Engineer improperly arrested in TX?

Trains Magazine General Discussion
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Locomotive engineer wrongfully arrested
(The following story by Nancy Flake appeared on The Conroe Courier website on June 9.)

CONROE, Texas – A Conroe man who works as a locomotive engineer is claiming he was wrongfully arrested by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department for not presenting his driver’s license after a car ran into his train early Monday morning.

Gregory Stokes, 28, was arrested for failure to identify himself and for interfering with an investigation after the incident, when the train he was operating for the Timber Rock Railroad out of Silsbee was hit by a car as the train sat in a crossing at FM 149 and Shannon Crossing in west Montgomery County, according to Lt. Dan Norris with the sheriff’s department.

Some time around 2 a.m., the 3,000-foot freight train, carrying 9,000 tons of loaded rock, according to Stokes, approached the crossing as it was headed toward Conroe. “We came up on the crossing and the gates were not down,” Stokes said. “The lights were flashing and the bells were operating.”

As required by federal law, Stokes stopped the train and its two conductors got out to alert any automobile traffic. With all four engines past the crossing and two freight cars sitting in it, the conductors waved the train through after seeing no approaching traffic. Just as the train was again on its way, it was hit by a 1990 station wagon of unknown model, according to Officer Michael Bellard of the Montgomery Police Department. “We started again and I was waved through when he hit the train,” Stokes said.

Fortunately, the driver of the car was not injured and refused medical care, according to Bellard, who was working the scene along with sheriff’s deputies. “It was his fault,” Bellard said of the driver. “The lights were flashing.”

When sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene, Stokes provided them with all his information, but would not present his driver’s license.

"All I had to do is present my e

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Not to say the Police would shade the truth to cover their a… and thier incompetence inspite of being warned…

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As someone who worked in Conroe, and worked closely with both the Conroe PD, and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, along with the Texas Department of Public Safety, I can promise you, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Dept runs on the good ole boy system.
If your not one of them, your the enemy…including other law enforcement agencies.

I would doubt very seriously Stokes will every get an apology, although the Sheriff’s Dept. might drop the charge.
And bet on Stokes getting followed home, and every where else, if he lives in Montgomery County.

My former employer, The Office of the Attorney General, State of Texas, has quite a large “file” on the good ole boys…as does the Texas Rangers(an arm of the DPS)…they dont play fair, and dont plan on changing anytime soon…

Ed

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Maybe some big-shot civil-rights lawyer as well as some news media should go down and make their lives miserable. It’s pretty rediculous that law enforcement can play by the very rules they are supposed to enforce; it just makes them look like hypocrits.

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Thank you for that perspective…if we didn’t have others to point out our shortcomings and offer advice this country would be done for…

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Based upon the reported conduct of these deputies despite the contrary advice of the Trooper I’d say that they have some very real issues under 42 U.S.C. 1983. I wouldn’t want to be defending them, in any case. I’m sure there are plenty of plaintiff’s lawyers in Texas too…

LC

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He said she said… ugh.
I vote for the engineer. He was not driving a motor vehicle therefore no drivers license was needed. He is supposed to carry a card when driving a train and if he had that no problem.

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You’ve got to think that he probably did show them his engineer’s license and they didn’ t think that was good enough, so they’re probably lying through their teeth. But I could be wrong.

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I didn’t change the way I play the piano until my music teacher criticized me on my technique. Now I am playing much better and more accurate so I thank her for that.

It’s not like I don’t criticize Canada; boy am I doing alot of that lately…

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I agree with you HighIron. This is just speculation, but I wonder whether the deputy took offence at the refusal to be shown the engineer’s driver’s license and perhaps it’s the perceived challenge to his authority (without thinking or checking the actual law) that lies at the root of all this.

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In some rare cases (at least we believe they are rare), some individuals are granted the colors of authority-badge, uniform, weapon, fast car- even when they don’t possess the education and judgement skills that should be a prerequisite for the job.

Thus, incidents such as described above.

