Colorado officer on trial for leaving handcuffed woman in car that was hit by train l GMA 

If this officer's situational awareness is so dull, she not only is a danger to herself, but everyone around her.

Every officer at the scene needs to be held responsible, not just the officer who placed the woman in the car.

The railroad track is always a good way to tell if you’re parked on a railroad track.

I just cant believe the woman survived this, it is a miracle.

They nearly kill her, and still arrested her for a misdemeanor? These people are heartless. They need to rot in jail.

Restraining someone and leaving them in the path of an oncoming train is literally cartoonish villainy.

Imagine placing someone in front of a train by force to die and being charged with a misdemeanor 🤷🏻‍♂️

After that accident, that cop was more concerned about finding a gun he thought she had in her car rather than getting her help

There is absolutely no doubt the officers knew they were on the train tracks. There is literally a railroad crossing sign right in front of both vehicles!! Not to mention they arrested the person 5 feet past them before putting her into the police car! Stop making excuses for your incompetence!

This isn’t just “my bad”; this is gross negligence and it nearly killed somebody. Hold them accountable.

I don't see any misdemeanors. Looks like attempted murder to me. Why aren't these idiots in jail already?!

HOW IN THE HELL DO YOU MISS ALL THOSE TRAIN SIGNS PLUS THE DAMN TRACKS

This is ridiculous to see police officers just neglect the safety of the citizens that they have the responsibility to protect.

How does someone not notice that they parked on a railroad track!? Its a miracle this woman survived

They both need to be fired and charged.

That they tried to say "I couldn't tell there were tracks" when the signs and the tracks themselves are perfectly clear is nuts, not to mention they would have been stepping over them while walking. Insanity.

Don't forget the insane PTSD this woman will live with the rest of her life. Physical injuries may heal but experiencing the helplessness of an approaching train slamming into her is going to haunt her forever... These officers are monsters for not taking accountability for this...

the female officer on trial said there was no reflective signs or indications of a railway but there was literally a stop sign and a post saying rail crossing (at 1:44) even multiple signs indicating there was train tracks but regardless, they had their flashlights on and the blue and red lights flashing how could they not see it!? ALL need to be held responsible.

This had better be the shortest trial ever.

That railroad crossing sign was pretty clear to me. Every light there was reflecting off it.

the fact that those cops aren’t thrown in jail already says a lot about cops and their immunity.

Cops like these lead me to believe cops make mistakes and really don't care how that mistake affects you. They only care when it affects them.

It's against the law for anyone to stop on railroad tracks let alone park on them! The police write tickets all the time for that! They act so privileged stopping in the middle of streets, blocking the road while they casually chat with each other. Parking on the tracks,leaving the vehicle and with a cuffed suspect in it shows their clear disdain for the woman. 😡

I’m glad to see everyone here in the comments is well aware of the truth. Sincerely.

That lady's settlement is going to be very large and rightfully so! How stupid can you be? Apparently very! Put both officers in jail where they belong!

Just the fact that she is lying on the stand about not knowing there were railroad tracks says it all. Only a guilty person lies about something so blatantly obvious.

So she’s making excuses for not being aware of her surroundings, not ensuring that her actions were not endangering anyone else. It’s excuses. She wasn’t paying attention she was reckless and irresponsible and she’s trying to make excuses to get out of trouble.

I remember this. I need more updates.

I have never been shocked as much as I have been watching this video. Please hold the officers accountable.

The fact that Steinke immediately started yelling, “oh my god!” and swearing as soon as she heard the train blow it’s horn tells you she KNEW the car was parked on the tracks.

I think they need to be fired and go to jail in prison. They had time to move the car and get her out

Her situational awareness is next level.

Seriously, who would ever do that knowing it’s an active line? This isn’t an accident, this is blatant stupidity. No one this inept should even be in a position of authority 🤦🏻‍♀️

Please don't let them get away with this.

Prison!

The sentence needs to be the same as it would for a parent that leaves a kid in a hot car

She was pulled over for a misdemeanor and then they draw their GUNS! This was traumatic and mishandled from the beginning to the end.

