Advocacy & Safety - Court on Tuesday

Well, school starts monday and I'm taking a guy to court on tuesday for assault. Long story short I passed a van in traffic and the passenger in the van wasn't happy about it. He got out and thretened me. Once the light turned green (I was in front of him) I went strait and he took a right. Well I turned around in the intersection (I know, not legal) to get his liscence to report him to the cops. Well, they stop in the middle of the road and a passenger in the back seat comes and starts pushing me as I dial the liscence into my phone. The guy who was pushing me and hitting me is the guy I'm taking to court tuesday. I don't even care if I win because he lives 2 hours away and the court date is at 9:30AM and the courthouse is only about 1/4 mile from my house. It should be an easy win though. I hope he gets a lot of comunity service. Wish me luck.

It should be an easy win though. I hope he gets a lot of comunity service. Wish me luck.

Good luck, and please let us know the outcome! :)

Best of luck to you, Be the Change, and congrats on a courageous stand against this type of bullying. And let me second bac, let us know what happens.

Good thinkin on the phone too.

You are a kind hearted soul -- hoping that he get community service.

I'm not so kind. I hope he gets hard time.

Two words... jail time

Good luck. I think we all are supporting you. Let us know what happens.

Make sure they take away his license, then ride past him as he's waiting on the corner for his bus to his community service project. ;) :D Good luck!

Koffee

Good for you for taking him to court, hopefully this story will make him and anyone he knows think twice about what they do. Or it could make them seek revenge on all cyclists but hey who knows. Seriously though I have reported people to the police before after having stuff thrown at me or being run off the road to make a point. Most of the people on bikes in my area are immigrants who get the same treatment as me but are hesitant to report it, so when it happens to me I feel like I need to stand up. One time after having several bottles thrown at me by a car I stopped and called the police asking them to come out to me and take a report, they would not come out to me but I could come to them if I really wanted to report it. I figured they were just trying to brush me off so I immediately rode over to the station and gave the plate number. Man those kids must have been scared when the police came knocking and I'm sure their parents were not happy as it was probaly their car. I know one of the officers so I know that they went to the house.

Well, school starts monday and I'm taking a guy to court on tuesday for assault. Long story short I passed a van in traffic and the passenger in the van wasn't happy about it. He got out and thretened me. Once the light turned green (I was in front of him) I went strait and he took a right. Well I turned around in the intersection (I know, not legal) to get his liscence to report him to the cops. Well, they stop in the middle of the road and a passenger in the back seat comes and starts pushing me as I dial the liscence into my phone. The guy who was pushing me and hitting me is the guy I'm taking to court tuesday. I don't even care if I win because he lives 2 hours away and the court date is at 9:30AM and the courthouse is only about 1/4 mile from my house. It should be an easy win though. I hope he gets a lot of comunity service. Wish me luck.
BeTheChante-Please trust me, when I say that I am on your side. As a lone time bicyclist, and a victim of road rage assaults from bully motorist, believe me I've "been there". However,don't take this wrong if I ask you a question. In your mind, in your heart of hearts, can you truly say, you did everything you could to avoid a confrontation from the party?
I am a firm believer in pursuing justice in the courts against motorist who assault bicyclist and pedestrians, however one must be sure that they , in their minds, know that they did everything possible not to be confrontational, no matter how "right" you are. does this make sense?

If found guilty take him to civil court. cHA CHING!!

know that they did everything possible not to be confrontational, no matter how "right" you are. does this make sense?
NO!
And until it happens to you, and I hope it never does, I am sure you will not understand the gut wrenching fear that comes with being a victim of a motorist.

Hopefully you have witnesses who will testify that your version is accurate.
Without witnesses it could be tough to prove.

... can you truly say, you did everything you could to avoid a confrontation from the party?
... one must be sure that they , in their minds, know that they did everything possible not to be confrontational, no matter how "right" you are. does this make sense?

I disagree. Being "right" (legally) is all that's neccesary. It's sometimes good to go further out of your way to avoid confrontation, but usually being "right" means that you were following the laws, which has plenty of confrontation avoiding language built in. If you could avoid a confrontation by jumping off your bike and hiding behind a tree, why should you have to do it? I think that is unreasonable.

