Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Reason # 7,158 why I dislike the police

Coming down the WB foot/bike path there's a cop at the bottom, hanging out in the car. As everyone knows it's a very steep, short path that immediately empties out into traffic. But generally it's not too busy and you can avoid the sidewalk (which it's illegal to ride on anyway) to merge onto Bedford. And the cop is totally blocking the street or any space you would need to avoid pedestrians (like the parade of drunk santas walking home from santacon)

It's a disaster waiting to happen. Beyond the argument for riding fixed, brakeless -whatever here's the conversation: I have to ask repeatedly for him to roll down his window. When he does I explain that he's blocking the street and that it's a very narrow turn and he's endangering cyclists. "So go slower."

I respond again that you can't always control that, especuially if you're inexperienced and that the path is very steep. "Yeah, well that's what brakes are for." Forget trying to explain brakeless fixed gears and williamsburg, so I say again that some riders will have old brakes, that wet weather makes brakes useless anyway.

I point out that people are all over the place and that there is no manuvering room of anykind and that if he stays there, something will happen. "Excellent, thanks." And he rolls up the window again to get me to move so he can continue doing nothing.

Is he overweight?

Yes.

Does he move the car at all?

No.


I can't begin to list the number of times that cops have caused incidents, problems or just harrassed cyclists. Cops on bikes are a total joke; they're fat, slow and only for show anyway. I have NEVER been helped or assisted in anyway by a police officer though I've been in plenty of accidents and such that would have been *GREAT* to have someone help when a car has tried to kill me or someone else.

What are they good for?

Nothing.

**** the man! The man is keeping you down!

Fight the power brotha!

F*ck The Po Po! :p

articulate as ever guys.

does any one actually know if there's any way to be constructive about it? Like complaining to higher level on the cop tree?

that's a good question. one i pretty much never hear asked.

it'd be nice if there were. skepticism makes me want to say there isn't, but what do i know? not much.

does any one actually know if there's any way to be constructive about it? Like complaining to higher level on the cop tree?

for an officer that is parked partially blocking the roadway, come on...


let it go, its not like they rodney kinged' you or something.

Yeah, the NYPD is famous for their open-door policy when it comes to bike advocates.
They open the door to Pier 57, the bus drives in with you in it, and then they close the door again.

Yeah, the NYPD is famous for their open-door policy when it comes to bike advocates.
They open the door to Pier 57, the bus drives in with you in it, and then they close the door again.

all the better reason not to mess with them over bs like being parked in the roadway while on-duty. oakland is no stranger of police beatdowns and shady stuff as well, just have to pick your battles when dealing with this type, and for blocking a roadway isn't that battle, imo, but whatever different strokes...

When you get hit by a motorist running a redlight and the cop that arrives(yes, they typically arrive first) gives you first aide will you stop to call him a prick?...Sure there are prick cops out there, just like there are prick delivery people, prick secretarys and prick bikers, but for every ****** cop there is another who has died risking his life for someone...try not to make generalizations is all I ask.

articulate as ever guys.

hilarious

Is that the best you can do? I thought you had a real complaint.

you guys are idiots.

you don't wait until a cop kills you before you complain. You make a systematic approach, like Transportation Alternatives, and not accept it. I've had about 10 million ****ty run ins with cops, I'm sure everyone has. Does there need to be a rodney king before anyone thinks to do anything?

So no, I'm not generalizing when I say cops are Pr*cks. They are. Of the innumerable cops I've come across through the years and cities I've lived though I've yet to meet that nice guy who delivers first aid, rescues someone or perfoms with "curtesy and respect." They sit for 20 years and get a fat pension. Worthless.

For every ****** cop there is another who has died risking his life for someone...try not to make generalizations is all I ask.

I live in a different country, but the rule of thumb is something like "for every 100 ******s there are 1000 plain useless morons who are aren't scumbags, just too dumb to be of any use whatever, and then there's the one who has died risking his life for someone and, say, 10 who do some work as well."
**** police.

Oh, and I don't want my injuries to be treated by a cop, thanks.