Why would Anyone park on a railroad track?! Those officers should have known better. That poor woman 😢

"Miles outside of my jurisdiction". Ok your a good subject.

Still charged too. If it was an officer she would have gotten a parade and tv spots , radio spots... but it was just another citizen, not a holier then thow police officer Saint!!

Not realizing that the other cop parked on the tracks. Is instantaneous guilty admission. Absolutely NEGLIGENCE

Crazy how she pulled over, allowed them to arrest her without resistance, then gets blamed for the cops stopping on the tracks. Does anyone out there hold themselves accountable?

I'm a railroader... the cop is a liar!

Who parks like that? EVER EVER EVER!

The levels of incompetence and recklessness in people in positions of authority is beyond staggering !!

What part of RAIL ROAD CROSSING, STOP SIGN AND RAIL ROAD TRACKS do these officers not understand!? They must be held accountable for their actions as well as their non-actions of not yanking this poor woman out of the vehicle! They need to go to jail for a very long time. My prayers for the quick recovery of this poor victim.

The amount of "excuses" of "I didn't see any warnings" or "i had no idea a train comes through here" is astonishing. How clueless can you really be?

Why did the cop think there would be a gunfight? Unbelievable

Can you imagine being handcuffed in the back on a car you can’t get out of and seeing a freight train coming at you full speed…something out of a horror movie

Look down to see if you are on train tracks. There was a sign to indicate that. The woman has a right to sue the police department. The police officer was in the wrong, period. 🤦‍♀️

There is a person who took part in the accident but is overlooked in this trial: The locomotive-driver. Such an accident can kill the locomotive-driver or lead to a trauma. Such an accident can also cause the locomotive to get off the rails and crash with 1.000 tons load into the environment. Therefore any modern nation has a special law about „endangering rail road traffic“, a felony for everyone who places an obstacle on a rail roads. I‘m wondering wether these Cops are charged with that. And they should loose their driver license too.

cop: "train coming... i better step back."

I spent 25 years as an emergency responder. You never, ever, EVER park your vehicle on railroad tracks.

This is horrifying! Imagine what the woman was thinking as she sat there helplessly 😢

Would a civilian be thrown in prison for this? Then so should the cop.

It is sickening how much the court system protects these cops. She’s not going to get any real punishment for her damn incompetence that literally could’ve killed that girl. It is so damn corrupt

This wasn't only traumatic for the woman in the car, but the train driver too. These cops didn't even make an attempt to pull her out ,the guy just hightailed it outta there. Absolutely dumbfounding

Its a miracle she is alive. I hope she is doing well.

That's Insanity!!! Signs everywhere railroad crossing!!!!

Every driver knows not to stop on RRtracks. Unbelievable, especially for law enforcement.

So that cop thinks she can just get on the stand and cry her way out of accountability? They all need to be convicted!

Let’s call it like it is she was a criminal.

that officer said she didn't know there was a train track there...what hell...that body cam showed it quiet well....

Only one person facing charges? All those cops present knew what was going on, that’s terrible that they go unpunished.

She will do and say whatever is necessary to protect herself. She couldn't see the tracks or Railways cross- bucks, is totally unbelievable.

In the end you have to ask, how stupid is stupid

Hindsight is 20-20, but if you can clearly see the signs and indicators of where the train can go, then it becomes the definition of negligence.

This is appalling! Officers need to be held responsible

If there was ever a textbook example of "reckless endangerment of life", this would be it.

So why did she pull her over if she was out of her jurisdiction?

neglagent homicide attempt - attempted murder - should serve 20+ years for her indifference

“I was miles out of my jurisdiction” damn so u shouldn’t a been there in the first place

That’s disgusting.. how could you do that to someone? These officers should definitely face the consequences for what they did

Clearly, he didn’t mean to do that, but that’s unforgivable. You can’t make that kind of mistake.

Just like ignorance isn’t a valid legal argument when committing a crime. Her excuse should not be as a legal argument

Accountability is so rare these days, it’s like people are allergic to it.

