Coutchie Went in Harm’s Way to Protect Others

Editor,

I respectfully differ with the letter published in the July 24 edition regarding LBPD Officer Jon Coutchie’s tragic death in the line of duty.

Officer Coutchie was indeed a hero, deserving of our profound gratitude and respect.   He was responding with appropriate urgency to an alert from a fellow officer regarding a vehicle recklessly “hot-rodding” through town – a situation potentially every bit as dangerous as an active shooter on the loose.

According to the CHP investigation, the motorist making the left-hand turn was primarily at fault. Per Vehicle Code Section 21801(a) “The driver of a vehicle intending to turn to the left…shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles approaching from the opposite direction which are close enough to constitute a hazard at any time during the turning movement.”

The vehicle code sensibly gives substantial leeway to emergency responders. If confronted by an armed intruder, or trapped by fire or faced with a life-threatening medical emergency, most of us would not want police or firefighters unduly delayed by a need to obey speed limits, stop at traffic signals or the often sclerotic pace of traffic in Laguna Beach.

The CHP cited Officer Coutchie’s speed as an “associated factor” in this accident and his emergency lights and siren were not activated. We’ll probably never know why.

We do know that police officers are routinely required to make split-second life and death decisions, typically with only fragmentary information at hand and without the benefit of “20-20 hindsight.”

The DA’s office declined to criminally charge the driver of the pickup that killed Officer Coutchie, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t at fault. There’s no reason city officials should forgo the opportunity to recover the considerable direct costs of Officer Coutchie’s death. That’s why our tort process is separate from the criminal justice system.

As a Citizen Academy graduate, CERT volunteer and member of the city’s Emergency/Disaster Preparedness Committee, I’ve been privileged to work closely with many of our 85 or so police and firefighters.

We are fortunate to have these dedicated, highly trained, courageous men and women willing to risk their well being to protect ours. To a one, they hold Officer Coutchie in the highest regard.

Officer Coutchie died as he lived, in service to his country and community. Like all of our police and firefighters, he went in harms way to protect the safety of others.

Matt Lawson, Laguna Beach