CA - Nikki Catsouras, death photos leaked

[golfmom]

This is what absolutely chaps my a$$ ... how dare he accuse this family of bringing the lawsuit to get 15 minutes of fame and money! As a DISPATCHER he had NO reason to email those photos to his home or other department employees. He was way out of line.

"At some point, you have to ask yourself what the motivations of (the Catsouras family) is. I'm convinced this is a way for Nikki's parents to get their 15 minutes of fame and (try) to get rich.''

 

[Logger]

:furious: :furious: I can only hope that every single person who e-mailed/texted the images to the family one day find similar pictures of a loved one/pet in their cell-phone and e-mail inboxes over and over again! :furious: :furious:

Although I think it is without question cruel to personally e-mail or text the images to the family. I do think pictures like this should be availble to the general public. How are teenagers and adults going to believe things like this are possible it the actual accident photos aren't distributed at some time. Perhaps a decade or so should go by.

And I didn't know you could post a picture on MySpace without someone's permission. This should be changed.

 

[Txmom]

Too many people think that when you die in an accident, that you just die. They dont realize that the body takes a beating. That parts of the body might be missing. There might also be body fluids spilled. Sorry to be so graphic, but I know that when my cousin was killed in a car accident back in 1975, my uncle had to identify her at the morgue, and the morgue does not clean you up for identification. Its not like on tv when they show a pic of a person that looks like they are sleeping. Even though my children are over 21, I would like to show them the pics of Nikki so that they can see what a parent would have to identify in case of an accident. Sorry, but the kids today see the movie deaths, and tv deaths, and they are "clean" compared to what we as parents would have to identify. There was a judge in So Fl that would make DUI cases attend an autopsy to view what happens to someone who drinks and drives.

 

[MCDRAW]

I have teenagers and they don't believe what they see. Because they think things only happen to other people not them. If my child died in a car accident, I wouldn't want strangers looking at them in photos. My cousin was killed in a car accident when he was 21 years old. Our family had a hard enough time going through that without his pictures being spread everywhere. The public does not have a right to know everything.

 

[kazzbar]

Just seen the photos and although shocking ..that is what a high speed crash can do . Having said that those photos should never have been leaked in the first place . It is just awful for loved ones but in todays world and with cameras and technology every where we will see more and more of this type of thing occuring.People have camera phones and click,click. But it is very distressing to think that these photos were leaked.

 

[Shazza]

In the town where I live almost everyone who is charged with DUI, as part of the punishment they have to attend schooner school as we call it, it is run by the police dept and they see graphic accident scenes that are caused by drunk drivers that only the police have access to. They also learn a lot more and have to hand in an assignment at the end of the course so that the police make sure they have been listening and the teachings have sunk in. Its a great idea and one that I think should be made compulsory to all drink/drive offenders.

This show of photos on the internet about this particular case imo is in poor taste, but I do think that offenders of drink driving should be made to see such photos in the proper environment, but the police should ask permission from the family first. If it helps to save one life or keep someone from re offending then it is worth while.

 

[dingo]

I personally think all young drivers should be shown graphic footage of crash scenes before they even get behind the wheel.....they have to learn that the human body was designed long before the automobile and we were not made to withstand the impact of highspeed car crashes.

 

[kazzbar]

I personally think all young drivers should be shown graphic footage of crash scenes before they even get behind the wheel.....they have to learn that the human body was designed long before the automobile and we were not made to withstand the impact of highspeed car crashes.

Too true, I think it is sad that Nikki's family have endure the horror and victimization of crazy types.
But it is reality that is so shocking and confronting when it comes to these photos.Death is not pretty and this poor girls was appalling.

 

[dingo]

Nothing should be shown without the next of kins consent in my opinion

 

[Shazza]

Nothing should be shown without the next of kins consent in my opinion

Thats for sure, I know I wouldnt be able to do it.

 

[JBean]

Judge to rule on leaked Web photos of dead teen

Graphic photos of body of Nikki Catsouras, 18-year-old Ladera Ranch resident killed in crash, were leaked to Internet.

A judge is expected to decide this morning on whether two California Highway Patrol dispatchers can face a civil trial over graphic photos from a fatal collision on the 241 toll road that were leaked onto the Internet.
Nikki Catsouras, 18, of Ladera Ranch, was killed on Oct. 31, 2006, when she crashed her father's Porsche on the 241 toll road in Lake Forest. Graphic photos of the accident scene, which included Catsouras' body, were leaked to the Internet. The photos are supposed to be used for investigative purposes only, but the CHP took responsibility for the leak
http://www.ocregister.com/news/reich-judge-donnell-1976482-catsouras-photos

 

[turbosleuthing]

I haven't read all these posts but I will certainly say the pics are not for the weak stomach.

I agree that these should never have been leaked, but my lord those are some very real pictures of what happens and as horrible as they are it may make someone think twice and save one life.

 

[Taximom]

I saw them a few weeks ago and I still remember them.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

They're horrible. Unfortunately, I don't think having them out there is going to save any lives. Kids never think this stuff can happen to them. One thing that I personally get out of this, although I already knew it, is that our Police, EMTs and Firefighters don't make NEARLY enough money!

 

[dingo]

When youths here are caught speeding and skylarking here their cars are impounded and resold.....it makes for some sort of deterrant.

 

[Elphaba]

They're horrible. Unfortunately, I don't think having them out there is going to save any lives. Kids never think this stuff can happen to them. One thing that I personally get out of this, although I already knew it, is that our Police, EMTs and Firefighters don't make NEARLY enough money!

So true... a lot of kids tend to have a huge wall of denial they seem to hold on to... from driving a car to having sex, they think that whatever bad consequences that can happen, will bypass them right by.

 

[Elphaba]

About the pictures: I still don't understand what people get off on looking at them. Of the gorey images I have unwittingly come across, they played heavily on my mind and easily triggered a state of depression. That aspect, right there, is what shoots down any thought of me ever doing forensics photography... while I can read books on it, when it comes to shooting the aftermath and death: my heart and soul wouldn't be able to take it... the imagery would just bring me way down.

 

[golfmom]

http://www.ocregister.com/news/dispatcher-family-photos-1978245-donnell-catsouras

A judge Monday allowed a lawsuit to proceed against a California Highway Patrol dispatcher in a high-profile case about graphic accident photos leaked onto the Internet.

A second dispatcher, however, was removed as a defendant in the complaint.
.....

R. Rex Parris, representing O'Donnell, contended he e-mailed the photos to his home computer for work purposes. Even if the dispatcher had posted the photos on the Web, which O'Donnell denied, he would be protected under the Constitution, the lawyer argued.

In dismissing Reich as a defendant, Perk ruled that the dispatcher – who has admitted to e-mailing the pictures to four people outside the CHP – had no special duty to protect the privacy of Nikki's family.

 

[golfmom]

Does anyone understand this ruling? I've been googling my brains out trying to figure it out.

Reich, who admitted to emailing the photos to people outside the department is dismissed because he had no special duty to protect the privacy of the family. Never mind that he broke dept. rules ... but he's dropped from the lawsuit.

The suit can go forward against O'Donnell, but they don't explain why. He never admitted to sending it to any computer other than his home. But, as the supervisor, maybe he did have a "special duty" to protect privacy. I just don't know.

 

[golfmom]

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/catsouras-family-chp-2003372-lawsuit-dispatchers

Judge dismisses suit over CHP photo leak
Lawyers for Catsouras family of Ladera Ranch, who are tormented by online accident photos of their dead daughter, said they have filed appeal.