Lions' Suh Gets Traffic Ticket In Detroit Suburb

[r8rh8rmike]

Lions' Suh gets traffic ticket in Detroit suburb

By MIKE HOUSEHOLDER | The Associated Press – 2 hours 22 minutes ago...

DETROIT (AP) -- Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was issued a traffic citation by a police officer who said Suh was driving fast and passing cars from the right lane of a suburban Detroit roadway.

The Lathrup Village officer gave Suh the ticket on Nov. 15 for driving without due care and caution, but Police Chief William Armstrong told The Associated Press on Tuesday he was not sure the citation would hold up.

The chief was awaiting a call back from the city attorney to discuss the case, which he said was ''in limbo.''

''From my bird's eye view, taking a quick glance at it, I'd say the charge doesn't fit,'' Armstrong said after watching video footage of Suh's driving that day. ''Just looking at the tape, Mr. Suh was traveling faster than the cars around him, but I don't think it was to the extent of driving without due care and caution.''

Messages seeking comment were left for representatives of Suh and the Lions. Word of the traffic stop was reported Monday by Detroit-area TV station WJBK.

Armstrong's comments came a day after the NFL announced it wouldn't suspend Suh for a low blow he delivered to Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub on Thanksgiving. Suh was on his chest after being taken down by an offensive lineman and extended his left foot to hit Schaub below the belt.

Suh, 25, was suspended for two games a year ago after he was ejected for stomping on the right arm of Green Bay offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith, also during a game on Thanksgiving. He has been fined in previous seasons for roughing up quarterbacks.

Suh, whom the Lions selected with the second overall pick out of Nebraska in 2010, has been involved in several traffic incidents over the past year.

He was ticketed for speeding, improperly signaling and not carrying proof of insurance during a March stop in his hometown of Portland, Ore. Police said he was driving a BMW 91 mph in a 55 mph zone.

In December 2011, Suh lost control of a car and crashed into a drinking fountain and tree in Portland. A woman has filed a civil lawsuit seeking $1 million from Suh in the crash.

He also was involved in a traffic accident last month in Dearborn. Police in the Detroit suburb said the accident was minor and fault could not be determined. When Suh played at Nebraska he pleaded guilty to negligent driving and paid a $60 fine after crashing into three parked cars.

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Associated Press writer David Runk and AP Sports Writer Larry Lage contributed to this report

[r8rh8rmike]

What is it with this guy and problems driving?? How does he still have a drivers licence? Reporting every traffic incident he gets into might be a bit over the top, but he's asked for it with a long pattern of questionable behavior while driving, and an inability to keep his nose clean on the road.

Suh is a complete disaster, on and off the field. I'm not sure how much longer he can keep it all together.

[macrammer]

What is it with this guy and problems driving?? How does he still have a drivers licence? Reporting every traffic incident he gets into might be a bit over the top, but he's asked for it with a long pattern of questionable behavior while driving, and an inability to keep his nose clean on the road.

Suh is a complete disaster, on and off the field. I'm not sure how much longer he can keep it all together.

good thing the draft worked out the way it did

[fliptalianstallion]

All the talent in the world and is still the biggest nutjob in the NFL. I wonder if Spags would've been fired a year earlier if we chose Suh over Bradford.

[macrammer]

All the talent in the world and is still the biggest nutjob in the NFL. I wonder if Spags would've been fired a year earlier if we chose Suh over Bradford.

nutjob.....lol just ask Schaub

[Nick]

The Lathrup Village officer gave Suh the ticket on Nov. 15 for driving without due care and caution, but Police Chief William Armstrong told The Associated Press on Tuesday he was not sure the citation would hold up.

The chief was awaiting a call back from the city attorney to discuss the case, which he said was ''in limbo.''

''From my bird's eye view, taking a quick glance at it, I'd say the charge doesn't fit,'' Armstrong said after watching video footage of Suh's driving that day. ''Just looking at the tape, Mr. Suh was traveling faster than the cars around him, but I don't think it was to the extent of driving without due care and caution.''

Guy gets a traffic charge that even the police chief says probably doesn't fit? This doesn't even make the local paper if it was anyone else, but because it's Suh, anything that doesn't smell rosy is going to get media play, I suppose.

[r8rh8rmike]

Guy gets a traffic charge that even the police chief says probably doesn't fit? This doesn't even make the local paper if it was anyone else, but because it's Suh, anything that doesn't smell rosy is going to get media play, I suppose.