LoFarkas, I miss the mineral baths of Budapest.

Beverly Hills Cop is the ultra jam. Cop shot...Cop Shot, Cop Shot, Cop Shot. Keep shootin my People, we will shoot back.

Guys... Language. :)

WoW man, you guys with your fixed gear bicycles are some bad mo-fo's...Some real gansta's fo' real...Some real hipsta ganstas . . . LAPD -watch ya'self!!

I've had about 10 million ****ty run ins with cops, I'm sure everyone has.
give or take a million or so - i don't mean to brag.
but firstly you're beef is that your descent is partially impeded by a stationary vehicle - with collison avoided.
now you claim to have avoided being plugged by a pig.

i don't know whether to laugh (is this a troll), recommend therapy (i hear that is commonly available in NYC), or suggest you follow your prescription.



but i think you either need help or a hybrid.

cheers


marty

Oh, and I don't want my injuries to be treated by a cop, thanks.
we should all hope we get to choose

ella, since you've seemed to have 10 million problems with cops, maybe it's you and not the cops? have you ever considered that?
I've yet to have a problem w/ cops in my 3 years of cycling everyday in the downtown of my city. and i'm a horrible cyclist, i run stop signs and red lights, cut back and forth through traffic, ride the sidewalks when i need to, etc.
maybe it's just your town is full of ******* cops?
But seems to me, all my bike friends who complain about cops, are total ******s themselves, and talk too much ****, and that's why they have problems.

Ella, I am with you, coming down the WB on the north side path this summer there was one of those one-cop wind-up cars sitting pointed up the ramp. He had his white lights on that were on top of the car, BLASTING up the ramp. I stopped an talked to the guy, I asked that he turn off the overhead lights. He said he was there to protect that ramp and he was going to do just that. I got the same dismissive treatment you did, but stayed with it and asked which of the C, P or R he was acting on; (such crap) did he consider himself a professional acting this way. The whole time he was rather pissed and irritated that I would even stop to bother him. He maintained that he was there to guard the ramp, I kept pointing out that he was really more of a threat than anything he was going to prevent. I brought up that he is part of a community and this was not healthy nor useful outreach. I spent 15 minutes on this guy (much to my GF's chagrin- made us late) and in the end, he saw that he was endangering cyclists, in a supposedly 'bicycle safe' zone, ( the bike ramp) in a town that is constantly threatening bikers. He ended up shutting off his light and we actually shook hands.

Sorry you had such a bad experience, just as there are idiot bikers, there are idiot cops, (just, they get paid to act like that) as residents, I feel it is our responsibility to call out people like the cop you encountered and notify them that they can't act like that.

To quote Steven Wright:
"99% of (cops) give the rest a bad name."

obviously: urban ≠ urbane

but for every ****** cop there is another who has died risking his life for someone...try not to make generalizations is all I ask.

if we want to talk about ****** cops v. cops that died honnorably i'm sure the ******s are way higher in number, it takes a certain type of person to want to be a cop, very occasionally you'll meet a decent cop, my last accident(police report said no fault of my own) the cop kept telling me that it was partially my fault, when i asked(calmly) which law i had broken or what i had done to cause the accident, he basically told me that i shouldn't be riding a bike in the street(as the law says i have to),

back to the deaths, if we look at numbers there are way more innocent people that go down at the hands of cops then there are cops that get shot, i'm sure of this

articulate as ever guys.

does any one actually know if there's any way to be constructive about it? Like complaining to higher level on the cop tree?


Its NYC. If you complain, it gets washed away and lost in the system.
Its dumb but if you want a result, call or write the local news station (fox) to have them look into it.

