Originally Posted by
brandon98
This. A thousand times this. Presuming this is St. Louis City Proper.
I went to high school with Sam Dotson, the STL Chief of Police. Sam's got enough on his plate with "The Knockout Game", Saint Michael of Ferguson BLM spillover, murder, and general urban decay on the northern 2/3ds of the city; bicycle thieves are right there with complaints about excessive Bosnian BBQ smoke as far as priorities of effort.
Glad you got your bike back and a C-note was the best course of action with a child in tow.
Same in Philly. Folks who think their town standards for emergency response are universal may be sadly mistaken. I've called PPD during physical altercations - no one has come. They don't come out for accidents anymore. A stolen bike? Not on their radar.
I'm not sure what I would have done...I can be a hot head...but OPs course was likely the best scenario.