Allen

I just received a golf ball between the shoulder blades. It took me down, no real damage to me or the bike, but still. I called the cops who acted like I was wasting their time. They said without a witness there is not much I can do about it. What the hell? I got a partial tag number and the make and model of the SUV (of course it was a SUV, a proper red neck would not have done such a thing, nor be caught in their mom's soccer car).
Unbelievable. One can only hope they have a hunting trip with Dick Chenney sometime in the near future.
--A

Blue Order

If it had been a gunshot instead of a golfball, would these cops have said "without a witness there is not much you can do about it"?

Yeah, I just love lazy cops. They are so worth their pay.

What state do you live in? In Oregon, you can prosecute your own traffic citation.

Allen

I'm in rural Georgia. Although our current crop of cops is vastly superior to our last sheriff's bunch, lazy seems to still be a defining trait.
--A

Blue Order

I'll see if there's anything in Georgia law similar to the Oregon law and let you know what I find.

Allen

Blue,
Mighty kind of you, thanks.
--A

oboeguy

I almost got hit by a baseball. For some reason despite the large amount of space not including the Hudson Greenway's MUP, some kids were playing catch across the path. Reeeeeeeeeal smart (not), but not malicious at least. AllenG, what happened to you is pretty messed-up. You should have recovered the golf ball to get some finger prints... like the cops would care. Cops like that give the whole profession a bad rep. I've heard that "no witness, no nothin'" excuse before... maybe it's all cops?!?

ken cummings

Don't you believe it about gunshot! I was ssetting up a rest stop on a 150 mile ride when the first two riders rolled up. One complained about what he had first thought was a bee sting but his whole arm hurt and it was bleeding. I checked him out and found an air pellet sized hole in the skin of his bicep and a lump under the skin on the other side of his arm. Quickly all the gear out on the ground for my partner to deal with and biker and bike into car. Down the road 25 miles to the clinic. They agreed. Shot by a gas powered pellet gun. Doc would take almost an hour to drive there, Cops got there first. Cop took statements that the two had heard boyish laughter at a corner two miles from the rest stop. Cop also recorded the pellet cut out of the arm and took it in for tests. Swore that any teenager stopped for anything else for a long while who had a pellet gun would be given a very hard time. The cyclist said that if this had happened at home no one would think anything about it. "Why" said the cop. "I live in East LA." I took him back to the rest stop and on to the finish later. Harrassing tourists was treated seriously in that area.

supcom

I wonder what the cop would do if his kid came home with that story?

BitterCoconut

Just want to share an experience I had with a golf ball and a cop.
Got hit by a golf ball riding next to a golf course, golf ball knocked me out, I wrecked and my bike was destroyed by a passing car. The guy that ran my bike over had expired insurance, but agreed to pay for my bike since he had plenty of time to stop before hitting my bike. Called the driver several times, but the driver decided to go to jail instead of paying for my bike. The police officer that took the report purchased me a new bike and arranged for supplies from a LBS. Not all cops are lazy and bad.

Blue Order

Excellent story. I wish all cops would at a minimum just do what they're paid to do. The cop you ran into went above and beyond, and you're right to remind us not to tar them all with the same brush.

GTcommuter

I ride along side to two golf courses every day. I keep waiting for this to happen to me. Not out of malicious intent, but just playing the odds of eventually getting a stray drive to the helmet.

jyossarian

Aren't you allowed to take the law into your own hands when the cops don't want to do their jobs? Charles Bronson did it in the Death Wish movies an he never got in trouble...

chimpunk

How odd, I too commute past two golf courses every day..... This is quite interesting

Dinstee

Hate to hear that you got hit intentionaly. Glad you're ok.
I tend to ride faster and "tighter" when adjacent to golf courses. Maybe it's because I know how many balls I've sliced or hooked into the street.

curt in denver

I ride through two golf courses on a regular basis, so I have thought about this happening. Never considered some jackass throwing one from an suv. That totally sucks.

Allen

Actually I was nowhere near a golf course, it was from the arm of a teenager looking for some target practice. And now that my temper is no longer sore (and my back won't be tomorrow) I feel guilty about venting on the cops. I mean, malicious teenager is basically bottom of the rung, no matter how you look at it.
Oh on a good note, I got a new odometer at Christmas, today it turned 1,000.1 miles.
--A

slagjumper

Pittsburgh has a golf course in the city. There are a few park roads that run through the course. On two hole they have to shoot over the road. To make one hole, I've seen golfers try to hit the road so that the ball bounces up to the green. Once a ball bounced about 2 feet in front of me as a golfer was trying to do the bounce. I was pissed. Of course no one bellowed, "FOUR". I stopped and the two golfers came lumbering to the street. I shrugged my shoulders and asked why they didn't yell four, and one of them said, "the sign (on the road) says 'Golf Course, use at your own risk'". To that I responded, "wrong answer" and dropped the ball on the roadway causing it to roll several hundred feet.

As far as the OP's story-- Often it seems like the cops do nothing without a license plate. Around here they call that crime something like, "hurling a projectile", and is serious.

Blue Order-- your story seems interesting. Of course not all cops are idoits, but judging by the generocity of the one that you encountered, perhaps he was gay. Just kidding. With a name like "Blue Order" I figgured that you where a cop or something.