Indeed, avoiding confrontation, especially doing everything possible to avoid confrontation, seems like a dubious quest. Do things right and any confrontation that you encounter is not your responsibility, nor should it be. Now, I recognize that reasonable people can disagree on what constitutes "doing things right", so I also advocate keeping that in mind. Effective communication is a critical skill to dealing with confrontation, regardless of whether the cause is yours, someone elses, or a miscommunication. But "doing everything possible to avoid confrontation" is, in my opinion, an overreaction to the fact that miscommunication occurs. It's a crippling and suppressing attitude, because, ultimately, "doing everything possible to avoid confrontation" means staying at home on your couch and watching TV all day.

Well, I think I did the right thing. Mostly because when I told my friends from high school how I handled it and didn't even argue with anyone, they were shocked. My friend Ricky said "damn man, you used to ride around hoping something like that would happen so you could kick their head in." I think when someone stops in the middle of the street to fight you and you don't hit them back once it is doing the right thing. The cop said that by "turning back to get his liscence number" I was starting something. That would make sense if these people weren't in a car and could have kept driving instead of stopping in the middle of a road to fight me. And the funny thing is when I said I was calling the cops with their liscence number the driver threw my cell phone into the grass of this restaurant and took down the liscence plate that was in his window. Even after he knew that I was just calling the cops he kept pushing me around. People who want violence get quite confused when they get greeted with non-violence. Thanks for everyone's support. I didn't get any witnesses to write anything up or come to court, I could have but I didn't feel like bothering with it. The guy said he was "really sorry about it" to the cop so he admited guilt already so I'm not worried about it.

The court date is tomorrow right after I have bacteriology from 8-9:15. The funny thing is I couldn't go to the whole class and make it to court on time if I wasn't biking. It's people like that that make me wonder why I'm going in to drug research to help them live longer lives. To bad you can't cure human nature.

Oh yeah, and something funny was that they were hauling christmas trees. Not quite in the Christmas spirit eh? Thanks for everyone's support. I'll tell you how it goes.

Make sure they take away his license, then ride past him as he's waiting on the corner for his bus to his community service project. ;) :D Good luck!

Koffee


lol, really that guy is a major ******* (and yes i sweared) for doing what he did, damn if someone did that to me i would not only take down his plates i would f***** hit him then run hehe :D

Good for you for taking him to court, hopefully this story will make him and anyone he knows think twice about what they do. Or it could make them seek revenge on all cyclists but hey who knows. Seriously though I have reported people to the police before after having stuff thrown at me or being run off the road to make a point. Most of the people on bikes in my area are immigrants who get the same treatment as me but are hesitant to report it, so when it happens to me I feel like I need to stand up. One time after having several bottles thrown at me by a car I stopped and called the police asking them to come out to me and take a report, they would not come out to me but I could come to them if I really wanted to report it. I figured they were just trying to brush me off so I immediately rode over to the station and gave the plate number. Man those kids must have been scared when the police came knocking and I'm sure their parents were not happy as it was probaly their car. I know one of the officers so I know that they went to the house.



you see the kids in the room smoking pot, oh sh*t the cops are here, hide the sh*it hide the sh*it. Then the parents take a way there license and you like ridding by him when the kids on a bike an you stand up and motion kiss my a**. and the guy will cry. HEHE HAHAHA :D

sORRY I HAVE MY BAD SIDE COMEING OUT, HE HAS BEEN CONTAINED. No need to worry everyone. :D

Let me get this straight, this guy made "physical contact" which means he touched you or did he taunt you, and he threw your self phone down on the ground! wow this guy must have eithor been tripping on something, or really insecure. Were you wearing like cycling clothes or just plain clothes. You could also say that they were making fun of you if you were wearing cycling clothes (hehe). But hey best of luck, I have never encountered it, and i actually want to encounter it so i can learn. Oh well.