Jay

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THIS example is exactly why I personally have no use for HILLBILLY GOOD 'OL BOYS like these Sherriff’s deputies in this story! YEEEHAAAAA!

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Well said.

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Well, I have a more middling view of all of this. Few people are really stupid (although I have been on the receiving end of that label once or twice). On the other hand, I have have been misquoted by the press, and know others whose careers were jeopardized by ham-fisted, biased, axe-grinding reporters and/or editors.

There are three sides to every story; what he said, what he said, and what she (the reporter) said. Somewhere in there, hopefully, is what really happened.

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LC is on the right track.

Gabe

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For those interested…
Look up
Acts 1981, 67th Legislature, page 551, chapter 232, effective Aug. 31, 1981
And;
Amended Acts, 1997, 72nd Legislature, Chapter 340, Section 1, Effective Jan. 1st, 1997

The Federal law states quite clearly that a train crew member is NOT required to present his or her state drivers license in the event of a train/train and train/automobile accident or collision.
All that is required and all that may be presented under this law are the federal issued engineers certificate, (engineers license) and if a conductor is asked, his federal issued conductors certificate.

It specifically states law enforcement agents may not ask for a driver’s license,
and states you, the train crew member, do not have to present one if asked.

Ed

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I was thinking-a lamenated card quoting the law- but then reading skills would be required.

Jay

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Not trying to start a flame-war so please don’t interpret my question as this but didn’t they go to a police academy that would supposed to teach them those kind of laws too.

I can’t be certain but I believe that the police academy in Alymer, Ontario which is where most police officers seem to go to train including the Ontario Provincial Police recruits, train in all kinds of laws including uncommon types of scenarios such as what happened. Of course in cases like that, I believe that an officer would dispatch for his supervisor who would likely check with Transport Canada for advice before charging or not charging the engineer and even then, I don’t think they would get involved in that way because it wasn’t a violation of the Highway and Traffic Act; a provincial law that dictates only road traffic. Only the driver of the stationwagon would have been effected.

If anybody is interested, I’ll look it up and see what it says about train collisions.

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Not to put too fine a point on it, Andrew, but…

This is Texas, and in most places south of the Mason Dixon line, the County Sheriff pretty much does as he pleases, including hiring whom ever he pleases…the politics of it would require a posting several pages long.

It boils down to most of the rural county Sheriff’s being the only law there is in some places…they are elected officials, and being a lawyer, or even a high school grad isn’t a requirement.
Being a good politician is!
They can interpret the laws in several ways…stuff like this goes on all the time.

Although I don’t know if Canada has a version of the Miranda warning, you might do a little research to find out why it exists…

And you might do a little research on the KKK and its involvement in Southern law enforcement, and check out why they call it Choir Practice…

I have lived down here pretty much all my life, and I worked in Montgomery County for 8 years before I went railroading, and 9 years after I left, I still try to not drive through it after dark…

You would be amazed at what can happen….

Ed

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Since I wasn’t there…

It seems to me that a bit of stubborness on behalf of both parties is probably wht led to the incident getting this far. The local cops not being fully aware of the driver’s licence vs engineer card issue, probably were looking for him to provide somesort of ID, which to most folks is a driver’s licence. When he refused, (and as the story mentions he offered the engineer’s card afterwards) he was arrested, probably after a few words like “no I’m not”, and “I don’t have to…” which don’t help. (forgive the grammer cuz us folks from Texas cain’t read an right so well…probably should give none of us badges, guns or the keys to multi-million dollar aircraft…huh…)

I’m not taking the cops side here, nor the engineers, but the full story isn’t here…Comparing piano teacher to this is the wrong analogy. It more like someone who is tone deaf telling you are playing wrong.

Local cops are always going to have friction with any state or federal officer that comes in to play. It’s just the way it is in the sandbox.

And by the way, I have had my dealings with that particular agency…and I of all people should be the last to defend them…but blasting the local cops, lacking the full story is wrong.

And I do think legal action should be taken, but by the UTU, BLE or FRA, since I doubt that that railroad has the resources to take it to litigation. Not for puntive reasons but for precedent.

Dan