1nterceptor

""I saw the rope the second before I hit it—I think the word 'sheet' came out of my mouth, and that was it," Wilhelm said. The next thing he knew, he was laying on the side of the road. "My legs were strangely folded. I couldn't lay down, and my whole body was shaking. My friend was panicking, I think. He kept asking if he should call an ambulance. I kept telling him to call, but I couldn't get the word out." A police spokesperson said there was no record of a crime report being filed for the night of May 20th, though he did suggest that the rope was perhaps placed across the road as an accident, a claim which Pupko vehemently denies. He added that another cyclist who witnessed the crash told police at the time that he saw three suspicious looking individuals loafing near the fire hydrant to which one end of the rope was tied, but could not provide a sufficiently detailed description of their appearances."

Read the full article:
Prospect Park Rope Trap Snags Cyclist, Cops See No Crime: Gothamist.

dynodonn 

Hmmm....No You Probably Don't is in charge of investigating a cyclist crash........which amounted to a.. there, there son, the rope was probably put there by accident.

Essex

I feel bad for the rider. Having broken just one rib - man it hurts. I am glad his friend is pursuing this because the miscreants who set up the trip wire will try it again.

vol

They "had completed three loops", so maybe they had passed that spot before but only got trapped the 4th round? Need surveillance cameras everywhere, seems.

Essex

The shots on the article seem to be early evening/dusk. Enough time for a bunch of punks to hide among the bushes and try stuff. When I lived in Park Slope I rode during daylight because I knew punks would come out and try to do stuff to folks. Like jumping them.

Sadly, it's still the Wild West in Brooklyn and will only get worse as summer comes around and juvies will have more free time on their hands.

FBinNY 

This is the identical crime as throwing a brick off a highway overpass into the windshield of a car passing below. That's investigated as a crime, and gets plenty of media attention.

Folks here know that I'm not one who says "woe is me, I'm a cyclist and everybody hates us", but IMO failure to take a crime report and investigate thoroughly is dereliction of duty.

IMO, the OP should bypass the police at this point and take the issue directly to the Brooklyn DA's office. Plus pursue as much media exposure as possible.

There was clearly malicious intent, and if ignored we can expect a repeat.

Realistically, I wouldn't expect that anyone will be caught, but a bot of heat might discourage a repeater or copycat. Also It's important that this is recorded as a crime, so if it happens again that would be a second incident and get higher priority.

BTW- the crime here is not reckless endangerment. There is clear intent to create an accident or injury, so the crime is aggravated assault, or assault with intent (don't know the exact assault laws involved). These are serious felonies and warrant a serious investigation.

vol

The OP?

FBinNY 

I meant the victim, and or any interested party, which I assume would include the OP since he posted, and/or friends and family. While the victim himself is the one with standing to file a complaint with the DA's office, anyone interested can try to interest the media.

Wanderer

Buttttttttt, then the PD would have to report the crime to the FBI and Justice Dept - and their statistics would look worse.....

walrus1

I regularly run at Prospect Park including sometimes in the evening. I cycle it occasionally and have never had a problem besides a couple of aggressive drivers during car hours. I believe that the outer ring is pretty safe in the evening running or cycling you must always be mindful.

Sadly, I'm not surprised by the NYPD's inaction. This is to be expected given they ignore the safety of cyclists all the time and sometimes fraudulently keep crime stats low. Felony Burglary? Pssh it was misdemeanor robbery.


How long ago did you live in Brooklyn? Cause in the 5 years I've been in NYC including the 2.5 years in Brooklyn, Prospect Heights, Crown and much of Bed-Stuy have gotten a lot better. It is certainly not the wild west. East New York and Brownsville maybe. Do kids still do stupid ****? Yeper, but they do stupid **** everywhere.

trailangel

It has happened here in SO CA.. possibly a prank trend. I ride by this spot often:
Motorcyclist caught in duct tape injured in La Cańada - La Canada Valley Sun

Essex

It's better these days - but it's not hugely changed in my opinion. Go below 4th Ave, or move past Bedford. Money has poured into that area of Brooklyn and accordingly more police presence to protect the gentry. As I have the unique pleasure of traveling to some of the worst neighborhoods in NYC my impromptu surveys indicate that when cohorts of rowdies decide they want to travel and cause a ruckus - they will, and they do.

