Judge throws out most of case against RVer after NPS rangers act like Keystone Cops

A series of bumbling mistakes and misjudgments have led a California judge to toss out multiple charges against an RVer. In what could easily be described as a situation where National Park Service (NPS) rangers acted like Keystone Cops, the RVer spent a year-and-a-half in jail, as well as losing his motorhome.

Dark night at Rodeo Beach

It all started out on a dark night in January 2022. Pichino Casey, his wife, and 1-year-old daughter were heading home to San Francisco in their Class C motorhome. Pichino Casey says he was feeling dizzy, suffering from a case of COVID. Worried he couldn’t drive safely, he pulled the rig over at Rodeo Beach in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area a couple miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Series of fumbles show NPS rangers acted like Keystone Cops

Some time later, a National Park officer pulled up behind the Casey family’s RV. Bodycam audio allows you to hear the sharp banging on the door made by the officer. A few seconds later, he pounds on the rig again. Inside, Casey, not knowing who was banging on the rig, slides into the driver seat and pulls away. It’s clear from the audio the officer never identifies himself. The first law enforcement error has been made.

The officer flips on his emergency lights and tells other responding officers, as recorded by the bodycam, “I knocked on the door, went, ‘Hey police, come out.’ He turned on the RV and started driving,” the park ranger said. This second “error” on the part of the first officer puts other responders on edge.

Responding to the emergency lights, Pichino Casey pulls the motorhome over. He rolls down the window only low enough to be able to converse with the park rangers.

Did RVer make bomb threats? That’s what the sergeant says

At the traffic stop, a ranking park ranger, a sergeant, calls dispatch. She gets word there’s a $7,500 warrant for Casey, issued by Pacifica, California. What’s the warrant for? “148.9 alpha and pc 148 alpha 1”, responds the dispatcher. The charges are providing false information to police and resisting. Both charges are misdemeanors, for non-violent crimes.

But here’s another major foul-up. The sergeant gets the numbers mixed up, and tells the other officers that the warrant for Pichino Casey is for making bomb threats. This obviously casts Casey in a much more dangerous light.

A “through the window” argument ensues between the sergeant and Casey. Casey tells the officer he’s settled that matter. Casey’s wife backs him up, telling the sergeant that she paid off the warrant.

RVer makes a bad decision, and things get even worse

It’s at this point that Pichino Casey makes a bad decision. He starts up the engine, and slowly drives away from the group of park rangers. Casey recently told local news media that he regrets what he did, but he panicked when a ranger reached for his rig’s door handle.

The situation only goes from bad to worse. The Caseys’ motorhome approaches a single-lane tunnel. Park rangers pull long-rifles and point them at the motorhome, but it simply rolls on past them. Another park ranger tries to deploy spike strips. But instead of getting the spike strips in front of the motorhome, they don’t make it, and the Casey rig rolls on past this point.

However, a pursuing park ranger in an SUV does meet up with the spike strips. His rig is temporarily disabled with a flat front tire.

SWAT team leader weighs in

According to a retired SWAT team leader, Travis Norton, who abc7news.com consulted with, the series of goofs on the part of the park rangers just got worse. Going from failing to clearly tell a vehicle occupant that they are the police, to misinforming fellow officers of that fact, and then accidentally inflating the potential charges against a suspect, things were out of hand. “We don’t chase people for misdemeanor warrants,” Norton told the outlet. “The risk versus gain analysis is just not there. What are we gaining, and what are we risking?”

But the next trick was the icing on the cake. Norton, who now teaches for the National Tactical Officers Association and as a police procedures expert in court cases, said park rangers were out of line in their next procedure. They come in from the other end of the tunnel and tried to block the roadway with an SUV. “We don’t block anything, because that is, that’s dangerous,” Norton tells abc7news.com. “You can cause crashes, and in fact, it does in this set of circumstances.”

“[T]his set of circumstances” played out this way. As the Caseys’ motorhome rounds a curve in the tunnel, Casey spots the blocking SUV. He says he tried braking, but it was too late. The audio portion of bodycam footage records a horrendous noise from the tunnel. The family’s RV sideswipes the blocking SUV, then gets stuck in the tunnel, right along with a car full of folks coming from the other end.

“Your hands drop, you get shot!”

Retired SWAT team leader Travis Norton says the next move should have been de-escalation. Instead, a park ranger with a long gun stands in front of the RV’s windshield and shouts, “This car moves, you get shot. Your hands drop, you get shot!”

The Caseys are yanked out of the motorhome, their little girl is slightly injured in the incident. Pichino Casey is assigned a plethora of charges. They include Evading a Peace Officer with Reckless Driving, Child Endangerment, Vandalism, Hit and Run, Driving without a Valid Driver’s License, and Resisting a Peace Officer.

Judge dismisses majority of charges

After a year-and-a-half in jail, Pichino Casey has his day in court. Charles Dresow, Casey’s attorney, told the court that under state law, U.S. National Park Rangers are not “peace officers.” As such, they had no business in attempting to enforce a state court warrant.

The judge agreed, dismissing the majority of the charges. A jury later convicted Casey on two charges: Child Endangerment and Driving Without a License. He’s now on probation.

And one final insult-to-injury

Pichino Casey regrets the mistake he made in pulling away from that traffic stop. He also regrets the added insult-to-injury in the case. Park Rangers demanded his motorhome be held for evidence in the case. Pichino Casey wanted it back. The impound company had its own moment. It destroyed Casey’s RV by mistake while holding it.

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