Exactly my point, and Suh deserves it too.

[Nick]

Exactly my point, and Suh deserves it too.

I wouldn't phrase it that way. Reputation or not, he doesn't deserve to be called out in the media when even the police chief says he didn't commit the crime. What I would say is that he brought it on himself. If there's a bigger microscope on him than others, it's due to his own actions.

[r8rh8rmike]

I wouldn't phrase it that way. Reputation or not, he doesn't deserve to be called out in the media when even the police chief says he didn't commit the crime. What I would say is that he brought it on himself. If there's a bigger microscope on him than others, it's due to his own actions.

Fair points, but Suh has had every chance in the world to keep the negative spotlight off his driving habits, and yet, he continues to up the ante. For what reason, I don't know, but the result IMO, is that he deserves it, all of it.

[gap]

Guy gets a traffic charge that even the police chief says probably doesn't fit? This doesn't even make the local paper if it was anyone else, but because it's Suh, anything that doesn't smell rosy is going to get media play, I suppose.

The Police Chief is probably a Lions fan, and looking for a "security detail gig" on game days. I every state that I have read traffic laws (used to be an over the road truck driver), it is illegal to pass on the right. Passing on the right actually falls into the "careless and imprudent" catagory.

Now, in most cases, passing on the right is often overlooked because the person in the left lane is not following the 'keep right except to pass' laws. City driving is where this is overlooked, as you ofetn have to drive in the left lane to prepare for a left hand turn. In that case, and if the driver is obeying the speed limit, the person behind them (that wants to disobey the speeed limit) needs to be patient.

"Driving fast and passing cars from the right lane" easily falls into 'driving without due care and caution' in most every state in the union. Anyone that says otherwise has another agenda for saying so.


gap

[Nick]

Fair points, but Suh has had every chance in the world to keep the negative spotlight off his driving habits, and yet, he continues to up the ante.

I don't think "traveling faster than the cars around him" really ups the ante. I do that every day on my commute to work. But maybe we'll have to agree to disagree on that one.

The Police Chief is probably a Lions fan, and looking for a "security detail gig" on game days.

Anyone that says otherwise has another agenda for saying so.

You're welcome to your opinion, but until other evidence to the contrary is made public, I'm going to go ahead and take the word of the police chief who has watched the video rather than engage in conspiracy speculation.

[r8rh8rmike]

I don't think "traveling faster than the cars around him" really ups the ante. I do that every day on my commute to work. But maybe we'll have to agree to disagree on that one.

Be that as it may, after all the facts came out, the Chief agreed the charges were warranted, and the citation WILL stand.

November 28, 2012 at 5:25 pm

Video shows officer telling Suh he 'almost caused a crash'
By Tony Briscoe and Chris McCosky
The Detroit News

Lathrop Village — Police have released video of Ndamukong Suh's Nov. 15 traffic stop that shows an officer telling the Lions' defensive tackle he "almost caused a crash."

The footage from a Lathrup Village Police car's dashboard camera shows Suh driving in the right lane of northbound Southfield Road near 11 Mile. As Suh passes 11 Mile, he merges in front of multiple vehicles as the right lane runs out.

As Suh is pulled over in his black Range Rover, the officer asks him, "Why are you going so fast?" Suh apologetically replies that he didn't know the lane was ending.

Suh goes on to contend that he was merging, but the officer tells him that he was passing in the right lane, which is illegal in Michigan.

The officer eventually tells Suh that he's giving him a break as he writes the ticket for failure to use due care and caution, and gives him a warning for careless driving.

After the city attorney reviewed the charges, Police Chief William Armstrong said Wednesday the ticket will stand.

"We're going to let the charges stand as issued. So Mr. Suh can either pay the ticket or fight it in court," Armstrong said Wednesday.

The penalty for the charge is two points and a fine of $130.

Armstrong analyzed the evidence, including video from a police car's dash camera, to determine the accuracy of the charges. Police said Suh's vehicle wasn't clocked but was moving faster than the speed of traffic.

"I talked with the city attorney, and now we'll let the court decide," Armstrong said.

Armstrong said it's not unusual for the department to review three or four tickets per month.

The Michigan law regarding Suh's citation states: "A person operating a vehicle on a highway shall operate that vehicle at a careful and prudent speed not greater than nor less than is reasonable and proper, having due regard to the traffic, surface, and width of the highway and of any other condition then existing."

On the road, Suh has garnered national scrutiny for his driving. After Lions practice Tuesday, coach Jim Schwartz was asked about Suh's numerous traffic violations.

