Patterico's Pontifications

2/4/2010

Jim Treacher Hit by Vehicle Driven by State Department Security Official — Then Gets Jaywalking Ticket

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 8:56 pm



It would be hyperbole to compare this to the Chinese government’s practice of executing prisoners, and then sending a bill to the prisoner’s family for the bullet.

So I won’t.

But still . . . this is pretty absurd:

According to Medlock, who writes under the name Jim Treacher, he was struck at about 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday, while crossing M Street in downtown Washington. Medlock says he was walking within the bounds of the crosswalk, toward a blinking white signal, when a government SUV suddenly turned left and plowed into him, knocking him to the ground.

Bystanders tended to Medlock, collected his crushed glasses and called an ambulance. McGuinn, meanwhile, called The Daily Caller’s offices from the scene to tell Medlock’s colleagues about the incident. But he did not identify himself to them or to Medlock.

Medlock was taken to Georgetown University Hospital with a broken left knee, lacerations and bruises. He will undergo surgery later this week.

At the hospital, DC police officer John Muniz arrived to issue Medlock a $20 jaywalking ticket. Medlock was lying sedated on a gurney, so Muniz delivered the ticket to a Daily Caller colleague, who was at the hospital with Medlock. He looked embarrassed as he did so. Behind him stood a man dressed in a dark suit who identified himself as a “special agent.” He said nothing but wrote in a notebook.

Curiously, the ticket says that Medlock was struck at an intersection four blocks from where the accident actually took place. . . .

You have got to be [expletive deleted]ing kidding me.

They gave him a ticket?!?!

79 Responses to “Jim Treacher Hit by Vehicle Driven by State Department Security Official — Then Gets Jaywalking Ticket”

  1. they must not know who he is… or they’re stupid…

    or they’re stupid and corrupt…

    or actually they’re probably stupid and corrupt and they have no idea who he is.

    That seems most likely really.

    happyfeet (713679)

  2. It’s not the crime that ruins you, it’s the cover-up. Anyone want to bet at what level someone comes to their senses? Treacher must have a line of attorneys outside his door by now.

    Kevin Murphy (3c3db0)

  3. Sometimes, it takes things like this to remind statists what is wrong with their philosophy. Government does this kind of thing.

    It doesn’t “take a village.”

    Eric Blair (c2a27d)

  4. by the way, does anyone else have trouble with “Content encryption errors” on the Dailycaller site? Control-F5 gets me the page, but why is it so difficult?

    Kevin Murphy (3c3db0)

  5. This has got to be a joke. Right?

    The ticket part is the giveaway that this didn’t really happen. Right?

    That there are witnesses who say this was a hit and run means we need to know who the driver was and he needs to be arrested. And whoever ordered this ticket be issued, he needs to become famous for that decision. I want to him to swear in court that he knew that was warranted.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  6. Oh, and about the SUV?

    I thought we had a carbon crisis? Why not a Prius?

    Oh: because Treacher would have kicked the Prius away like a yapping dog.

    Fact is, government is aaaaalllll about “…rules for thee but not for me…”

    I hope Treacher recovers well, in both senses of the term.

    Eric Blair (c2a27d)

  7. Did they gave him a ticket without even talking to him or hearing his version of what happened? It sounds like it, which means they had a neutral witness or a very persuasive other party.

    I know this won’t make Jim/Sean lose his famous sense of humor but it won’t be a fun few days. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

    DRJ (84a0c3)

  8. I suppose if he had been catapulted 50 feet away, they would have given him a ticket for leaving the scene of an accident.

    Some chump (d97978)

  9. This is amazing, beyond words.

    JD (d55760)

  10. Maybe if he had landed in the crosswalk, he would not have been ticketed.

    JD (d55760)

  11. Kevin I get the same problems.
    Though it was just me.

    Wierd thing that Daily Caller does that I have never seen before, as you scroll the comment, the first one becomes hidden inside the comment box. The name of the commenter and the timestamp remain visible but the comment goes buh bye.

