NYMXer

On a bicycle ride yesterday, twice a man threatening to kill me cut me off and drove me into the curb. He also claimed to be a police chief. I filled a report with the Village of Goshen Police, but they do not want to act on it. I have pictures of the car, it's occupants and the deposition. This man tried twice to harm me and it needs to be handled appropriately.
The Village of Goshen Police Dept seemed uninterested and actually tried to discourage me from filing a report.
What can I do and to whom can I reach out to?

10 Wheels

Report it to The State Police.

Oldguyonoldbike

If local police won't do anything, try county sherrif's office or state highway patrol.

jefnvk

I'd have called the police right then myself. At the end of the day, it is your word versus at least two other people's, not likely to go too far regardless of what you do.

Probably would have been helpful to have your bike int he picture, too.

corrado33

If the police didn't show up, it essentially didn't happen. It's hearsay.

Sorry.

SloButWide 

You can always try to get a local news station interested, but without injury or sexy video they'll probably pass. If it bleeds, it leads.

Up North

You could call the 2nd Amendment people

bruce19

Call the police immediately. Call the State Police. Go to the local Prosecutor. If you have a friend who is a lawyer, have him/her call the Prosecutor. I mention the friend/lawyer only because you don't want to spend money if you don't have to. I have several of these. Just don't let it go. And, don't be surprised to discover that this "Chief" is a crossing guard or some such. And, if that's true, don't be surprised to discover things like this have happened with him before.

WizardOfBoz

This could be interpreted as an assault with a deadly weapon.

If you are willing and you still have a local paper, go to the paper. They may be able to get the name of the driver, and by asking the cops to answer interview questions they may spark some embarrassment within the PD. Go to your elected officials, too, and get the paper to interview them.

Any official body, if its lazy (or, to be fair, overworked) will try to quash complaints like this with inertia. The pressure point is publicity that affects them directly, and affects elected officials.

A story, told me by a friend, that I think may be true. A cyclist frequently rode a favorite route. Apparently someone with a dog moved into a house on that route. The person could not be bothered to tie the dog up, and it chased the guy a couple times, nipping at his heels. Once, the owner was out in the yard and did nothing to restrain the dog. The cyclist shouted "If you don't keep that dog from attacking me, I'm going to kill it" to the owner. The owner's response was "Flip you!" (I may have the wording wrong here, but the sentiment is correct). Unfortunately for the dog, the cyclist was a former Army Ranger, and had a concealed carry license. The next time he rode by the dog took off after him and chomped his ankle. The cyclist pulled out his Beretta and put a round in the dog's head. He then stopped and called the police. The owner came out and started shouting at the cyclist, who simply said "Wait for the police". When the police got there, the owner was shouting "Arrest him! He shot my dog!". The cyclist merely pointed out the that dog was not tied up, and was on the thoroughfare hundreds of feet from the owners yard. The cyclist then said "Tell the owner if he apologizes for not tying the dog up, I'll not bring charges for the dog biting me". The cop turned to the dog owner and said "He's right. This all could have been avoided if you'd kept the dog on a line".

Not saying that every cyclist should assert their 2nd Amendment rights, but if the police won't do anything, many cyclists will. Better that the police attend to matters like this diligently. Else the new CF bike ads will start bragging "Our new frames all include mounting points for our Rifle-Ace and Pistol-Ace gun mounts!" and cycling discussions will shift from "Dura Ace or Campagnolo?" to include "Beretta or Kimber Custom?".

gregf83 

Let it go. You can't expect anyone to prosecute this. Filing a report is fine in case something happens in the future to your or someone else but beyond that it's just another road rage incident.

gregf83 

Many? Are you suggesting there's ever been a case of a cyclist killing someone for cutting them off? I think that's only in the minds of internet tough guys.

jefnvk

And if there are any in real life, there is a serious problem lying with them, not the driver that may or may not have been acting in a dangerous manner..

FullGas

that police report is awful.

all caps and a million spelling errors...

kevindsingleton 

You don't always have to kill someone in order to use a g*n to defend yourself.

Exaggerate, much?

Jiggle

In Texas, if we are in fear of great bodily injury we can use deadly force in defense and there is no obligation to retreat.

texaspandj

"When the police break the law, there is no law, just a fight for survival" Billy Jack.

cb400bill

Thread moved from General to A&S with 3 day forwarding.

NYMXer

I only signed it, they wrote it and that was after I made three corrections..... and there was only a half million errors, lol

Turns out the guy is a fire police and they really do not want to do more than give him a summons for harassment, with maybe a $50 fine. In the meanwhile, I have a damaged front rim, sore right wrist and a that all means nothing to the cops because he is a fire police.

I wrote to my assemblywoman and she is working on it. I trust she will do the right thing, or at least get the guy to buy me a new wheel.

In his statement, the guy offered no excuse for what he did and could not give a reason to explain his behavior. He admitted that I was far to the right and he had room... Be careful out there people!

JoeyBike

Perhaps the cops read your sig line here?

jefnvk

Fire police?

Is small claims an option? I agree there is almost no chance of prosecution, and even less likelihood of conviction, based on the evidence available. At least there you could recover the cost of the wheel, if the elected officials don't come through.

Hardrock23

So hes a peace officer...and they didnt take issue with him claiming to be a police chief? I know its he said/he said, but still...

NYMXer

Thanks for noticing that, it is a direct quote from a former fellow member here and I thought it was worth hanging onto. I have seen and read worse.

Update, thanks to Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther and her staff, esp Allison for speaking directly with Chief Watt from the Village of Goshen PD, the charges are now "criminal harassment" and of permanent record. This way, should he ever repeat this road rage, it will show a pattern of behavior and they can use this incident to ramp up any repeat offenses. Good job to all who helped, I feel better now. Thanks for all the support and private messages too.

NYMXer

Another update, the news is looking into this to see if they want to do a story on it. I hope they call back for details in a phone interview.

It's all about awareness and holding people accountable for their actions!

10 Wheels

Thanks for the up date.

JoeyBike

+1. I really didn't think you would get anywhere with that. Perhaps you should reconsider a news interview if this is being handled "officially" internally. It's never a good thing to have an enemy who can shoot you and get away with it.
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