NO!
And until it happens to you, and I hope it never does, I am sure you will not understand the gut wrenching fear that comes with being a victim of a motorist.
powers2b, if you read my post,you would have noticed that I stated that I HAVE been a victim of assault(s) by motorist. Several times. I have had objects thrown at me, have been yelled at, have had objects, beer bottles thrown at me. I have been run off the road by cars. I am almost 50 years old, and have been riding bicycles since elementary school. I do believe in standing up for your self. I do believe in protecting your self. I carry a can of o.c. pepper spray at all times when I ride. Having said all this, I DO believe that a person who commutes in on a bike should make sure to anticipate trouble, keep your eyes open at all times, and keep looking over your shoulder when riding.I'm talking about survival. I don't react when motorist flip me the finger, or curse at me. Why not you say? Because I ride alone usually. I live in an urban neighborhood. I am outnumbered. They are in a car, I am one skinny ol white boy on a bike. I'm talking about survivial. Got it? But if I am backed into a corner, I will defend myself and f*** them up. And if I get a licence number, and there is a witness, of course I will sign a complaint with the police and show up in court. Got it? Thanks, cheers.

Indeed, avoiding confrontation, especially doing everything possible to avoid confrontation, seems like a dubious quest. Do things right and any confrontation that you encounter is not your responsibility, nor should it be. Now, I recognize that reasonable people can disagree on what constitutes "doing things right", so I also advocate keeping that in mind. Effective communication is a critical skill to dealing with confrontation, regardless of whether the cause is yours, someone elses, or a miscommunication. But "doing everything possible to avoid confrontation" is, in my opinion, an overreaction to the fact that miscommunication occurs. It's a crippling and suppressing attitude, because, ultimately, "doing everything possible to avoid confrontation" means staying at home on your couch and watching TV all day.
Serge, I work at night, and commmute on my bicyle at night. I hardly stay home on my couch and watch TV all day.See my last post, above. Cheers

To (sic) bad you can't cure human nature.

Careful. Statements like that reveal an underlying belief that there is something inherently wrong with human nature (else why imply it needs a cure?). Do you really think that's true?

I think human nature is neither right nor wrong. It just is what it is. We must accept it like we accept gravity.

Believing that human nature needs to be "cured" because some individual behaved inappropriately is like believing gravity needs to be "cured" because an apple fell out of a tree and hit you in the head.

The nature of humans is to survive. In general, humans that respect each other and cooperate with others fare best. That is human nature. What's wrong with that? Just because some individuals make the mistake of not realizing that it is in their best interest to respect and cooperate with others you think something in human nature needs to be cured? No, human nature is fine. It's just that some individuals need to be enlightened about it.

Serge

No, human nature is fine. It's just that some individuals need to be enlightened about it.

Serge

I find this interesting, not sure I agree, but interesting. I feel human nature could use a little curing. An apple falls from a tree by no conscious doing of it's own, in contrast to a person choosing to become physically confrontational. Is that human nature? Survival is one thing, but intimidation is a bit different. Are you implying that human nature is a natural force of nature (like gravity) that cannot be manipulated or effectively controlled? I suppose I'm missing something here (wouldn't be the fist time), and I agree that some individuals could use enlightment, regardless of their nature ;)

Well, what happened in court amazed me. The guy who showed up wasn't the guy who assaulted me. The damn cops got the info on the wrong guy (I believe it was the assaulter's dad)! I mean how hard is it to tell the difference between a 50 year old who is fat and a 20 year old? I'm just in disbelief of the system. I even sat for 4 hours to find this out. Rediculous. But, despite that this is a great day because my friend ricky bought a bike and is going to start bike commuting to his university. I am going to go by the police station later and find out what the name of the guy who assaulted me was and give them an earful. Damn incompitant morons. I can't believe they give these idiots guns.

I find this interesting, not sure I agree, but interesting. I feel human nature could use a little curing. An apple falls from a tree by no conscious doing of it's own, in contrast to a person choosing to become physically confrontational. Is that human nature? Survival is one thing, but intimidation is a bit different. Are you implying that human nature is a natural force of nature (like gravity) that cannot be manipulated or effectively controlled? I suppose I'm missing something here (wouldn't be the fist time), and I agree that some individuals could use enlightment, regardless of their nature ;)

it could be. go ask a physicist.

The guy who assaulted you may have given his dad's name to the cops. You might make more friends with the cops if you tell them they were lied to instead of calling them idiots.

