4-year-old boy seriously injured after being struck by police car

C'mon, cops. Rushing to take a guy in for a drug test?? This definitely shouldn't have happened.

This is a mess - why did they need to run red lights for a drug test? Was it really more important than the safety of the citizens?

Even ambulances slow when crossing intersections against the lights. The police need to do the same. It wasn’t like they were in a life or death emergency.

Omachi,

Bizarrely enough,in Tokyo,ambulances ARE the slowest vehicles on the road.It is unreal.

Hopefully the driver will be arrested on charges of "Professional negligence resulting in death".

Furthermore he should be detained until the trial starts.

What's good for regular citizens should be standard for police.

Ho@e the little kid is OK.

Hopefully the driver will be arrested on charges of "Professional negligence resulting in death".

Hopefully he won't be - the child fortunately is still alive. But this does sound like something he should be charged for.

Unacceptable reason to hit a 4-year-old boy, it means driver were not expert enough to control a in an emergency situation, right?

Police car sirens blaring and its lights flashing does not allow such incident,

Where all the ambulance also slow down crossing pedestrian.

Who want to see such performance to conduct a drug test on a suspect?

You can do a drug test anytime on hair. This is Yotsuya, just by Shinjuku. There will be pedestrians everywhere.

Hope the boy recovers.

"We will give thorough instructions to prevent a similar incident from occurring again," said Masayuki Okabe, deputy police chief of Shinjuku police station.

That's it??? Not even include an apology!!!!!!

10:40 on a Sunday morning, at the intersection between Yotsuya station and St. Ignatius church/Sophia University.

I hope the poor little blighter recovers. And that the police agency reconsiders it's priorities.

Sure the police is to be blamed 99%.

1% goes to the parents letting a 4 years old crossing the street without holding his hand.

As for Ambulance being slow, you can't drive too fast with a patient in the back... especially if he has IV in his/her arm.

browny1 Today  04:42 pm JST

Hopefully the driver will be arrested on charges of "Professional negligence resulting in death".

Just "resulting in injury," I hope. The boy is still alive. I hope and pray he recovers.

It seems awfully unnecessary for the police to drive like that, just to bring someone in for a drug test.

1% goes to the parents letting a 4 years old crossing the street without holding his hand.

This article didn't say they weren't holding his hand. On the contrary, it said they were 'nearby'. Coming from a Japanese translation, that could potentially mean right beside him or not. But there's nothing here that can logically be used to determine they weren't holding his hand.

there's nothing here that can logically be used to determine they weren't holding his hand.

The fact that only the kid got hit maybe?

The boy had been accompanied to an area near the intersection by his father but was crossing the lights by himself.

The fact that only the kid got hit maybe?

Um no, that can't be used to logically conclude they weren't holding hands.

Also from "proper" news source you'll find that:

The boy had been accompanied to an area near the intersection by his father but was crossing the lights by himself.

Forgive me for doubting you, but people regularly claim what they've read elsewhere, and then it turns out they've misinterpreted what they read. It's not that I doubt you specifically, just that people are so often wrong on this site, without supporting links, it's pretty safe to assume that the claims are not correct.

Forgive me for doubting you, but people regularly claim what they've read elsewhere, and then it turns out they've misinterpreted what they read. It's not that I doubt you specifically, just that people are so often wrong on this site, without supporting links, it's pretty safe to assume that the claims are not correct.

No worries!

Well when everyone teaches you that green light means safe to cross, it won't be surprising for the kid to follow that rule.

4 years old is fine without hand holding, given that we don't know how fast the police car was rushing we can't make assumptions on how much reaction time the parents actually have.

Definitely the police car is in the wrong cause they need to slow down to check for safety at any junctions whether they have sirens blaring or not, and I'm quite sure they have some form of defensive driving courses to have good handling skills.

Even ambulances slow when crossing intersections against the lights. The police need to do the same. It wasn’t like they were in a life or death emergency

Unlike police, ambulances, by law here, can not go over the posted speed limits, and MUST slow down when going through red lights. (I know I used to drive one!)

The cops expect EVERYONE to get the hell out of their way when they are flashing their lights with their sirens on, this does sound like professional negligence based upon what is written here, and if it is so, this cop should be fired and appropriately charged!

He should not get off just because he is a cop.

10:40 on a Sunday morning, at the intersection between Yotsuya station and St. Ignatius church/Sophia University.

It was Sunny Sunday morning so it's pure negligence. They just assume that their sirens will make people disappear from their path.

Perhaps police cars should follow the same rules as ambulances then.

"According to the police, the vehicle was rushing to the metropolitan police headquarters to conduct a drug test on a suspect when it hit the boy, who was left unconscious after the impact."

So, hang on... the guy was already in custody, and they were doing a drug test with the results not coming out until they do, and they had to turn on the cherries and rush over to.... hold the penis?

Sorry - my mistake.

I should have said charged with "Professional negligence resulting in serious injury" - not death.

Hopefully the little boy can recover.

And the driver should still be charged.

Throw the book at the Police driver, and compensate the Family.

If it had been a Civilian driver trying to get a pregnant wife to Hospital or some other case, the proverbial book would have been thrown at them.

Geez look at the way Ambulances drive... slowly and asking for permission to cross during a red light. Goodness knows how the person inside handles the extra delays... but for the Police, in order to get a guy drug tested... they're willing to drive crazily ? Something is wrong here, very wrong. It all emergency vehicles drove the same way, then the Public would be more cautious when hearing a siren, but every one these days seems to have sirens...

So throw the book at this Police driver. Period.

The vehicle was rushing to the metropolitan police headquarters to conduct a drug test on a suspect when it hit the boy

No. The cop was rushing, and he, not it hit the boy! And rushing to administer a drug test? Get real, this is just a blatantly obvious excuse, because they’re ashamed the guilty one is a cop and they should be! Pedestrian crossings are a joke, even more so now!!!!

The incompetence of Japanese police is staggering. Running over a child then trying to excuse it by saying they were rushing for a drug test? Who rushes for a drug test?

Is there such a thing as Internal Affairs in Japan?

If not, this is a good a time as any to investigate the two inept cops involved in such a horrific and most likely avoidable tragedy involving a small child.

Why would a parent not be holding their child's hand when crossing? Especially if there are sirens and lights flashing. Probably another parent staring at their phone while they should be paying attention to their children.

This was not an emergency situation so why the excessive speed in a built up area?

Why would a parent not be holding their child's hand when crossing?

The article does not state whether or not the parents were holding the child’s hand.

4 years old is fine without hand holding,

This story proves you wrong. Not sure if you have kids but in my case it's not fine. Anyway just my opinion, not raging.

In an actual emergency I would not be quick to fault the cop. But this was not an actual emergency. This was a cop abusing his powers to go tearing down the road with lights flashing as if it were some sort of sport. Throw the book at the idiot.

"The article does not state whether or not the parents were holding the child’s hand."

Use common sense. If they were holding his hand the child would not have been hit.

"We will give thorough instructions to prevent a similar incident from occurring again," said Masayuki Okabe, deputy police chief of Shinjuku police station.

How about a public apology? Rushing to take a drug test of some dude? Is that more important than public safety?