Assault on LFP

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Permalink Reply by dan brown on September 2, 2011 at 9:12am

this is extremely disturbing. little young barbarins attacking a productive member of society.

there are SO MANY things wrong with this picture-it I contemplate it this just makes my blood boil :

 

- the attacked man was contributing to society to make it a better place for all

- the thugs are a drain on our overall society and tax system (sorry for the sweeping generalization here)

- and *who* pays for the (so called) justice system ? : we all do. except the thugs.

 

GD gangbangers make me so sick.

 

glad he is going to be OK though,

 

DB

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Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on September 2, 2011 at 10:01am

"However all in all, I think you should be more worried about the bike ninjas that ride the path after dark without lights and in dark clothing.  Even with lights, it's really hard to see them coming."

 

 I really feel sorry for those kids 10-12 years old, parents don't care and soon they will be locked up.

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Permalink Reply by chixieonfixie on September 2, 2011 at 10:04am

Meg - I would say you're safer as it gets colder.  Attackers will be less likely to hang around when the weather is not as nice, then your dangers will be black ice, etc.  Until it gets fairly cool I would advise like others have to ride with someone else or get home by sundown.  Adjusting the hours to 7-4 as another person suggested is a very good idea in my mind.  I know several people who have been attacked between 31st and 72nd.  I have stopped riding my good bike down this stretch even in broad daylight by myself as of last year.

Meg Matthews said:

So, I've wondered this before and still don't have a great answer. Would love thoughts from others on the south side of the path: I'm a youngish female who commutes along LFP from her new place near 53rd to downtown and back. There will often be times, especially in fall and winter, where I'm coming home late after dark. Most times it won't be past 6:30 or 7, but I do work some late nights where it's closer to 9. It seems silly to let one incident like this dissuade me, but I have a Trek 520 (not slow, but not fast) and am usually moving along with a moderately heavy pannier--so it's not like I can speed off if anyone tries to jump me.

I don't want to care, but I wonder if it's tempting fate? C'mon, all ye south side commuters: tell me that year round cycling on LFP after dusk is no big deal!

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Permalink Reply by Davo on September 2, 2011 at 10:36am

Although I don't have full knowledge of the youth justice system, I feel that they will at most get thown into juvie for a month or so and let out. It is such a shame that kids this young get involved in violence like this and it scares me on what I might do if I ever was in a situation like this. Whenever I hear about these "mobs" (should be read gangs) attacking people for no real gang, it makes my blood boil. If, I ever am involved in a situation like this I imagine myself taking one of these hoodlems down with me and its scary thinking that that might mean a 10 yr old. That said, I hope it never happens. I hope that I would be more worried about protecting myself than escalating the situation.
Mike Zumwalt said:

 

 I really feel sorry for those kids 10-12 years old, parents don't care and soon they will be locked up.

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on September 5, 2011 at 3:32am

Additional/continued attention given to this incident by the media:

 

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/fop-bike-patch-beating-1289653...

 

(don't ask me what "bike patch" is doing in the URL.)

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Permalink Reply by Chuckchuck on September 5, 2011 at 8:30am

I was stopped by this reporter from NBC.  I said that random acts are just that.... random.  There will always be kids acting out violently. But it is not in the interest of NBC to promote that we are all pretty safe except for a couple of random acts.  We may all get out and turn off the TV set.

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Permalink Reply by Meg Matthews on September 5, 2011 at 8:56am

Thanks, Paul! I think that makes sense. I've been riding the path for a month now and haven't had any trouble with teens in broad daylight, so I'm not too concerned about that...no more than I would be anywhere else in the city, you know? 

Look for the girl on the dark green '04 Trek 520 with ridiculously big black panniers. :)

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Permalink Reply by Jason W on September 6, 2011 at 9:58am

Too true Chuck!

 

Also, the FOP union rhetoric wants you to believe the 1000 or whatever extra cops they want is really going to make a difference. It's a police force of ~15,000 in a city of 3 million people. Maybe a 3rd of the cops on duty at a time. I let you do the math...

Chuckchuck said:

I was stopped by this reporter from NBC.  I said that random acts are just that.... random.  There will always be kids acting out violently. But it is not in the interest of NBC to promote that we are all pretty safe except for a couple of random acts.  We may all get out and turn off the TV set.

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