Originally Posted by Boomer
I was a participant in a very similar incident, except that I was the cop who took the cyclist to jail. A cyclist in his late 30s was almost hit by a 50-ish driver in a BMW. Road rage ensued between the two...words exchanged, fingers flipped, etc. The driver parked at his destination and the cylcist caught up to him. The cyclist pounded on the window of the BMW and threatened to harm him. When I arrived on the call and got the stories straightened out, I had to arrest the cylcyst for criminal threats (section 422 of the California Penal Code). I did not cite the driver.
This is an entirely different scenario. Once the vehicles stop, and the operators get off/out, it's no longer a traffic incident. As long as a cyclist is operating her/his vehicle, s/he's allowed three feet (in most states) of clearance all around. Anyone who violates that space cushion does so at the peril of her/his vehicle. Swinging an arm while riding when another vehicle encroaches on the three-foot rule, with property damage resulting, is in no way similar to picking a fight with someone who is no longer operating a vehicle.
I'm neither a cop nor a lawyer (nor do I play one on TV), but as a citizen, it's clear that there are no meaningful similarities between these two incidents.