After being tapped twice from behind by the driver behind her, in what was clearly an intentional attempt to harass and intimidate, Girl On A Bike (K.C.) did what many of us can only dream of doing. She pulled out her badge.
Before I get any further, let me explain something to you about a police badge. It doesn't grant you super powers. It's simply a piece of tin embedded with a number. It's not magical. It will not stop bullets. It will not make people do what you want. It will not make you win a fight. I have plenty of friends that always seem to think that because I'm a police officer, I am impervious to assault, robbery & bullets and that I never, ever have to worry about these things. This is not true. If anything, I am more vulnerable. Because instead of just being your average girl, I'm a threat.
The driver freaked out and drove away. On her capital bikeshare bike, K.C. took chase.
I'm not sure why I decided to go after him. I was on a CaBi, in civilian attire, off-duty. Instinct I guess? I did though. I followed him up Kenyon where he had gotten stuck in traffic & the light at 14th St. NW. I guess he saw me coming after him, because all of a sudden his reverse lights came on (he couldn't go anywhere else), and he started driving backwards towards me.
He got away from her, but she was able to get on her radio and give a good enough description to allow other officers to arrest the suspects. The car smelled of marijuana and K.C. thinks they might have been dealers who were lucky enough to get rid of their product.
The driver was charged at the scene with Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (vehicle), Assault on a Police Officer, Fleeing & Eluding, & Reckless Driving. Needless to say, his vehicle was impounded.
Long story short, they pleaded guilty, but not to any vehicular assault charges and now K.C. wants to pack the courtroom for the sentencing.
I think its just as important to show that you can't use your motor vehicle to bully cyclists on the road.
Mr. Harrison's sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 19th at DC Superior Court. I want to pack the courtroom with cyclists. As the victim of a crime, I am able to present a "Victim Impact Statement" to the judge. You better believe that I intend to bring up the fact that I am a cyclist first and foremost, and that this whole saga began when a driver decided to literally push around a cyclist with his motor vehicle. It was just a matter of luck that this cyclist also happens to be a police officer as well. It is Not Okay for drivers to bully cyclists on our streets. His actions were not only irresponsible, but CRIMINAL. He didn't "accidentally" hit me--he made a conscious decision to hit a human being with a 2-ton vehicle. That is assault. These sorts of things have to STOP. I know I am not the only victim of these sorts of attacks. Read what happened to Saul Leikin when he simply tried to assist another cyclist after a traffic accident by calling 911. He was only trying to do the right thing, and he got a concussion for it. This is unacceptable. Drivers need to start being held accountable for their decisions & actions, and punished appropriately.
If you also think this is unacceptable please try to attend this sentencing hearing. Pass the word around to other cyclists.
And so I have.
As an aside, I do get that she had a radio, and so she could contact other officers directly, without going through dispatch, and she has the training to notice the things that matter, like what the driver looked like, not just what the car looked like. I probably wouldn't have the presence of mind to do that. But, count me among those who think that the response was a little more serious because she was a police officer. It would be stunning if it were otherwise. The police have a very difficult, stressful and even frightening job. I never have someone try to run me down as part of my work. Naturally that will create a sense of camaraderie that will drive people to protect one another with added urgency. That's human nature and I'm not going to say that's wrong. The question in my mind is not whether her call was answered with greater urgency, but whether everyone's is answered with adequate urgency.
"felony possession of a firearm, felony fleeing & misdemeanor assault on a police officer"
I'm not entirely sure how the victim impact statement works, but exactly how is the nature of an assault on a police officer something the cycling community should care about?
And the other two charges clearly have nothing to do with cycling.
Posted by: charlie | June 14, 2011 at 07:46 AM
"The driver was charged at the scene with Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (vehicle), Assault on a Police Officer, Fleeing & Eluding, & Reckless Driving. Needless to say, his vehicle was impounded."
Why doesn't this happen when the same car bumps into a regular citizen? Cops, even cops on bikes, aren't that special.
Posted by: Tom | June 14, 2011 at 07:55 AM
hey lawyers...
charged...with Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (vehicle)
Does this set a precedent?
Posted by: wd | June 14, 2011 at 08:16 AM
also curious if it was a black SUV?
Posted by: wd | June 14, 2011 at 08:25 AM
Great post. I am a cyclist who commutes to work every day. I am happy that Girl on a Bike was uninjured and glad the cops caught the perp. There's no way I'd do what she did, though I fantasize about doing that kind of thing. I decided years ago after a near fist-fight with a driver to essentially ignore them. My philosophy now is that drivers are the silverback gorillas, and I am a mere non-silverback, and I need to be submissive when they act aggressively.
Posted by: Michael Roy | June 14, 2011 at 09:13 AM
how is the nature of an assault on a police officer something the cycling community should care about?
Because this all started with an assault on a cyclist. The charge for assault with a deadly weapon (vehicle) was dropped, but can still be brought up at sentencing.