    I use internet explorer number.
    It doesn’t happen when I use firefox.

    papertiger (8349ff)

  12. Considering that this is Washington DC, the accident was almost certainly captured by multiple security cameras.

    pst314 (dbf8fd)

  13. I hope that the driver and the State Dept
    screw ups pay with careers and a ton of
    money.

    Tucker Carlson has got himself a story.

    Well, it is Obama’s Washington. Just
    like Chicago.

    You get well, Jim, and then you get them,
    those bastards.

    Jack (e383ed)

  14. If you haven’t tried Chrome yet, give it an honest shot. It’s got a lot of the benefits of Firefox, but is more efficient.

    Now, I don’t really care if the driver of the SUV claims Treacher was jaywalking. He hit a pedestrian hard and then sped away from the scene. It’s pretty unlikely he was on some Jack Bauer emergency, but if he was, they need to come forward and say so and apologize.

    Instead, a ticket? I suspect some bureaucrat had a bad day and was trying to CYA.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  15. How (or maybe why) does someone come up with the psuedonym “Jim Treacher”?

    “Snuggy Bear” was taken? He didn’t want to be “Snuggy Bear1”?

    papertiger (8349ff)

  16. Chrome?

    JD (d55760)

  17. well, the ticket is invalid, since he wasn’t at that intersection, and, iirc, the cop can’t write it unless someone else swears to it…. (resident lawyers correct any errors in this) so the big question is “who swore to it?” the get away driver or a colleague… a boss maybe?

    my guess is the real cop was shanghaied into writing a bs ticket and deliberately miswrote it as payback to the asshole fed. i also figure they (the feds) are stupid, corrupt and also know who did it, but are too stupid to fess up.

    either that or someone’s cousin is w*rking overtime late to finish putting on a NIB OEM fender, bumper, etc on the vehicle, and the plates have already been switched with another SUV from the motor pool…. which is also stupid and corrupt.

    welcome to the Third World….. we’re way down the rabbit hole now.

    redc1c4 (fb8750)

  18. Any word on whose going to play Treacher’s position in the Super Bowl?

    papertiger (8349ff)

  19. Chrome

    There’s no accounting for taste, but it’s a great browser.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  20. Google Chrome is their proprietary web browser.

    I always figure they’re keeping track, and telling the Chinese about my surfing habits when I use Chrome.

    papertiger (8349ff)

  21. Thanks. I like this browser.

    JD (d55760)

  22. papertiger’s right. google is not my favorite company either.

    But damn, it’s simply more advanced than Firefox. Compare how much RAM and CPU overhead they take to do the same things.

    The State Department’s reactions (as explained on the Daily Caller) show they really don’t give a crap about this. They don’t bat an eye at the implications. People wonder how many broken legged innocent people got jaywalking tickets.

    It only takes a few publicized examples of this to massively corrode the public’s respect for a department. I’ll never look at those black Suburbans the same way. Either this happens so often the State Department actually chose this path, or they are total idiots not to come clean instantly.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  23. Well, boys … I haven’t a thing to say.
    Played a great game…all of you. Great game.

    I guess we just can’t expect to win ‘em all.

    I’m going to tell you something I’ve kept to myself for years —
    None of you ever knew Jim Treacher.
    It was long before your time.
    But you know what a tradition he is at Patterico…

    And the last thing he said to me — “Paper,” he said – “sometime, when the team is up against it — and the breaks are beating the boys — tell them to go out there with all they got and win just one for the Treacher…

    I don’t know where I’ll be then, Pap”, he said – “but I’ll know about it – and I’ll be happy.”

    just thinking about the pregame speech Jim is missing

    papertiger (8349ff)

  24. awww ok.

