Another Death on the Presidential Motorcade...

[nycemt728 49]

Officer in Bush's motorcade dies in crash

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A police officer died Monday after crashing his motorcycle while riding in a motorcade as President Bush prepared to leave the city following a fundraiser for Sen. Pete Domenici.

Rio Rancho Officer Germaine Casey, 40, was rushed to an Albuquerque hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The motorcycle was near the front of the motorcade, and the president saw the wreck as he drove past on the way to the airport, said Rio Rancho Police Department spokesman Officer John Francis.

Bush issued a statement saying he was saddened by Casey's death and extraordinarily grateful for his protection.

"It is a high calling to choose to serve and protect your fellow citizens, and I will always be indebted to Officer Casey's service," the president said, adding that the officer's wife and two teenage children were in his thoughts and prayers.

Francis said Casey's motorcycle hit a curb and then a tree, but investigators were reconstructing the accident to determine exactly what happened.

"Any time there is a presidential motorcade, the officers, that's part of their job, they drive at a high rate of speed," said Trish Hoffman, a spokeswoman for the Albuquerque Police Department, the agency that is investigating the crash.

Officer received special training

Francis said Casey had received special training in riding in motorcades and had previously escorted Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney on separate occasions.

Casey had been with the Rio Rancho Police Department since 2005 and worked with campus police at the University of New Mexico before that.

Francis said Casey, who he described as easygoing, fun-loving and always smiling, will be missed by many officers. The department has made counselors available.

"They're handling it the best they can," Francis said of his fellow officers.

Domenici, R-N.M., said in a statement that he was deeply saddened to learn about Casey's death.

"The thoughts and prayers of my wife Nancy and I are with his family during this dark time and we offer them our most sincere condolences," the senator said.

The crash occurred where the road at the airport goes into an underground parking garage. Traffic was shut down after the crash, resulting in a bottleneck at the airport.

Photographers and reporters in the presidential motorcade said the officer's motorcycle appeared to be nearly destroyed, and the officer was on the ground, being helped by an emergency medical technician.

Other motorcade crashes

A Honolulu police officer, Steve Favela, died when his motorcycle crashed while he was part of a presidential motorcade traveling across Hickam Air Force Base last November.

In February 2006, a Bernalillo police officer was injured when his motorcycle went down while he was helping escort Bush's motorcade on Interstate 25. Sgt. Jerry Nixon suffered a broken nose, cuts and bruises.

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This is another terrible loss, what can we do to prevent this? Anything?? I mean I guess I can see the safety reasons for not having the preident stopped in traffic, but at the same time, I would hate to be on the receiving end of that phone call, no matter how important, in the grander scheme of things it seems like such an unnecessary and preventable death!

[JM15 386]

why do they have to use motorcycles just out of curiosity can't it be done in cars which IMO are safer

[Guest alsfirefighter]

Well at least the President issued a statement. He has been known not to be very sensitive to those issues, particulary when he was Govorner of TX with firefighter deaths.

Hopefully one of the LE brothers can answer better, but I'm thinking that the motorcycles have the ability to get back up front if the motorcade passes them if they are needed to block a street or something to that effect.

[xfirefighter484x 234]

why do they have to use motorcycles just out of curiosity can't it be done in cars which IMO are safer

Probably just like many things in the fire service....

TRADITION!

[RescueKujo 130]

Hopefully one of the LE brothers can answer better, but I'm thinking that the motorcycles have the ability to get back up front if the motorcade passes them if they are needed to block a street or something to that effect.

Motorcycles are much easier to "leapfrog" the motorcade/procession to block intersections, rather than using a cruiser parked at each intersection.

[JM15 386]

yeah that was what i was thinking it's still a shame that these deaths happen frequently and needlessly. The article also says that they typically travel at high speeds. What is the reasoning behind that? to make the prez a harder target to hit?

[RescueKujo 130]

I forgot to add, thoughts and prayers to Officer Casey's family and fellow officers.