It seems that we read a lot of stories like Jonathan Lieber’s. Long story short: Mr. Lieber, who was being accosted at gunpoint, attempted to flee through the intersection at 13th and Euclid NW, collided with a car, and — after receiving his stitches — was presented with a $50 ticket for causing the accident. Additionally, the police report erroneously placed fault for his split lip on Lieber himself.

But with some new technology, these types of reporting mishaps might soon be antiquated – or at least quicker and publicly reviewable.

Last Friday, Chief Cathy Lanier announced a new accident reporting tool that would significantly upgrade the somewhat antiquated procedures currently in place. An officer responding to an accident would access an application from his or her laptop, enter information related to the incident (including a diagram of what happened), and submit the report electronically. A pilot of the program was started in April – with an expected total installation sometime in mid-2009, with the hopes that reporting time could be slashed in half.