    The truth is I’ve never used chrome, but I never let little details like that stand between me and a good one liner.

    papertiger (8349ff)

  25. Jim deliberately collided with the vehicle, and was given a ticket for racism.

    Northeast Elizabeth (24fc2b)

  26. If Teach been a drunken Kennedy the D.C. cops would have called out Marine one to transport him to the hospital and then hunted down the driver and accidently shot him 25 times. Someone needs to pop Hillary with a question about it in public. Like bats they like to hide in the dark so she would be forced to take action.

    Scrapiron (996c34)

  27. I bet Treacher had a blog once … Must. Find. Evidence.

    RACISTS !!!!!!!!!

    JD (5e5cad)

  28. Cant believe this happened…

    I hope he has a full recovery – little pain and I hope he tear into them with all the ferocity that they deserve

    How many Lawyers are lining up to take this ticket to court

    He needs to file attempted Vehicular manslaughter charges with the locals

    EricPWJohnson (d0c4eb)

  29. Broken knee and surgery?

    I don’t think he’s going to ever get back to 100% I hope he makes a full recovery too, but this is going to affect him, probably painfully, for the rest of his life.

    Knee injuries suck.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  30. leg injuries suck. leg surgeries 5UX045! forever, no less. he’ll never need the weather channel again.

    been there, done that, have the scar…. ankle not knee.

    and HTF do you “break a knee” anyway? the patella? the femur? the fibula and/or tibia? inquiring medical types want to know…..

    redc1c4 (fb8750)

  31. […] is stranger than Sullivan’s fiction: Patterico mentions how Jim Treacher was hit by a government car while walking in a crosswalk, then given a ticket for […]

    Smorgasbord at Haemet (3bcabb)

  32. You have to wonder how many other pedestrians are run down by “special agents” who then use the tactic of giving the victim a ticket, to deflect the guilt away from themselves.

    Maybe it’s in the manual. Page four of driving while being a self important asshole.
    Sub section b “what to do if the pedestrian you ran over is a reporter”.

    Bet they don’t even bother for your regular run of the mill burger flipper.

    papertiger (c9b193)

  33. I can only hope the video of the accident surfaces. It is very interesting that they got the streets wrong in the ticket.

    Also, I think Jim “The Jogger” Treacher has some ‘splainin to do. Attacking federal SUV’s with your knee is pretty serious stuff. (insert sarcastic font here)

    Vivian Louise (643333)

  34. Better get an attorney serving papers on the DC government to get and keep those videos before they get “accidently” lost or erased.

    PCD (46d16c)

  35. Normally I respect law officers but when they are liable, don’t trust them anymore*. Was sorry to read about Treacher/Medlock and hope he recovers quickly. And then sues them.

    * 2 yrs ago was driving down a side street when a fire engine with emergency lights on but no siren sped out from behind a house – the wrong way down a one way street – right in front of me. If I hadn’t been quick on the brake the speeding engine would have hit me rather than the other way around.

    Only later when I got the police report did I find out that the jackass head fireman, despite the driver of the engine admitting to me at the scene that he hadn’t had his siren on (and I told the police officer this), had himself told the police officer (out of my hearing) that their siren was on, and so who did the police officer believe? I was blamed for the accident and couldn’t get them for car expenses because everyone goes by the police report and I had “no case.”

    Thank God I wasn’t injured but I don’t trust law enforcement people so much anymore. Treacher must be furious right now and I hope he gets the bastards after he’s better.

    no one you know (1ebbb1)

  36. PCD – exactly what I was thinking. I’m pretty sure they are already gone or altered.

    However, there are multiple witnesses to the accident and it’s location. We can only hope there were people with cell phones taking video. Heck, that’s the only reason that idiot who brought the gun to the snow ball fight didn’t get away with being a total douche.

