Dec
5
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words and Apparently $20 Million Dollars
Filed Under Pop Culture, The Latest
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Never has that been truer than in the case of Nikki Catsouras and her tragic accident on Halloween 2006. Except it wasn’t just a picture that spoke volumes, it was several pictures. Pictures which showed vividly and graphically the results of the devastating accident. Who would have thought that a few innocently snapped photographs would spread like wildfire across the Internet, eventually leading back to the grieving family? Yes, a picture is worth a thousand words, however, the one thing these pictures don’t tell is the truth – something that apparently very few people were actually interested in getting.
Currently, the Catsouras family is suing the California Highway Patrol for $20 million dollars. They are also suing several CHP dispatchers who were said to have not only possessed, but also disseminated the photographs. Why are they suing? Because these aforementioned photographs were posted online on sites like MySpace and then emailed back to the family. Seems like the Catsouras family must have made quite a bit of enemies to have people actually send them images of their dead daughter. Obviously, someone definitely wanted to hurt the Catsouras family. So, good for the Catsouras family for suing these horrible, unethical people, right? Wrong. They aren’t suing them. They don’t know who set up the websites and who posted the MySpace page. Okay, well good for them for going after the officer who took the pictures, right? Wrong again. Officer Chris Goodwin, a California Highway Patrol Officer with the Capistrano office, has been shielded from the media and public since the onset of this case. But why? First the pictures were not taken for any official use. They aren’t “evidence,” so what was the purpose of taking the pictures in the first place? That’s something that CHP Public Affairs Officer Chris Goodwin should be able to answer. Of course, this is just one of the questions that nobody seems to be asking. Here are a few more…
1) Why wasn’t the 911 call released to the media? Under the Freedom of Information Act, the tape must be released; however, in this case no news station ever played the call. Interesting.
2) Why hasn’t anyone released the results of the toxicology report? Again, not something this isn’t accessible.
3) What is the law of CHP policy that was broken? Was it illegal to take the pictures? Was it illegal to send the pictures?
4) Why is the media painting the Catsourases as the epitome of a happy American family when that is clearly not the case?
Fact and Theories
1) Fact: When Christos Catsouras called 911 he said his daughter had been “drinking all day” and that she took his car “without permission.” To obtain the tape call the Custodian of Records at the CHP 949-559-7880.
2) Fact: The toxicology report shows Nikki Catsouras was over the legal limit of .08. To obtain a report of this contact the Coroner’s Office.
3) Fact: There is no law or CHP policy that anyone with the CHP involved in the incident had broken. Clearly, this will set precedent and the CHP will create some sort of new policies because of this case; however, at the time of the accident none of the officers or dispatchers did anything legally wrong. In fact, the only law that was broken was by Nikki herself - drunk driving.
4) Theory: An upper class caucasian Orange County family can afford to be painted with any brush they choose.
Comments
10 Responses to “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words and Apparently $20 Million Dollars”
First of all, Photos are taken at every crime scene for…EVIDENCE. Evidence being: data presented to a court or jury in proof of the facts in issue and which may include the testimony of witnesses, records, documents, or objects. Photos are documentation of a crime. Yes, she was speeding. The photos are a documentation of the effect of the crime she committed. However, It is illegal and prosecutable by law to leak crime scene evidence to the public. And this family, whether All-American, happy go lucky or evil despicable people, that you claim they are with no EVIDENCE, do not deserve to see their daughter splattered on the side of the road. That is the indirect fault of the California Highway Patrol. They can no longer remember their daughter as the beautiful girl she was, but only as she is depicted in the crime scene photos. And, how dare you attack a grieving family with such stupidity and immorality.
Great review. http://www.dattaway.us/crash/.
Well what a way of words you guys have. If your loved one was drunk and speeding then got there head crushed and the cops took pictures of it and it got all over the web what you you do. Say your kid or mom or dads head was split in half would you want to see it. They should get every pennie of what they asked for and sum. no matter what kind of family they are or where they come from.
First of all, I don’t think anyone could possibly dispute the fact that this is a horrible tragedy for the family of this girl. And I don’t understand how anyone could be cruel enough to send those pictures to members of the family - to taunt someone who just lost their loved one with pictures of her death. Usually when a community experiences a tragedy, people band together in a show of compassion and support. So, it’s really bizarre to hear stories of the family being tortured by this, rather than experiencing that compassion. How badly would someone have to hate another person to want to hurt him/her even after they’ve already suffered a hurt as unimaginable as this one? And as sad as this is, I believe that it was not the intention of the dispatcher who originally sent the pictures to a few people he knew (with a warning about drinking and driving) for it to ever be a source of pain for the family.