"I mean, we have traffic citations for a lot of different players and those generally don't come across my desk," Schwartz said. "Don't really come on our radar when it comes to stuff like that."

In another such incident last month, Livonia resident Stephen Vines, 43, accused Suh of sideswiping his car while on an exit ramp from the Southfield Freeway in Dearborn. Police said they could not determine who was at fault.

In March, Suh was ticketed for doing 91 mph in a 55-mph zone on an Oregon freeway.

He also was involved in a crash in December 2011 in his 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle Super Sport in his native Portland, Ore.

In 2010, Suh was in an accident in Royal Oak (11 Mile and Campbell) when a 30-year-old Shelby Township woman hit his Land Rover with her Honda Civic. Police said the woman was at fault because she disobeyed a traffic signal as she attempted to turn south on Campbell.

He wasn't injured, and alcohol wasn't involved; police said the woman suffered minor injuries.

In his final season at Nebraska, Suh was involved in an incident in which he crashed into several parked cars. He pleaded guilty to negligent driving in the incident and paid a $60 fine.

Schwartz was asked Tuesday if Suh should get a driver.

"You know, honestly, I think it would be best for every single player in the NFL to have a driver," Schwartz said.

[fliptalianstallion]

nutjob.....lol just ask Schaub

Surprisingly, there was no pun intended on that comment as well.

[BrokenWing]

Either Suh is going to eventually lose his job to something remarkably stupid on the field, or he's going to die doing something remarkably stupid off of it. If he doesn't kill someone first.

[gap]

Lions' Suh gets traffic ticket in Detroit suburb

By MIKE HOUSEHOLDER | The Associated Press – 2 hours 22 minutes ago...

DETROIT (AP) -- Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was issued a traffic citation by a police officer who said Suh was driving fast and passing cars from the right lane of a suburban Detroit roadway.
The Lathrup Village officer gave Suh the ticket on Nov. 15 for driving without due care and caution, but Police Chief William Armstrong told The Associated Press on Tuesday he was not sure the citation would hold up.
The chief was awaiting a call back from the city attorney to discuss the case, which he said was ''in limbo.''
''From my bird's eye view, taking a quick glance at it, I'd say the charge doesn't fit,'' Armstrong said after watching video footage of Suh's driving that day. ''Just looking at the tape, Mr. Suh was traveling faster than the cars around him, but I don't think it was to the extent of driving without due care and caution.''
---
Associated Press writer David Runk and AP Sports Writer Larry Lage contributed to this report

Guy gets a traffic charge that even the police chief says probably doesn't fit? This doesn't even make the local paper if it was anyone else, but because it's Suh, anything that doesn't smell rosy is going to get media play, I suppose.

The Police Chief is probably a Lions fan, and looking for a "security detail gig" on game days. I every state that I have read traffic laws (used to be an over the road truck driver), it is illegal to pass on the right. Passing on the right actually falls into the "careless and imprudent" catagory.

I don't think "traveling faster than the cars around him" really ups the ante. I do that every day on my commute to work. But maybe we'll have to agree to disagree on that one.

You doing it every day on your commute doesn't make it legal.

You're welcome to your opinion, but until other evidence to the contrary is made public, I'm going to go ahead and take the word of the police chief who has watched the video rather than engage in conspiracy speculation.

Be that as it may, after all the facts came out, the Chief agreed the charges were warranted, and the citation WILL stand.

November 28, 2012 at 5:25 pm
Video shows officer telling Suh he 'almost caused a crash'
By Tony Briscoe and Chris McCosky
The Detroit News
Lathrop Village — Police have released video of Ndamukong Suh's Nov. 15 traffic stop that shows an officer telling the Lions' defensive tackle he "almost caused a crash."
The footage from a Lathrup Village Police car's dashboard camera shows Suh driving in the right lane of northbound Southfield Road near 11 Mile. As Suh passes 11 Mile, he merges in front of multiple vehicles as the right lane runs out.
As Suh is pulled over in his black Range Rover, the officer asks him, "Why are you going so fast?" Suh apologetically replies that he didn't know the lane was ending.
Suh goes on to contend that he was merging, but the officer tells him that he was passing in the right lane, which is illegal in Michigan.

I guess my "conspiracy speculation" "opinion" was closer to correct than yours. Sure I went a bit over the top by speculating that he might be looking for game day passes, but he still decided not to enforce the law unless he was told to.

gap