I once saw a cop on a brakeless track bike, -trackstanding while eating a donut...pretty cool cop he was. :beer:

ella,

don't sweat martyr/karmical. they don't know the situation at the bridge or with the cops here.

filtersweep,

this IS a real complaint. or should she wait until someone comes down that ramp into the cop car? it is a very dangerous thing for the cop to be there, probably doing nothing.

i agree with YFG, talk to someone at one of the news stations. they love crud like this.

on the other hand, i had a slightly pleasant encounter with a cop yesterday. Pink-Panther and i were heading up sixth avenue to the museums when (amidst all those death cones) some gaggle of tourists decided to jaywalk across sixth lane by lane, stopping in between lanes to protect themselves with the cones. they popped out from behind a truck as i was doing about 15 mph (25 kph for redmenace) near the middle of the avenue. i tried to go around them, but there were more of them to follow. i made a huge arc and started to apply the brake (road bike) but not enough, and i went right into a traffic cop. he embraced me as we gently collided. all he said was, "are you all right?" i said "yeah, you?" he let go, and i took off.

my only regret is that i didn't give him a smooch when he embraced me.

you should have given him a little "good game" pat on the behind before taking off.

Ive taken out many of tourists in chinatown just trying to get to work. Canal street gets so bad, people start walking in the street because there is no more room on the sidewalk.

he embraced me as we gently collided. all he said was, "are you all right?" i said "yeah, you?" he let go, and i took off.


I have to admit, this left me slightly flushed and feeling all atwitter. *giggle* OMG! LOL! OMFGZZZZZZ...

I'd suggest starting off by approaching this situation through the public advocates office. You need to make sure that you get car and badge numbers when things like this go down. Yeah, cops will be ******'s sometimes, but they're not gonna change unless they receive adequate perssure from their bosses. Although the public advocate's office won't solve the problem, nobody wants a bad call coming in to their boss from a watchdog group, so its good to pursue that as one angle. Be persistant in working within the lines of politics while being firm, respectful and level headed with officers one on one and you'll find that you'll exact change much quicker than possible by solely complaining to a message board full of like minded individuals. Sorry you had a hard time, now go do something about it so its not as bad for you next time.

Kill 'em with kindness.

It's a disaster waiting to happen. Beyond the argument for riding fixed, brakeless -whatever here's the conversation: I have to ask repeatedly for him to roll down his window. When he does I explain that he's blocking the street and that it's a very narrow turn and he's endangering cyclists. "So go slower."

I respond again that you can't always control that, especuially if you're inexperienced and that the path is very steep. "Yeah, well that's what brakes are for." Forget trying to explain brakeless fixed gears and williamsburg, so I say again that some riders will have old brakes, that wet weather makes brakes useless anyway.

I point out that people are all over the place and that there is no manuvering room of anykind and that if he stays there, something will happen. "Excellent, thanks." And he rolls up the window again to get me to move so he can continue doing nothing.

F*** the police.



You explained, responded, and pointed out, but did you ever ASK the cop to move? It might've helped if you had just done that in the first place. Cops can't be lectured.

Edit: here's me not taking a personal shot at anyone.

Don't generalize all cops like that. They're not all jerks and it doesn't take much thought to realize that. Try to give these people some respect and it'll come right back to you. Blah blah blah, this is not that complicated.

maybe it will help to carry around a little camera to catch these guys in the act and then show it to the Fox 5 Problem Solvers! They've gone after the police before when they've gotten outta line. Hell, they'll go after anybody. Maybe even the cyclists.

The law says you need to ride at a speed safe for prevailing conditions. Bad brakes, wet rims, steep hill, poor visibility, cops blcoking path, or not. It's a good thing you don't drive.

And what are the other 7157 reasons?

For all my fight the man crap im kidding. First, im the other white bread almost 40 fat white guy and 2nd fighting cops is a bad idea.

Go around him or ram him. Talking to him is a waste of time.

this thread is stupid.

Each month there is a community affairs meeting at each precinct. This is a place where fed up people can express problems with police enforcement or lack thereof. From what I know this is a mandatory meeting that the community affairs officer and ranking officers have to attend. Call the precinct for the date and time.

This tactic has been showing promise with the ticketing/deaths/CM issues. Remember, at these meetings they have to listen to you.

next time ask for their name and badge number. let them watch you write it down, and they'll start behaving. there IS a cop chain of command, and it IS possible to put the fear in them.

the moment you start acting cocky about it, it'll backfire.