    Vivian Louise (643333)

  37. There was a famous case a few years ago where family found a jaywalking ticket on the belongings of their loved one in the hospital. The man had been struck in a busy street in DC.

    imdw (017d51)

  38. I don’t know that the DC cop needed to have his arm twisted to give the jaywalking ticket. These are the same cops who arrested an eleven year old girl for eating a french fry on the subway.

    nk (db4a41)

  39. JD, I found his racist Jamaica-mocking blog, it’s called Dredlocks May I Sleep with Medlock.

    Northeast Elizabeth (4979a2)

  40. The agent didn’t leave the scene. He called the DC offices and told them about the accident. He didn’t identify himself at first though. The jaywalking ticket is ridiculous but good luck suing the State Department. The agent, maybe. The response of State to the questions are really enraging.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  41. Bill Hillary Clinton was heard to say: “I feel your pain”.

    Dr. K (eca563)

  42. Done in by the “strike” feature again.

    Bill Hillary Clinton was heard to say: “I feel your pain”.

    Dr. K (eca563)

  43. I have kind of a personal perspective on that. about 10 years ago, some fool actually was jaywalking, he was wearing dark clothing at night, and thought he could cross the street faster than I would reach his position. Two things he couldn’t account for was that with his dark clothing I literally couldn’t see him at all, and I tend to accelerate much faster than most people, from a full stop. I was going about 30 mph, and hit him. It broke his leg, and probably cut him up pretty bad. He was apparently in mid stride and it literally knocked him out of his shoe.

    I was a little surprised when the cops not only said the whole thing was the pedestrian’s fault, but they were giving him a citation, too. I thought giving him a ticket was a bit much. my attitude sort of was, sure he was at fault, but isn’t getting your leg broken punishment enough? I mean if he ever considered trying anything like that again, which is going to be a bigger deterrant? The memory of the accident, or the memory of the ticket?

    But the police said that they do that routinely because it is a signal to the insurance company that he should bear the cost of the accident.

    Now with Treacher, my default is to trust him, but to tell the truth we really only have his version of events, at least as far as I have seen. Yeah, I feel like I know the guy so I feel like I can trust him to own up to it if he made a mistake, but really, we are judging this without hearing both sides.

    So for all we know, he might have been at fault. Certainly the clothes I see him in hospital pictures seem pretty dark, but maybe he was wearing something else at the time. But the rest of the story is just his side of it. of course if he is telling the truth then they are clearly at fault, but we don’t know enough to assume that, yet.

    That being said, they better have a damn good reason to have fled the scene, and to be stonewalling as they are now. Normally I would give them 24 hours to clear this up, but given the blizzard coming in, I will say by Tuesday, if they don’t start giving some serious explanations, I think we can draw some very negative conclusions about all of this. By the way, um, isn’t fleeing the scene a crime?

    And if Mr. Treacher is reading this, I hope your road to recovery is as short and painless as humanly possible.

    A.W. (e7d72e)

  44. When a cop signs a ticket, is he not under oath, and under penalty of perjury? Or is he free to write whatever lies he likes? If he is under oath, then since “the ticket says that Medlock was struck at an intersection four blocks from where the accident actually took place”, will the cop who signed it be charged?

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  45. Here’s the ask the director portal why dont we flood them we inquiries
    http://app.dc.gov/apps/about.asp?page=atd&type=dsf&referrer=ddot.dc.gov&agency_id=1051&ddotNav=|32395|

    EricPWJohnson (d0c4eb)

  46. Also, you would think that the ambulance company would have recorded where, exactly, Jim was picked up…

    Scott Jacobs (46e187)

  47. Also, you would think that the ambulance company would have recorded where, exactly, Jim was picked up…

    Comment by Scott Jacobs — 2/5/2010 @ 6:14 am

    “Don’t you know nothin’? The police is in on it”
    /Breakdown

    no one you know (196ed7)

  48. It now appears the Statist Obama is playing the Orwellian gambit. If it can be traced that the orders and cover are coming from Obama, he can be impeached, then tried and imprisoned for this.

