.

Perhaps one of the Gothamist druggies can explain its appeal (aside from having an allergy)?

Zyrtec D contains Pseudoephedrine which is a key ingredient to making meth. It is kept behind the counter and anyone buying it is logged in a federal database.

By what is easily one of the most inefficient and useless data recording systems I have ever seen. Seriously, a big paper binder with handwritten names and addresses? And how do they know I'm giving them my real ID? I doubt this system is good for anything except making it more frustrating for me to buy decongestants.

aw snap son. i be poppin dat zyrtec and sippin on crystal ya herd me. blangin me some prilosec 24 hour bitch. you kno how we roll up in da club high on mucinex dm.

A woman's life gone, wasted thanks to three examples of why abortion should be retroactive.

All this just for Zyrtec? No doubt these bungling idiots were Irish hooligans...

Ah, this explains what was going on last night. I live at 92nd and Broadway and saw the aftermath of this out my window. The officer on the corner said there was an accident, but judging by the police presence (I counted at least 8 cars and a van) and the fact that they had taped off Broadway from 92nd at least down to 89th...I figured there was more to it.

What must have been the robbers car was sitting on Broadway just north of 91st St, and it was messed up. Thank God the body must have been gone by that point.

Amazing and tragic that all this was for Zyrtec.

Manhattan streets are just too dense with pedestrians and cars for high-speed police chases. We need a 24-style network of surveillance cameras so they can just continuously follow the progress of the perps without attracting attention. You can't outrun video signals. NYPD would also be able to eliminate gas-guzzling high-performance cruisers.