Posted by: washcycle | June 14, 2011 at 09:22 AM
@Tom: I believe he racked up all those charges /after/ he bumped into her (twice). It's unfortunate that he doesn't get hit for the original crime, but (1) it's a plea and (2) it's the less serious charge.
Posted by: Ron Alford | June 14, 2011 at 09:24 AM
@washcycle; "The charge for assault with a deadly weapon (vehicle) was dropped, but can still be brought up at sentencing."
Can it? It is just a charge, and I don't know if misdemeanor assault on a police officer is somehow a related/lesser charge.
Let's say I charge you with murder, but you agree to a charge of weapon possession. Can I bring up the murder charge in sentencing?
I really don't know the answer to this, but my instinct says "no."
You could certainly bring up the nature of the assault -- by vehicle -- but given the heavy charges here are felony firearm possession and felony fleeing -- is the misdemeanor charge going to do much?
Posted by: charlie | June 14, 2011 at 09:36 AM
WOW this is really an amazing story. I really love hearing justice being delivered. Those guys probably harass bikers like that all the time so it is great to see them reprimanded for their actions.
Posted by: Krystal | June 14, 2011 at 09:37 AM
Charlie, yes. The victim can mention any evidence at all. They can mention charges that were dripped as part of the plea and all kinds of evidence that would have been disallowed in the trial.
Posted by: washcycle | June 14, 2011 at 09:52 AM
I think I love you, K.C.
And if you were a man, I'd feel no different. More cops on bikes, please.
Posted by: oboe | June 14, 2011 at 10:05 AM
She makes it sound like it was only luck that she had a radio and knew what to look for. If a regular person used their cell, do you think that the police would come so quickly? (Do they know where the MBT is?) I'd argue that they were more responsive because it was a fellow officer.
Posted by: SJE | June 14, 2011 at 10:32 AM
The concept of showing up (albeit silently) makes sense especially because doing so makes it more likely that the media shows up, which in turn makes it more likely that if judge says something about assaulting a bicyclist, a message will actually be sent.
The problem I have with this is that showing up for a quick hearing is one thing, hanging out at the court all day waiting for the hearing is another. Hopefully we can get some analysis of the probable wait time from Girl on a Bike as the day approaches.
Posted by: Jim T | June 14, 2011 at 10:53 AM
@Jim T:
Flash Victim Impact Mob?
Posted by: oboe | June 14, 2011 at 11:10 AM
I've put the court date on my calendar. I think it's a great opportunity to show the media that this matters to many people, not just one unusual female cop (which is how the public will dismiss it). I think it will have even more of an impact if a large group of cyclists are willing to wait for hours to get heard.
I _get_ that she is getting justice because she is a cop. This sort of thing has been clear to me ever since an article in Bicycling magazine ("Broken") made it clear that the only drivers who were being prosecuted were "drunk drivers" and that a "drunk driver" doesn't have to be drunk at the time of the car-bicycle collision--he or she just has to have a record of drunk driving. In other words, it's the label that matters. The first time I ever read about a driver being prosecuted (around 2005, I think), the driver was drunk AND a hit and run AND was a government official with the job of making the roads safer. Since I've been paying attention, I've seen the rankings go from cop > driver > pedestrian > pond scum > drunk driver > cyclist to cop > driver > pedestrian > cyclist > pond scum > drunk driver. That's what progress looks like.
Right now, however, my concern is not about the discriminatocracy that passes for a court system in this country. Right now I am hopeful that we can take advantage of this opportunity to show that cyclists are people who demand justice (the messed up justice system notwithstanding).
Posted by: Jonathan Krall | June 14, 2011 at 11:33 AM
this morning, i was assaulted by a vehicle on florida avenue while biking to work. i called 911 and the police were there within 10 minutes. considering that i didn't require an ambulance, i'd say that was pretty timely, and i'm not a police officer. seems like adequate urgency to me.
Posted by: IMGoph | June 14, 2011 at 12:22 PM
Sorry to hear it, IMGoph.
Posted by: oboe | June 14, 2011 at 12:41 PM
oboe: thanks. i'm ok. hoping that some kind of charges can be pinned to the jerk in the end, though.
Posted by: IMGoph | June 14, 2011 at 02:42 PM
@IMGOPH - Sorry to hear about your morning.
@Washcycle and K.C. - Thanks for the great story -- albeit a story that K.C. probably would rather have avoided -- I forwarded it on to others. I guess that Instant Karma does sometimes get ya. I will try my best to be there on August 19. At the very least, K.C. deserves support for having gone through all of this.
Posted by: Todd | June 14, 2011 at 06:33 PM
I certainly do not begrudge any "insider" police action in this case but as hinted in the closing, what can the rest of us expect when assaulted by a driver of a vehicle?
In Howard County the police will write the owner of the vehicle a letter and keep track the history. That's a great place to start but still rather sad that it is only in one county that I know of that will at least do something and treat this crime with some degree of seriousness and professionalism.
Posted by: Barry Childress | June 14, 2011 at 09:58 PM