ella

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.

kurremkarm

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

Fight the power brotha!

Revit

F*ck The Po Po!

ella

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?

humancongereel

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.

karmical

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


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

Placid Casual

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.

karmical

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...

rvabiker

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.

Martyr

hilarious

filtersweep

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

ella

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.

LóFarkas

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.

chicagoamdream

LoFarkas, I miss the mineral baths of Budapest.

juvi-kyle

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

Joe Gardner

Guys... Language.

red house

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!!

Martyr

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

Martyr

we should all hope we get to choose

joshm

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.

nycm'er

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."

linux_author

obviously: urban ≠ urbane

soyboy

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

YellowFixedGear

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.

red house

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