You don’t see this often from a public official: It’s ‘100 percent my fault’
How refreshing to see this example of leadership and public relations from a top public safety official. It started with a bit of a fender bender Tuesday in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The man above was driving an SUV that smacked into the car in front of him. A passenger in the car that was struck had to be checked out at a local hospital.
Elizabeth Dinan, a reporter with Seacoast Online, wanted to follow-up on the crash because the SUV involved belonged to the Portsmouth Police Department and was driven by Deputy Chief Corey MacDonald. Here’s what she found out:
After crashing a Police Department sport utility vehicle into the rear of a car on Tuesday night, Deputy Police Chief Corey MacDonald accepted responsibility and said the crash was “100 percent my fault.”
MacDonald said there was stop-and-go rush-hour traffic, that he briefly looked away from the road at a statue of a firefighter at the nearby fire station, and when he looked back, the car in front of him had stopped. He said he slammed on his brakes, but could not stop in time.
He said he identified himself to the other driver, gave him his cell phone number and accepted full responsibility.
I could take the cheap shot and say the accident happened because Chief MacDonald was day dreaming about the job he wished he had, but I won’t. Instead, I have a great deal of admiration for the chief not taking the path so many do in these situations.
Instead of admitting that someone screwed up, often you will hear terms like “it’s under investigation” and “we are waiting for the full report” and other excuses to avoid telling people what really happened. The result is the story will drag on for many days instead of those in charge getting it all out quickly and moving on.
While Chief MacDonald may be guilty of distracted driving, his attention to this aspect of his job was right on target and sets an example for his department, the community and others in the field of public safety.