Even if it was an accident that officer still needs to be held accountable

That is bull. You didn’t know that the car was parked on the railroad tracks. You should’ve went to jail too.

Gross negligence

For those who have not seen the full bodycam video; moments after the impact, the cops are cracking jokes about what just happened. They are literally laughing! Every single one of them should be in jail for life for displaying such wreckless incompetence and breathtaking cruelty.

I remember this story WELL and saw the full video numerous times. Here's the problem I have. Even if we are to believe EVERYTHING the cops said, there was about a 30 second period from the time they FINALLY woke the f*!k up til the moment of impact. All they had to do was get in the car and drive it 10 feet off of the tracks. 10 FEET! People always say being a cop is difficult and dangerous. THOSE ARE THE MOMENT WHERE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO PUT THEIR LIFE ON THE LINE!!! Instead, every single one of them thought, "Welp! Hope she lives, but I'm not risking my life for her!" Obviously, they should back up the Brinks truck and pay this woman whatever she wants for pain and suffering. For the rest of her life, just hearing a train horn is going to make her freak out. This is why there needs to be higher standards to be a cop. All of them together didn't have enough common sense to say, "Wait. Is that a train horn? OH CRAP! The car is on the tracks!", and one of them jump in and actually move the thing. They're cowards and completely incompetent and I wouldn't trust them to walk my dog!

This is utterly disgusting

What an evil monster

Those aren’t COPS these folks are cowards! I don’t believe anything that she has to say…How incredibly sad!

There are no excuses for what they did.

How many times people been told never park on railrord tracks. I'm a cdl driver, and we know better.

He was incredibly negligent, he didn’t even try to save her😭

The amount of fear she experienced seeing that train coming and knowing she could do nothing is torture within itself. They should be forced to hear a recording of her account of how she felt in that car with no one helping her, but rather running away from the car like cowards.

Umm... no signs etc? You had to literally *WALK* on the actual tracks to put her into the car!!!

Again that’s bullshit that the officer is standing in front of back and close enough to see the sign on the left-hand side hundred percent negligence. I hope she goes to prison for the rest of your life.

I can’t even imagine how horrific that must’ve been. Omg

it makes me sick how you can tell she was coached in exactly what to say so thoroughly

Perfect train road rage... Isn't that y,she was charged?

What about all the people that told that officer “ I didn’t realize I was speeding “ ???? Now she’s in the extreme hot seat and wants leniency and mercy. I say lock her lock for a lifetime. The rest of the police charge them all the same. Lock up every officer on scene. The negligence of these cowards is unacceptable. That lady officer told the court “ I thought this stop was going to end up in a gun fight “ these police hope every stop turns into a gun fight. Picture this, if a police office was hit by a train and a civilian causes it, that person would be charged with these charges. Just cause she’s a police officer doesn’t give her any power over the law. I’d recommend life with out the possibility of parole.

This should have been a $100 million lawsuit by now. Imagine the horror that woman felt seeing the bright lights of a train headed toward the car believing she was about to die. This kind of stupidity is unforgivable and should pay out accordingly

Imagine not thinking a train would go by on TRAIN TRACKS after thinking about it for a million years. These are our police, folks.

The police officer that parked on the tracks should not have a driver license let alone be on the force. The only excuse would be vehicle broke down or is stuck flat out not smart enough to have this kind of job.

Every time a cop screws up, it's the same story. "I didn't know what they would do. I thought it would be a gun fight. I was scared for my life, and miles outside my jurisdiction (i don't know how that's supposed to help her, if anything it supports why she shouldn't have been there). Something something something split second decisions, something something something and the totality of the circumstances, the only logigal choice was to put the prisoner in the car parked on the train tracks." And they'll probably get excused and apologized to for taking up their time with this.

I didn’t know she survived. Glad to hear it, and I hope they pay dearly.

Holy shit the negligence displayed by these officers is crazy, they should no longer be allowed to work as police officers, as they clearly don’t care about protecting people.