thumpism

Excerpt from a comment by Gayle King on CBS This Morning during a report on a cyclist who tried to take from flyers from a kid and mom on a DC area MUP. You can Google the clip before I can find it (aired mere moments ago). Gayle was saying that the helmeted and Lycra-ed cyclist could probably be identified by his clothing by someone seeing the clip. The guy also evidently rammed the cameraperson with his bike while making his getaway. Fun times, no?

livedarklions

Doesn't look like an off-duty cop at all, amirite?

Litespud

from the video it looks like his bike has Campagnolo shifters - so, a discerning thug 😀

livedarklions

Seriously, how big of a scumbag is he? That's a little girl he assaulted.

I'd hope anyone on BF who recognizes him will come forward.

indyfabz

If you watch the video, linked to in a thread in Road, you can see he has noticeable moobs.

livedarklions

Too many donuts.

livedarklions

Video is linked here:

towleroad.com/2020/06/viral-video-shows-white-bicyclist-assaulting-young-women-over-black-lives-matter-fliers-watch/

Watch him as he boldly grabs the arm of an 11 year old girl and wrests the clearly dangerous pieces of paper from her hands.

This guy needs jail.

indyfabz

trailangel

Someone will recognize him. Scumbag.
But I gotta tell you... he's got some nice Hooters.....

indyfabz

Paper can cut you bad. And it covers rock.

taco2ewsday

How bothered are you by a flyer that you stop your ride to engage and harass a little girl, now I want to know what was on that piece of paper

indyfabz

As I note above. First thing I noticed about him when I saw the video. NTTAWWT.

livedarklions

Blurry picture of bike

Anyone able to identify what he's riding from this?

skidder

Not sticking up for the perp, and I'm not familiar with the area (I'm on the west coast), but does the area get a lot of flyers put up on post/fences/walls/etc? Things like that can make an area look really trashy really quick, and cops just give up trying to enforce any ordinances on posting signs. I've got a utility pole outside my house that gets all kinds of signs posted - lost cats/dogs, cars for sale, garage sales, band appearances, real estate sales (weeks-old signs) - it gets annoying.

indyfabz

Almost looks like cursive on the downtube. Rodriguez ti? You know how ti bike riders are.

nomadmax 

I'm with you, he needs to be in jail for sure. Moreover, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to hook him up on a civil rights violation. They weren't doing anything to him, just exercising their right to have an opinion and speak out about it. With any luck, he'll be caught, tried, convicted, jailed and manhandled while he's in there.

Here's the trouble with that; he's not empowered to enforce any regulations or statutes and even if he was (and on duty), all he could do is write summons to the parents. He would have no right to forcibly take something from a juvenile's hands.

Some things can't be explained away or justified.

indyfabz

Then what, exactly, are you trying to convey?

livedarklions

Yeah, sure, so annoyed with littering I want to assault a little girl.

Seriously????!!!!!

Litespud

Bethesda’s an upmarket suburb of Washington DC (i.e., no-one’s concerned about their property values taking a dip) and the incident occurred on a bike path. How annoying would fliers have to get to justify terrifying and assaulting a little girl?

indyfabz

Uncorrect. Actions like this by private citizens cannot form the basis of a civll rights claim. You need government action (e.g., police action) or something like the actions of an employer that amounts to discrimination.

thumpism

I had to leave for an appointment since the original post, but here's some more. Did not realize a thread already exists in Road, but my immediate impression from what I saw was Gayle (not my favorite talking head) King's comments about the guy. Hat? Little shorts?

https://www.mymcmedia.org/police-sea...t-in-bethesda/

CBS did mention that the girl was posting about the current protests, and I can see how littering might be a concern for users of the path but the guy seems to be a bully at least and, since a bicycle is legally a vehicle, he could probably also be charged with hit and run for striking the cameraperson. Not a lawyer, but there seem to be lots of interesting legal aspects.

That is all.

nomadmax 

You would know more about it than me, so I defer to the knowledge you got in law school. That said, the crux of what I'm saying is that's unacceptable conduct and it can't be justified. Maybe it could be construed as hate crime?

While not a lawyer, I did spend a career that had me in the courtroom frequently and we both know when a case gets special attention a defendant can be charged with darn near anything. What they plead to or are convicted of is another matter. I might be a little sensitive to this kind of subject because part of my job I retired from was to ensure that citizens had the right speak out and protest peacefully; even if their focus was on my profession. I could never burn a US flag except in accordance with old flag destruction policy. However, I have protected the rights of people to do so because I believe our freedoms supersede the emblem of those freedoms.

indyfabz

Extremely doubtful:

https://www.oag.state.va.us/programs...ves/no-hate-va

The federal hate crimes law is similar.

Still, it was wrong and, IMO, criminal (assault).. Just wanted to clarify what you need to establish a civil rights violation.

MattTheHat 

Yeah, I'm sure he was worried about a cluttered utility pole. (/sarcasm)

dedhed

Cyclist assaults child.