Seattle Police Mock “Dumb F***” Jogger Hit By Semi Truck

Tim Nelson was fighting for his life after being hit by a semi truck driver while jogging in West Seattle in late October. As he was rushed to the hospital with a broken back, six snapped ribs, and a fractured skill, a dash cam in a Seattle police cruiser captured this video, which has been making the rounds.

Network blog Systematic Failure said the scene is reminiscent of “a bad episode of Reno-911.” It includes this exchange:

Officer 1 ‘That’s why you drive a car!’
Officer 2 ‘Yeah, don’t try to jog to work, you dumb f***!’

It’s obviously disappointing to see police behaving so unprofessionally and with apparent bias toward someone who doesn’t get around in a car. And it’s sure to strike a nerve with anyone who’s read about sloppy police investigations into traffic crashes that kill pedestrians or cyclists.

The video wasn’t discovered until recently, when Nelson hired a attorney to represent him in the case. Now Nelson is demanding an apology from Seattle PD.

At the time of the crash, the Washington Department of Transportation was urging commuters to bike, take transit or walk to work because of the closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. So Nelson was just trying to do his part, and what did he get — life-threatening injuries and mockery from the people who are supposed to protect him.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Urban Review STL says St. Louis needs form-based zoning code. Second Avenue Sagas wonders whether the new Cornell science campus coming to Roosevelt Island will become a car-congested mess or take a more enlightened approach to transportation. And Baltimore Spokes shares a story from the Onion about the decline of scenic America.

With that, the Streetsblog Network is signing off for 2011. We will resume publishing January 3rd. Hope everyone has a safe and happy holidays! And don’t forget Streetsblog’s year-end fundraising campaign in your charitable giving.