Cops hate that (even more than most of us). You may be able to use this "lie" to pull the cops onto your side. (And yes, I know they should already be on your side, but I'm talking reality here).

it could be. go ask a physicist.

-Thanks Serge...

did you have to pick the person out of a lineup before a warrant was issued for the arrest?

I am a 'jr.' named after my dad. Gov't agencies used to get us mixed up all the time. It's possible that was the case here.

Well, what happened in court amazed me. The guy who showed up wasn't the guy who assaulted me. The damn cops got the info on the wrong guy (I believe it was the assaulter's dad)! I mean how hard is it to tell the difference between a 50 year old who is fat and a 20 year old? I'm just in disbelief of the system. I even sat for 4 hours to find this out. Rediculous. But, despite that this is a great day because my friend ricky bought a bike and is going to start bike commuting to his university. I am going to go by the police station later and find out what the name of the guy who assaulted me was and give them an earful. Damn incompitant morons. I can't believe they give these idiots guns.

Definitely follow through. They probably put the name of the person the vehicle the car was registered to. That is incompetence. You should also talk to the officer in charge and file a complaint against the officer who took the report. Perhaps that'll teach them to get reports right.

Koffee

Definitely follow through. They probably put the name of the person the vehicle the car was registered to. That is incompetence. You should also talk to the officer in charge and file a complaint against the officer who took the report. Perhaps that'll teach them to get reports right.

Koffee
But the kid may have lied to the cop. We don't know where the mistake came from. I still think it's better to present the kid-is-a-liar idea to the police than you-are-incompetent. The first way is more likely to make a friend of the cop.

There are a number of possibilities, it's hard to be sure at this point. Check the facts first before you come down on anybody too hard. The dad could have gone on purpose too, thinking that would be better, who knows? It would be very interesting to hear what happens next! Good luck.

But the kid may have lied to the cop. We don't know where the mistake came from. I still think it's better to present the kid-is-a-liar idea to the police than you-are-incompetent. The first way is more likely to make a friend of the cop.

One huge mistake appears to be cop not checking the kid's ID, in which case

kid-is-a-liar = cop-is-an-idiot.

I find this interesting, not sure I agree, but interesting. I feel human nature could use a little curing. An apple falls from a tree by no conscious doing of it's own, in contrast to a person choosing to become physically confrontational. Is that human nature? Survival is one thing, but intimidation is a bit different. Are you implying that human nature is a natural force of nature (like gravity) that cannot be manipulated or effectively controlled? I suppose I'm missing something here (wouldn't be the fist time), and I agree that some individuals could use enlightment, regardless of their nature ;)

This is way off topic, but here it goes...

Human nature is a force that cannot be altered, like gravity. But like gravity, human nature is a force that can be harnessed.

You say human nature could use a little curing. If you were God, how would you change human nature? And why didn't you in the first place? (beginning to see what I mean?)

Yes, part of human nature is the ability to make independent decisions, like choosing to be physically confrontational, which may or may not be appropriate (you're a police officer, he's a bank robber: physically confrontation appropriate? I think so...).

So how do you "cure" human nature so that people are not intimidating when it's "not appropriate"? Intimidation can also be useful when confronted by a threatening animal, like a bear. Learning when intimidation is appropriate and when it isn't is not a function of human nature: it's a lesson every human must learn on his or her own. When you interact with a human who has not had the lessons, this is not evidence of a flaw in human nature, but a flaw in that particular human. Deciding from such an experience that human nature, which is in all of us, is what needs to be "cured", rather than that particular individual, is throwing out the baby with the bath water.

Since human nature is in all of us, I believe holding negative general views of human nature can infect one's view of humanity as a whole, and damage one's self-esteem, which is why I said "be careful" in the first place. I find it to be a critical distinction.

And I love that Carl Sagan quote...

Definitely follow through. They probably put the name of the person the vehicle the car was registered to. That is incompetence. You should also talk to the officer in charge and file a complaint against the officer who took the report. Perhaps that'll teach them to get reports right.

Koffee
This the first time I've disagreed with Koffee, but you catch more flies with honey that vinegar. Start off with the kid must have lied. You'll furthur no matter how it really happened.

Question: Whould you have been better off just punching the guy in the first place?

Good luck
Joe