Suspended Onondaga County Sheriff’s deputy says Tasering woman was justified
Love the slant of the Today Show story, which begins by describing Harmon as “law abiding”, and yet she defied the officer when he was giving her instructions to stay in the vehicle.
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Onondaga County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Andrews says he did nothing wrong in Tasering Audra Harmon during a traffic stop in Salina in January, and that Sheriff Kevin Walsh was playing politics when he suspended Andrews for 30 days without pay a week after the story was reported in The Post-Standard and on syracuse.com.
Deputy Andrews wrote a lengthy e-mail to his friends and family giving his side of Harmon’s arrest on Jan. 31. The story of the arrest and video from Andrews’ dashboard camera drew a national attention and was featured on NBC’s “Today” show, CNN and CBS.
Dragon to get Patrol cycle unit
Motorcyclists on some of Western North Carolina’s most popular biking destinations can expect to soon see state troopers riding alongside them.
The patrolmen’s purpose, however, isn’t so much to crack down on riders Labor Day weekend as it is to remind motorcyclists to ride safely. There have been five fatal motorcycle crashes in Swain and Graham counties on mountain roads near and leading up to the world-famous “Tail of the Dragon” so far this year. Those roads include N.C. 28 and the Cherohala Skyway.
“Compared to last year, that’s a lot more,” N.C. Highway Patrol trooper Sgt. Todd Norville said. “For 2008, we didn’t have any fatalities in Graham County.”
Officially designated as U.S. 129, the Dragon starts in Blount County, Tenn., and packs 318 curves in 11 miles. Although most of the road is in Tennessee, at least two people in a typical year are killed on the North Carolina side of the road .
The Highway Patrol has been requested to send its Charlotte-based motorcycle unit to the mountains for the past three years, but hasn’t done so yet this year because of state budget cuts, Norville said. There are usually about four troopers whot come to the mountains on their BMW motorcycles.
“A lot of it is about public relations,” Norville said of using the motorcycle unit in the mountains. “We just try to explain to (motorcyclists) that this is not the road that they’re used to because most of them are coming here from Illinois or Ohio where there are no curves or hills.
“They come to the mountains and they’re not used to these curvy roads, and they get themselves in a bad situation quick.”
Most of the serious accidents on U.S. 129 happen in Graham County, according to N.C. Highway Patrol records.
Troopers last year responded to four wrecks involving injuries on U.S. 129 in Swain County and 20 in Graham County. Troopers wrote one speeding ticket in Swain County and 91 in Graham County.
The Highway Patrol participated in a safety awareness event earlier this month at Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort, located one mile south of the Tennessee-North Carolina state line along the Dragon. The event, which drew more than 1,000 people, is planned again for next year, resort owner Brad Talbott said.
Risk of unfamiliarity
Talbott said many accidents on the Dragon and other nearby roads aren’t related to speeding or reckless riding. They are caused by riders who aren’t used to the roads and might be riding beyond their skill level.
“We just really focused on folks coming to Western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee having a good, enjoyable time and to come back next year because they didn’t have a problem,” Talbott said.
In past years, Talbott said he would see the Highway Patrol motorcycle unit about one weekend a month during the summer.
“They get a very positive reaction because their focus is not to see how many tickets they can write or how much money they can generate for the state. Their focus is the same as ours, which is they want people to come here and not endanger themselves,” Talbott said.
“We always love to see the motorcycle guys. They always have a very positive impact on the area, for motorcycling especially.”
Baby Born on I-295
New Jersey State Trooper Jorge Recalde was already busy at work early Sunday morning — stopping a driver for a traffic violation on Interstate 295 — when Patrick Parker approached him to tell him his wife was having a baby.
“I told him, I just want to let you know my wife’s in labor, so I am going to be rushing to the hospital. He told me ‘go, go, go!’” Parker told NBC Philadelphia.
Parker, of Wenonah, jumped back in his car — with his wife, Holly, in the back seat — hoping to race to Virtua Hospital in Voorhes before the delivery. But within minutes their plans changed.
“We went a little further and just before exit 29, she told me ‘pull over I am having the baby,’ ” he said. “I was amazed and a little scared.”
Parker pulled over to the shoulder of the highway and jumped in the back seat only to find his wife had already started giving birth. Their new baby girl’s head started to emerge. Trooper Recalde, who noticed Parker’s car parked on the shoulder, pulled over, quickly offered help and called for back up.
“He was just phenomenal. I was the catcher and he was the umpire. Between him and the 9-1-1 operator they really calmed me and talked me through the process,” said Parker.
Within minutes, Vivian Leigh Parker was born. Medics arrived a short time after the birth and transported mom and the baby girl to the hospital where both were doing very well.
This is the second baby born on a local interstate this month. Another woman gave birth to a baby girl on I-95 three weeks ago.
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