    PCD (1d8b6d)

  49. “If it can be traced that the orders and cover are coming from Obama, he can be impeached, then tried and imprisoned for this.”

    Oh I hope the wingnut line on this gets developed.

    imdw (df0dab)

  50. It wasn’t Obama. It was the IPCC (International Panda Conspiracy Conspiracy).

    Phil Smith (1cf25d)

  51. 46

    Do the ambulances have GPS?

    Is it recorded?

    does the vehicle involved have GPS? Is it recorded?

    EricPWJohnson (d0c4eb)

  52. Thats Does the Ambulance have GPS? did they take pictures? Whats the standard procedure? Isnt the protocol for police to come in a hit and run?

    EricPWJohnson (d0c4eb)

  53. imd-dumbass, you should be outed and the word, “LIAR”, branded on your forehead.

    PCD (1d8b6d)

  54. It wasn’t Obama. It was the IPCC (International Panda Conspiracy Conspiracy).

    I KNEW it was the Pandas. Damn them!

    Vivian Louise (643333)

  55. I suppose the 911 call that alerted for the need of an ambulance at a certain crime scene location has been “lost”?

    elissa (717bc0)

  56. AW, well said. Of course, the real problem is that the government slammed into someone and then vanished, at least from that pedestrian’s POV.

    They should have identified themselves and all that. Even if Jim was doing cartwheels in the center of the intersection, the driver had a legal obligation.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  57. It doesn’t “take a village.”

    Apparently, in this case it takes a pillage.

    That being said, they better have a damn good reason to have fled the scene, and to be stonewalling as they are now.

    That this was a hit-and-run makes the ticket even more infuriating, no doubt.

    Reminds me of the scene from “Extract” where Gene Simmons sleazy lawyer character is telling his staff about the worker who got hit in the nuts, “This guy is like winning the Powerball!” Treach got hit by a government agent who then fled the scene, yet Treach got the ticket, during a time when government officials aren’t exactly real popular. Cases like this are a dog whistle for lawyers.

    Another Chris (2d8013)

  58. I’m curious about how the agent called Treacher’s employer from the scene. Either (a) he talked to Treacher at the scene, at least long enough to get a name and phone number, or (b) he already knew who he was.

    If it’s (a), I haven’t seen that reported so far (that the agent stopped to talk to Treacher*). If it’s (b), there is a nefarious explanation, and an unlikely but still possible innocent explanation. I’ll be interested to see what pans out.

    *If I’m mistaken, someone please correct me.

    Linus (cc24db)

  59. Is it possible that a second black government SUV hit a jaywalker four blocks away, and that one of the errors is that Treacher has been given that jaywalker’s ticket? Meaning, of course, that there were TWO hit-and-runs!

    htom (412a17)

  60. Linus – The driver stopped, and Treacher gave him the contact information for his employer.

    JD (0f9c01)

  61. Thanks, JD. I guess I missed that in my too-quick read of the article.

    Linus (cc24db)

  62. I guess there’s a fog over the facts, but my impression is that the driver called the employer but never actually identified that he was the driver.

    It’s like a hit and run who returned to the scene of the crime. He was hiding in plain sight and did not provide, say, his insurance or identification information.

    Then again, for all I know Treacher hit his head and forgot that he was actually skateboarding. All I know is that he’s got a nasty injury and the government’s actions don’t make any sense.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  63. Welcome to Obama’s America

    Neo (7830e6)

  64. Not that I’m a huge Obama fan, but this type of behavior by those with a little power hardly came into being on January 20, 2009. I just hope that, if the facts are as Treacher represents them, he can get some accountability from the government and the agent.

    Linus (cc24db)

  65. Yeah, Linus, this is not a GOP vs Dem thing, of course.

    It’s just another example of how government can really cross the line, and it’s hard to stop sometimes. That lesson applies to things like healthcare or whatever, but as a rule that is general. Who do you appeal to when the government screws you over?

