Can a cop rewrite an accident report 2 months later?

Question

When the origianal report came out it put both parties at equal fault but I was told the cop was rewriting it to show one driver being 90% at fault. If nothing about the site has changed, how can they do this? Also, is there any way to prove if skidmarks on the road belonged to the wreck or were there already?

Answer 1

Cops can do whatever they want. The ARE the law.

Answer 2

No.  Any new information is incorporated on a supplemental report.

Answer 3

Yes...

Answer 4

As a major crash investigations supervisor, I have never re written a report.  I have written many supplemental reports - but none change the findings o the original.  We do not write our original reports until the case is investigated and finished.

Now, skid marks on roadways are not hard to identify.  Skid marks have a life span on the roadway - and it depends on how traveled the roadway is, the weather, and other factors.  You can identify fresh skid marks because they usually follow the path or approach of the vehicles before and after the crash.  Tires will also show signs of having skid or yaw.  

I have been on many crash scenes that possessed many tire marks - some I have and have not attributed to the vehicles involved.  Only the ones that I am sure of are stated that way - the others are noted and documented - but it is not hard to tell if the marks belong to the crash scene or not - an experienced investigator should have few problems in most cases.  We also do not attribute a percentage of fault in crash investigations.

Answer 5

Further investigation may change the officer's conclusions and his decisions on who to charge.

Answer 6

It's likely that the police officer in charge of the accident investigation discovered evidence that he/she didn't know about when the original accident report was written. Once the new accident report is released, you'll be able to see how the officer came to his or her conclusions.