If this (i.e., cop parking in a dangerous place or manner) is a regular occurance, and you write a formal letter to both police department and city hall, aren't they conceivable (more) liable if someone does get hurt and decides to sue? That's the case here in SF.

If you -- and everyone else -- file something written with problems like these, the NYPD will actually respond to citizen complaints sooner rather than later, since if they don't they'll eventually bankrupt the city.

Any law students want to chime in? I am certainly not one, but I do have relatives working for DPT, Muni, etc.

Bad move. Cops cover their behinds too. If you ask for a name/badge number, they will likely look for a reason to cite you, and tell you that you can get their details off the ticket. It's happened to me before. If you really want to go that route, get the unit number off the car, along with the exact time and date. Then you can make your complaint without the confrontation.

i agree with YFG, talk to someone at one of the news stations. they love crud like this.


ugh... I'd rather deal with a few jerk cops than a over-ambitious self-righteous materialistic vain ****ing TV news journalist/anchor.

Seriously, I've met five TV newsmen from Portland, and I have never before encountered such scum.

Well I just know how stuff works in the second city, but not the first. In Chicago whenever anyone does something dangerous (parks in the bike lane, busts a left during a RED LIGHT) I memorize the plates and model and whip out the cell phone and dial 311. Even though it is the non-emergency number it sometimes rings 911, so be sure to say "this is not an emergency". There will always be a squad car sent to the scene.

Sounds like your situation was pretty dangerous, so tell them so. Concerned citizens are like public servants bread and butter. And for fun times, if you are reporting a cop, don't tell them it is a cop car, just give them they OBVIOUS govt plates (like CHI-1417 or some **** if i recall).

stick it to tha man!

ella, i understand the frustration you're feeling. i think cops are generally decent people, but at the same time they are in a position of power, and power does funny things to people. generally my experiences with cops have been split between getting the total dink who lords his power over you and the guys that don't.

i actually had an pleasant and amusing run in with a bicycle cop the other day. i guess he saw me roll up and free lock my bike to make a delivery and as i was walking to the doors he came up to me and asked me if i had brakes on my bike (no hand brakes on my fixy, for you sticklers out there). since this was a cop i sort of gestured towards the back wheel and said "well, i HAVE a brake..." so he's saying to me how he sees guys with out brakes and how do they stop and stuff. so i basically told him i just use my legs and pay attention and ride smart. he seemed cool with it and left with a smile on his face and told me to ride safe or be careful or something pleasant like that. now that's my kind of cop.

b-ride is right on.

cops in nyc used to be universally cool people (besides the ones in serpico and all). they had to deal with all kinds of crap and still kept it real. then came giuliani, who was actually a great DA at one time. now cops here seem to think they are all above the law.

of course, that is a sweeping generalization, but there does seem to be a systemic attitude along those lines. we suffer because of it.

Being a cop is a tough & thankless job.
Remember, he has to deal with people like you.

yeah, while cops typically make me very uncomfortable, i've had several positive interactions with cops... probably about equal to the number of negative ones. you have to consider how many negative projections cops get from people and how that effects them. if they constantly hear "**** the police" it's just going to make them act in a way that they feel they are expected to act by a population that hates them. it's not usually the individual cops that are the problem, but the system of power.

additionally, good luck explaining to a cop the whole no brake thing, cause that's illegal so really cops shouldn't have to consider if parking somewhere will effect those without brakes. additionally, people that bomb down the WB at a speed that would make it hard to avoid the cop car put others on the bridge at risk, especially if they aren't skilled enough to avoid a cop car.

additionally, good luck explaining to a cop the whole no brake thing, cause that's illegal
Depending on where you live. Check your local laws.

many laws just state something along the lines of, must be able to skid rear wheel.

usually don't mention having to do so with one leg thru frame, over bars, etc.

Camera phone ... snap some pics, mail it to the chief of police.

Woot !

=)

i live in NYC where they recently were ticketing people for not having brakes, as does the original poster