Lincoln Journal Star
LANCASTER COUNTY, Neb. — Lancaster County sheriff’s deputies are practiced in the fine art of patience.
That’s clear on a video showing an SUV backing into a deputy’s cruiser during a traffic stop on Friday.
Sheriff Terry Wagner said Deputy Ryan Schmuecker pulled over a 2007 BMW GL320 for speeding at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday north of Bennett on Nebraska 43.
In footage from the cruiser’s dash-mounted camera, the Beemer begins to back up as Schmuecker walks toward it.
“Whoa, hey, hey, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!” he says.
Then, the sound of a crunch, and the deputy just sort of slumps.
He stands on the road for a full 12 seconds,then says calmly: “Need to see your license, registration and insurance,sir.” “The deputy’s reaction is priceless,” Wagner said in an e-mail. “I’m sure the deputy is thinking about all of the paperwork required when a government vehicle is involved in a crash.”
After Schmuecker collects the information,he says,"You want to pull your vehicle up so it’s not on top of mine anymore,please?”
And then, the SUV’s reverse lights pop on again.
“Stop!” Schmuecker shouts. “What’s the problem, sir?”
The driver says he tried to put the BMW into park but it didn’t go.
It doesn’t appear to have happened on purpose, Wagner said, and there was no alcohol involved. It was just one of those days.
The driver was cited for careless driving. The cruiser, a 2009 Ford Crown Victoria, suffered $400 damage, according to the accident report.
Copyright 2010 Lincoln Journal Star