It’s horrible that people have done what they have with the pictures and it’s a shame that all of those who have been cruel to the family after the loss can’t be tracked down and sued for harassment. But since they can’t, the family shouldn’t be suing anyone else just because they need to direct their anger and blame at someone. This lawsuit isn’t going to bring their daughter back, and it isn’t going to bring the family the peace they seek. As a matter of fact, by suing, they are prolonging their own suffering – and keeping their daughter’s story and pictures in the public eye (interest has surged after their 20/20 appearance). This will ensure that they won’t be able to move past this tragedy for a very long time. And receiving money—indirectly—from their daughter’s death in this manner just seems gruesome. This family needs to heal, but not through the misguided path of vengeance, which can only keep them from facing their own feelings for so long. With the way this all started, I’m sure the father has a lot of guilt he’s carrying around, the kind that only parents can relate to. I sincerely hope this entire family is seeking the help of some highly qualified therapist(s). This sort of thing isn’t going to get better even if they do win the lawsuit.
The 911 call has been released and may be found on the OC register website directly under the picture of Nikki at: http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/ladera/catsouras/article_1965415.php
What impresses me about the call is the lack of panic in the parent’s voice. My suspicion is that they used the “drinking” comment to get the Police to elevate the search for her. After all, the car was not stolen, the keys were left on a hook in the kitchen and there was no real emergency.
The toxicology report was issued and if you read through all the links and watch to 20/20 news report, alcohol was not involved. However she did have cocaine metabolite in her system. This is the reason she was on restriction. Her parents were aware of her previous night’s drug abuse.
The CHP officers violated company policy by releasing accident-scene photos. While this is not a “law of the land” is a CHP policy and the CHP is a government agency. Comment from the CHP: Accident-scene photos are meant only for investigative purposes. CHP policy and the state vehicle code forbid them from being distributed publicly.
Source:
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/ladera/catsouras/article_1541821.php
I think you miss the point on this whole matter. The fact the girl had issues are not relevant. Her family has suffered severe emotional trauma as a direct result of government employees disseminating accident scene photos, which is against CHP department policy. Imagine if the CHP or police began selling accident and crime scene photos to the National Enquirer or some other rag. There is a reason for the CHP department policy and Nikki’s situation is a prime example of the reason.
Nikk’s father is a local real estate agent, so his email address is publicly available. This made the family ripe for some heartless freak to terrorize them. How sad.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/catsouras-family-chp-2003372-lawsuit-dispatchers
Finally, the case has been dismissed. It’s a shame that it even went on this long, but at least everyone can now move on. I feel bad for the Catsouras family, but hopefully they’ll now focus on healing as opposed to revenge.
Do I feel bad for the Catsouras family? Yes. Do I think the California Highway Patrol owes them 20 mil? Heck no. Maybe if more people saw pictures like this it might make them think twice before driving drunk and recklessly.
What caused the accident, recklessness, drinking, parents not paying attention, etc. is irrelevant. No one is blaming the CHP for the accident. The family has acknowledged Nikki’s responsibility, but the CHP is responsible for it’s carelessness as well. The family lost their daughter, they paid the ultimate price, if you are all looking for punishment, shouldn’t the CHP be punished for their wrong doing as well? I would like to know if the people making these horrible comments about Nikki even know her or her family. To assume because they had money, their daughter “deserves” to die or can paint any kind of picture they want about their lives is ridiculous. No one has ever stated they were the perfect family. What does their personal life have to do with anything?What does their being white matter. A young girl tragically lost her life..period. I believe in Karma, and all you sick people who have nothing else better to do than say someone you don’t even know deserves to die, will get what you deserve. Someday, somehow, to yourself or someone you care about, if that’s possible.
Thank you, OC Commentator! I was reading through this article in disbelief at the lies in it. She wasn’t drunk, her family was never portrayed as picture perfect, and Nikki certainly didn’t deserve to die like this. If you’ve never driven recklessly, EVER, raise your hand. Then smack yourself for lying.
The case has been re-opened. I don’t know if the $20 million will really help anything. I think the family needed to bring to attention the wrong that was done by the release of the photos. And yes they did break a law by releasing them to the public. I guess it’s easy to say, “Get over it, money won’t bring her back. You need to heal and get past this, not prolong it” when it’s not you going through it.
I am disgusted by the reaction people are having to this situation. The only reason people are saying such hateful things is because they are either jealous, trying to come off as clever, make themselves feel better about themselves, and/or they have never met nor spoken to any member of the Catsouras family, much less know them enough to disrespect their deceased teenage daughter.
She wasn’t drunk. Her dad has admitted he made that up so the police would go find her. If she was thought to be sober the importance of finding her would have decreased greatly. She would come back home and her parents could discipline her; it wouldn’t be much of a police matter. But putting others in danger by driving drunk is a matter of public safety.
Let this family get on with their life, and let this girl’s memory go on untainted.
This is an unfortunate incident, and I too disapprove of many of the things that led up to it.
That said, my disapproval won’t change anything, any more than any of y’all’s obvious disapproval will. So please, just learn from this unfortunate event, and stop judging, stop harassing each other, and definitely, definitely, stop thinking that you know better than they do. Not only are you incorrect, and you can’t prove me wrong, because of the catch-all that’s oh, so simple…’Hindsight is 20/20,’ but you are also showing intolerance and bigotry. And I was under the impression that that was frowned on.