Jefferson Co. Sheriff defends soldier's funeral procession

[planovet]

As a member of the Honor Guard of the police department that I belong to, I have been in more funeral processions than I'd care to remember. And police funeral processions tend to be miles in length. It never ceases to amaze me how many people will get out in the heat and the cold to hold flags or salute as we go by. On the other hand, there is always someone trying to get through the barricades or someone complaining about the wait. The lady in the article should have just kept her mouth shut and waited for the procession to proceed past her. It's called respect. Someday she will be in that hearse as it travels to HER final resting place.

[rebapuck]

Did I read the same email as you guys?

What I read was her being in the right lane. funeral in the left. She was stopped by two cyclists who were NOT cops. They were abusive to her for simply wanting to go straight. They did not identify themselves.

It's a sign of curtesy to stop for a procession, but not required.

[starleen2]

. . . Someday she will be in that hearse as it travels to HER final resting place.

Then she wouldn't mind the wait time?? ( a little sacrilegious perhaps)

[WesGrimes]

Did I read the same email as you guys?

What I read was her being in the right lane. funeral in the left. She was stopped by two cyclists who were NOT cops. They were abusive to her for simply wanting to go straight. They did not identify themselves.

It's a sign of curtesy to stop for a procession, but not required.

Perhaps not required by the law, but it is required by my code of conduct.

The bikers might have been rude, but she was rude first. She did not say that they touched her, and they have the freedom of speech to scream at her just as she has the freedom to be disrespectful to the funeral procession.

[rebapuck]

As a man, you probably don't understand. If a strange man stuck his head in my face and started screaming obscenities at me, out of the blue, I'd want to pepperspray him too.

[WesGrimes]

I'd want to pepperspray him too.

That would then be assault, and the first criminal action of the encounter.

But spray away! I am not a biker, nor do I ever scream at people.

I just have been a procession burying a family member when some jerk passed the procession because he was too important to show common respect. I have to say it felt like the rudest thing that a person could have done at that moment. I am sure they were going to miss Whopner, so I tried to be tolerant.

All I was saying was that the police officer was right to tell her to go away. I am not suggesting that we get bikers to go around screaming at people. Ask the Rolling Stones how that goes...

By the way, being offended is no reason to resort to violence and the use of weapons.

[rebapuck]

Exactly.

[Miriam C.]

Did I read the same email as you guys?

What I read was her being in the right lane. funeral in the left. She was stopped by two cyclists who were NOT cops. They were abusive to her for simply wanting to go straight. They did not identify themselves.

It's a sign of curtesy to stop for a procession, but not required.

Perhaps not required by the law, but it is required by my code of conduct.

The bikers might have been rude, but she was rude first. She did not say that they touched her, and they have the freedom of speech to scream at her just as she has the freedom to be disrespectful to the funeral procession.

First the bikers did not have any freedom of speech rights to "approach the car in an aggressive threatening way or screaming. Causing fear can be called Assault in MO.

Second it sounds like she remembered her rout very well so she takes it regularly.

Third her first complaint was that the procession should not have happened at rush hour traffic on the interstate. I am betting from that point on the Sheriff was ticked.

As for the pepper spray: If a person feels an assault is immanent they can spray away. She however, did know they were leading the procession.
I think from that point forward she looses any credibility, if she had any to begin with.

1) This procession should never have been held during rush hour traffic! Hwy. 270 is dangerous and people drive way too fast and there is too much traffic. This soldier's certainly would not have want his family hurt on the interstate taking him to Cedar Hill. People were dead-stopping on the interstate even though the procession was in the far right lane, the other three lanes just stopped. There were many near accidents and possibly were after I drove through. I was in the 2nd to left lane, no way obstructing the funeral procession.
2) I exited off on Gravois (30 W), far right lane. Your police officers went in the left lane to stop any additional on-coming traffic so the procession could exit off 270 into the LEFT lane of 30. Again, I was in the right lane. The St. Louis County officer stopped and turned around at Weber Hill to return on 270 after the procession passed.
3) The road was not closed. (Only for president as far as I know.) Again, the road was not closed. Your officers only had the left lane blocked/closed for the funeral. All other traffic by MO law can proceed as long as they do not interfere (weave in and out )with funeral procession.
Let me say, that I did not know what was happening. I knew the did not have Kennedy coming to STL, at least not yesterday. I was at work all day. No news. Nothing reported on the traffic on the radio driving home.
Anyway, two of these dirty, nasty, renegade, who knows what motorcycle men that were escorting the procession proceeded to stop in front of me in the right lane on Gravois. I had to stop in the middle of an intersection. They proceeded to scream and yell at me about respecting this soldier, etc. One of them climbed off his motorcycle and came over to me and stuck his head in my car continuing to scream at me. I asked him what this was for and he told me I needed to stop as the officers had the road blocked and show some dang respect.

[Rich S]

As a person who lived in that area for many years and also a rider with PGR I took interest in this story.
On Sun I was back for a reunion and was talking to a old friend who was there. According to him, the BIKER got off his bike as this lady was trying to cut thru the line. He said he DIDNOT get in her face or her car window. He told her to wait like everyone else. For whatever reason she felt like she did not have to wait and could do whatever she wanted.
He did say it was rush hour and very confusing. Most everyone else showed respect and just waited for the line to pass.
I know we all know people who for whatever reason think rules apply to everyone else but not them.
Rich

[Larwyn]

Sounds like once again, the wrong person was in the hearse, as it did not have to stop and wait.