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  66. Comment by Mike K — 2/5/2010 @ 5:20 am

    Mike K,

    There are two statutes, one immunizing federal employees from tort liability and a second waiving sovereign immunity of the United States for the torts of federal employees. (Please don’t ask me to cite them, I hate chapter and verse unless I get paid for it. 😉 ) The lawsuit, if any, will be against the United States if the collision was during the agent’s working hours.

    nk (db4a41)

  67. I hope that the driver and the State Dept screw ups pay with careers and a ton of
    money.

    Yeah, but guess who really ends up paying it?

    Socratease (02c2d9)

  68. 1. I use Firefox because Chrome isn’t made for G4 Macs.

    2. Somebody will soon be up on charges of providing false and misleading information, at the very least, to the authorities. Since Jim was given a ticket, it tells me a certain somebody decided to press charges, which leaves the accuser open to charges of false arrest. IANAL, but methinks Mr. Fibber is facing fines and possible jail time. Plus possible civil penalties. At the very least, he’s just killed his government career.

    (It just occurred to me, could Bodunk KY be looking forward to a special election to replace a soon to be former representative?)

    Alan Kellogg (0981ab)

  69. It just occurred to me, could this be what brings down the Obama administration? What if the “government agent” works in the Obama administration, and “Admit no Flaws” Barry goes to bat for the guy. Think of the possibilities. 🙂

    Alan Kellogg (0981ab)

  70. Assuming that Treacher is correct, and the witnesses back up his statement that he was crossing with a signal, this is just like a case I had dealt with some years ago.

    A client was struck by a police car while crossing an intersection. The police claimed that the victim was jaywalking against the signal AND that they were running red lights and siren. All of the witnesses agreed that both statements were false. Surveillance video of the intersection’s traffic lights conveniently disappeared.

    Despite extensive documentation of the lying by the officer and the actions of other city employees to help cover it up, no one was prosecuted for their false statements or obstruction, nor even disciplined.

    This kind of corrupt cover-up is far too common in my experience.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  71. This was posted a little while ago at Ace of Spades in the Blanch Lincoln thread. I don’t usually call for banning people based on comments from other blogs but I would in this case if Patterico and Ace check and find this is from the same IP.

    16 Jim Treacher just passed away during surgery. http://tinyurl.com/2g9mqh Holy shit. It wasn’t even a serious surgery. This is absolutely awful news.
    Posted by: Northeast Elizabeth at February 05, 2010 05:05 PM (Fx113)

    This may double post but I do not see this entry.

    Have Blue (854a6e)

  72. I call for banning people for rickrolling.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  73. SPQR – I don’t usually follow blind links, especially those posted by trolls, so was unaware of what the link was. It is the statement I find despicable.

    Have Blue (854a6e)

  74. No, it’s not me, Have Blue, but it does show the quality of your friends. I’d suggest that Ace and Patterico check the IPs of everyone who has responded to me in the O’Keefe threads, including you.

    Northeast Elizabeth (6fce1c)

  75. I’d have tased him… anyone dangerous enough to engage in this sort of wanton jaywalking is clearly a threat that call for escalation of force… way beyond the original bumper chrome on kneecap that was richly deserved for the crime of straying outside the lines.

    SteveG (909b57)

  76. At least they did not arrest him for felonious tampering with a federal SUV.

    Have Blue (854a6e)

  77. They are still developing that charge…

    This sounds like a hoax to me anyway…. because jaywalking is way more than a $20 ticket

    (it is over $100 here if memory serves)

    SteveG (909b57)

  78. Was Mr. Treacher given his Miranda warnings? Because I don’t think people should get MIranda warnings; what if he were a terrorist with a bomb in his underwear which would have impacted when it struck the government truck. I am just saying you can’t be too careful, and we should err on the side of safety rather than “consttutional rights.”

    Mikey (2f0ed2)

  79. Mikey, parody is a form of humor best left to professionals.

    SPQR (26be8b)


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