Setting up a trip wire to snare roadies is deadly stuff and I hope the police decide to set up surveillance in the "safer" Prospect Park.

FBinNY 

It's happened before in New York, probably more than once, which is all the more reason to force the issue with police. BTW- it's not necessarilly a prank, or malicious mischief, and the attack may have been an abandoned attempt at a bike-jacking. Odds are they were hoping to snare a solo rider, but chose to quit when they saw his uninjured friend.

Here's a link to the prior incident in NYC last August.

I'm sure that a quick search for "clotheslining" incidents will turn up other similar events.

BTW- this isn't new, it was/is a standard military tactic to intercept motorcycle couriers and the documents they might be carrying.

Essex

I just read the NY Daily News article. Makes my blood boil. If they set up a volunteer group to catch these ___ers I would join. I have cycled that part of the Hudson and it is very, very easy to get ambushed. Plus, these ___ers have easy escape routes into the Bronx where they split up and hide. I also know they think it's funny and for some - a rite of passage/initiation into the gang.

ID'ding can be difficult because it's later in the day and the common tactic for them, should they get caught is to swap jackets, hats, shirt so as to confuse. But not pants and shoes. And what person with a concussion is going to have the wherewithal to remember clothing, or physical nuances.

FBinNY 

You do understand that the attacks referenced there were last year, don't you. But, as I said "clotheslining" isn't new, nor restricted to New York. A quick search brought up incidents in/near Sacramento, CA and other places.

The problem is getting the NYPD to recognize that it's real and serious. I wonder if the people involved with the Brooklyn incident, informed the PD that this wasn't isolated, and was part of a pattern all over the city. Ideally the NYPD can create a separate category for bike jacking/clotheslining in the Comstat system, so a clearer citywide pattern could be seen.

Chris516

The NYPD is not the only metropolitan police department with a malfeasance towards cyclist. There, it is only the NYPD and the New York Port Authority.

Here, In addition to the MPD(DC police). There is:

1. U.S. Capitol
2. U.S. Park
3. Montgomery County(MD)
4. Prince Georges County(MD)
5. Howard County(MD)
6. City of Rockville(MD)
7. City of Gaithersburg(MD)
8. City of Takoma Park(MD)
9. Univ. of Maryland(College Park)
10. Univ. of District of Columbia
11. Fairfax County(VA)
12. Arlington County(VA)
13. City of Fairfax(VA)
14. City of Arlington(VA)
15. Univ. of Virginia
16. George Washington Univ.
17. Montgomery College(MD)
18. Howard Community College
19. Prince Georges Community College(MD)
20. Galludet University
21. Maryland State Police
22. Virginia State Police

While I don't ride on the college campuses. That list is to give an idea of how many potential jurisdictions cyclists' in the DC-Metro region have to contend with. I may be wrong in my thinking. But I think the NYPD has 10,000 plus uniform and plainclothes members in the department. So apart from the New York Port Authority, the 'attitude' towards' cyclists' is just coming from one police department. Regionally, I have to contend with one non-collegiate department or another in the list, at one time or another.

Essex

Love your assumption - I can actually read dates! Still makes my blood boil because I get constant reminders about thugs going out to hurt & rob.

When someone dies from being clotheslined the cops will pay attention. TV coverage would help. At the end of the day - riders need to pay attention to their surroundings and not ride at night in areas rife with people hiding in the bushes to ambush peds. and riders. One of my students got ambushed in the area, but managed to clobber one of his attackers, but in the escape hurt his leg pretty badly.

350htrr

Really? Any body who thinks, let alone says, that a rope strung up across a lane is an "accident" is a moron, ... JMO

FBinNY 

I didn't make any assumptions, which is why I posted this as a question. I only did so because you referenced the old incident rather than the current one.

In any case, there ws more than one incident in NYC last year, and, sadly, we can expect more this year as the weather warms up.

rydabent

Maybe the police should be suspended from duty with no pay until they eyesight improves, and they report a crime.