Comment Re:Sue police department, this is routine procedur (Score 1) 463
This particular officer probably didn't break any criminal law. You could argue "reckless driving", but reckless has a very specific meaning in law. The fact that the driver's vehicle continued in a straight line as the bike lane curved suggests that he wasn't any less careful than many people are on a regular basis. "Reckless" requires a wanton disregard, a level of carelessness well beyond what a reasonable person would do.
Nothing suggests he was reckless, but I'd say there's a pretty good case for criminal negligence which can also lead to a manslaughter charge. Unlike recklessness, negligence is a passive failure like not yielding, halting for a red light or in this case, failing to keep your car in your lane. They're duties you take on when you get a driver's license and operate a motor vehicle, just like a doctor can be sued for malpractice for missing obvious clues about what's wrong with you. You can't just run people over and say "Whoops sorry, it was an accident" and get away with it.