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Cambridge cop formally charged with hit-run collision
By adamg on Wed, 02/24/2016 - 4:43pm
Cambridge Police report Ryan Callinan, a CPD officer, has been cited for leaving the scene of an accident causing personal injury and operating to endanger following an incident Sunday night at Broadway and Portland Street.
Callinan, 28, of Wilmington, was charged with hitting a bicyclist while he was off duty, then driving away, after an investigation by Cambridge and State Police and the Middlesex County District Attorney's office.
Police say the woman he allegedly hit has since been released from the hospital.
An arraignment date for Callinan, now on administrative leave, has not yet been set. Callinan has been on the Cambridge force since 2011, police say, adding the investigation continues.
Innocent, etc.
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Comments
Remember
People called for the coat thief in dot (or mattapan? I forget) to possibly be charged with attempted murder. I assume the same people would find that an equally fair charge here?
Two pieces to this
You don't have to be at fault to leave the scene and be charged with hit and run.
Attempted murder?
Dial it back a bit. Perhaps you're one of those people who just wants to see a cop get nailed to the wall, but attempted murder this is not. He should face charges for hitting someone and then leaving the scene. I'm sure he did not set out to hit the cyclist with intent to kill.
you
have no idea what i was referencing, nor what i was implying.
here, professor, i'll fill you in.
somebody stole a coat (and if i recall, laptop bag and phone). some people here (noted police apologists, which is coincidental, actually) figured that perhaps an attempted murder charge would be appropriate for the thief, because it was 35 degrees and brr, somebody might die, in a heavily populated area in a major city, during the day, because of that coat theft (lol).
now, i decided to make a comparison of a hit and run accident by somebody charged with enforcing the law and that coat theft incident. i guess where i went wrong is assuming that most people would understand that attempted murder charges for coat theft are ridiculous, or assuming that somebody wouldn't take an opportunity to white knight the police even if it was unnecessary.
tl;dr i wasnt saying the cop should be charged with attempted murder, but i will definitely revel in the irony that they think a coat thief should be.
Relax...
No need to be a wise ass. I know that in modern times, no one can be civil, but a simple explanation as to what you were getting at would have sufficed.
oh my bad
after you made assumptions about how i feel towards cops based on your own ignorance of what goes on here, i decided i didn't like what you were saying and reacted accordingly. effed up, i know
Ok...
At least you recognize your shortcomings.
I got the reference
And I was going to post some snarky comment, but then I thought "well, if people were really bringing up attempted murder for a coat theft, the bar for attempted murder is really low around here."
This is sad, but silver lining
I hope the victim heals up fully and quickly.
CPD is a good department. Troubling that an officer might have done something wrong, but good that CPD is trying to do the right thing, whatever that turns out to be.
There will always be problems
It is humans all the way down, after all.
The problems compound when fellows and supervisors make excuses for the bad apples. That's what has to stop in this country, and CPD's charges show that they don't sign on to the idea of the infallible cop who is above the law.
What if the officer is acquitted?
I'm all for accountability. But if the officer is found to be not guilty, will those who are applauding these charges accept the decision, or is the officer supposed to be some sort of example?
Of course..
...the answer is: it depends. If there is enough transparency for reasonable people to see how a prosecutor could agree to a slap on the wrist or a jury to acquit, then probably. If not, then many will view this as more insider-justice.
He will be found guilty.
Pretty much any time I've seen a cop charged with a crime like this, they are found guilty.
So?
I'm talking about this case in particular. Nowadays, people just want to see cops hung out to dry. I suspect that many people just want to see a cop convicted to set an example, guilty or otherwise. He will have his day in court, and if the prosecution shows that he is guilty, then so be it.
What would "hung out to dry" look like?
Since we're talking about this case in particular, what would "hung out to dry" look like? What would have to happen for you to consider this cop to be "hung out to dry", and can you name a similar case (or even an un-similar case) where that has happened?
Even if you're right about that, it's not as if what many people want has anything to do with the outcome. If that were true, and you were right about what many people want, cops would be going to jail by the hundreds.
Thank You Officers
When I read the original story I suspected that this would be swept under the rug. Thank you for proving me wrong and showing no one is above the law.
No need to sweep it...
Hit-and-run on a cyclist will go away on its own after a court appearance or two. Nobody gets in real trouble for hitting pedestrians or cyclists with their vehicle unless they remain at the scene and also flunk a sobriety test.
Sad but true. Even if you hit
Sad but true. Even if you hit someone while drunk they won't terminate your license.
No arraignment date unless a magistrate finds probable cause
On a misdemeanor with no statutory right of arrest, the defendant is issued a summons to appear at a hearing before a clerk or assistant clerk magistrate who determines whether probable cause exists to issue a criminal complaint (charge). Neither he, nor anybody else so charged, can be arraigned unless and until the magistrate finds probable cause. Operation of the vehicle being a key element of the case, I again wonder if anyone can identify the operator? The officer never ceases to be a citizen and has the right to remain silent, so it will be interesting to see if anyone can ID the operator. In many hit and run cases, they can't and the cases never get beyond the clerk's hearing.
This is not true.
The magistrate can rule against the case going to court, but whoever filed the charges can appeal to the judge.
Given this happened a few block from the police station, he's going to have an awfully hard time arguing that it wasn't him driving, particularly since he'd either be headed to the station for his shift, or he was headed home after clocking out. Almost certainly surveilance footage as well of him if he was leaving the station.
Since there was an injury,
Since there was an injury, this is a felony hit and run.
Not a felony
Incorrect information, not a felony hit and run. Perhaps you are mixing up this statute with a hit and run resulting in death - or perhaps you are just throwing the word felony around all willy nilly.
MGL 90/24
Here he is
https://www.facebook.com/CambridgePolice/photos/a.878460395525338.107374...
A Jason Callinan received an award the same day.