The Chainlink

car starts to weave into your lane, you knock/bang to get their attention... they are a cop...

I saw a car stoped askew and a bicyclist down when I got to Desplanes and Washington this morning. I recognized the cyclist as someone whom I had passed a bit further back on Milwaukee and who must have then passed me up again when I stopped to fidget with my chain. I was amazed to see a police office already there until I realized that the cyclist was in handcuffs. I didn't actually witness what happened but from hearing what the cyclist was saying and what the officer was telling dispatch on his cell phone and what a witness who did actually see some of this said something similar to the following must have occurred:

The officer was off duty, likely on his way home from work in his own civilian car.

the cyclist was riding in the bike lane on des planes.

The officer was weaving lanes a bit and driving a bit aggressively (according to the cyclist and the witness the officer said he was stopped and not moving to the on duty officer who arrived later but had indicated he was in motion when initially calling dispatch)

A witness showed up who said she saw the cop weaving as he drove and asked if she should stay to give her information the cop told her that he did not need her information and she could (/should) go. The cyclist said he did need her information and she should stay. This was a red flag that caused me to stick around. I got her number on two of my business cards and tried to give the cyclist one. The officer told me I could not give someone who was under arrest anything, I said its just a business card. He took the business card from me.  I told the cyclist I would post something to thechainlink.org so he can locate me if he doesn't still have her info. in the hopes of making this searchable I'm putting his name in the Tags, but I do not know if I have the spelling correct.

The bicyclist says he saw the officer weave a bit into the bike lane and knocked or banged on the car to alert the officer to his presence, the degree of force used for this knock was of some discussion ('a light tap?' 'no, loud enough that he could hear me' - 'he banged on my car hard, for no reason I was stopped')

Clearly blood was running hot, voices were raised but everyone was civil enough.

The cyclist asked what he was under arrest for the officer cited 'reckless conduct' or something vague and could not cite a statute number. The cyclist said he is a  lawyer, threats of lawsuits for improper arrest/detainment were issued.

What a mess...

For what its worth:

I don't think any cyclist bangs on windows unprovoked. Your hand is worth more than the glass and is more breakable, that's pretty clear even when road rage of getting cut off runs high.

The cop probably was tired coming off a hard shift doing thankless work and did not have any patience left.

No damage was visible to the car or the cyclist.

I'm glad no one got hurt, but what are you supposed to do when a car cuts into the bike lane... and its an off duty cop!

If you are the cyclist, and you need the witnesses phone number, call me at: tree one too, cinco quarto tres, eighty seven, 41.

I wrote this up within an hour of what I saw, but I arrived too late to see the events leading up to the arrest and even now my memory grows fuzzy... I wish my gopro hadn't been out of batteries, or that the cyclist had had one. ugh.

Streetsblog article http://chi.streetsblog.org/2015/11/09/cyclist-arrested-by-allegedly...

Most recent Streetsblog article: http://chi.streetsblog.org/2015/11/13/witness-officer-drove-reckles...

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Permalink Reply by Maurice on October 21, 2015 at 1:40pm

No footage and no license plate, as I was momentarily concerned with figuring out whether I (or my bike) had been seriously injured in the rather hard collision.  The coward took that opportunity to run away, as cowards do.

 

Just offering another data point for the people who condemn all slapping or deem it a disproportionate response.

Permalink Reply by Irvin Steinert on October 22, 2015 at 8:34am

That's an interesting example. Just to be analytical: they probably just didn't initially recognize that their actions were potentially injurious do to ignorance combined with inattention/distraction.  At the point of physical interaction finally recognized that they were actually endangering you.

I would love to see some cycling safety awareness public announcements on TV that address the right hook (among other things).

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on November 9, 2015 at 3:57pm

Follow up article on Streetsblog Chicago, "Cyclist Arrested by Allegedly Road-Raging Officer Will File Civil Rights Lawsuit" clears up some of the details previously reported by DNAInfo.com. Good to hear James will be filing a civil rights lawsuit. Sounds like a really frightening experience:

That’s what bankruptcy attorney James Liu, 33, says happened to him on October 14 at around 8:15am, while he was trying to make his way to the office. “As soon as I tapped on his side panel, he immediately started chasing me, driving in the bike lane,” Liu says. “Around Fulton Street he rolls down his window and yells, ‘I’m a f—ing cop!’ I just look at him and shrug my shoulders, and then we continue south at a normal speed.”

Liu says that when they came to a red light at Washington Street, he changed lanes to head east. The uniformed officer then zoomed across two lanes of southbound Des Plaines and stopped his SUV at a ninety-degree angle to traffic, blocking the attorney’s path. “It was a pretty dangerous move,” Liu recalls.

The officer then got out of his SUV and demanded that the cyclist stand in front of the vehicle with his hands up, the attorney says. When he complied, the cop handcuffed him and then called for backup. “I repeatedly asked whether I was under arrest and, if so, what I was being charged with,” Liu says, adding that the officer eventually told him he was under arrest for reckless conduct.

Full Article: http://chi.streetsblog.org/2015/11/09/cyclist-arrested-by-allegedly...

Permalink Reply by Ben R. on November 9, 2015 at 4:10pm

That's a much clearer description of events than were presented in the DNAinfo article and corrects a number of factual errors there as well. Glad to see it written up better. Thanks for posting the link!

Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on November 9, 2015 at 4:18pm

I think everyone who rides regularly in Chicago would agree that this behavior is far from uncommon, especially during rush hour.  It is fantastic they got an eyewitness on the record regarding the reckless driving.

Picture yourself bike commuting downtown on Milwaukee Avenue, the city’s busiest cycling street. After you turn south on Des Plaines Street, the driver of a silver SUV starts edging into the bike lane as he tries to illegally pass other vehicles on the right in his rush to get to work.

Permalink Reply by David Barish on November 9, 2015 at 5:22pm

Carter,  the picture you ask us to paint is one  of the reasons why Go Pro is so popular despite its cost.  It would be worth at least a thousand words. I don't have one but am considering...

Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on November 9, 2015 at 5:35pm
Should have clarified that was from the Streetsblog story, sorry. But really, passing illegally on the right is aggravating/unsettling to motorists as well as cyclists, the root problem here is CPD not cracking down on it.
Permalink Reply by Steve G on November 9, 2015 at 5:06pm

Great to see this! Thanks Yasmeen. (and Ben)

Permalink Reply by Jim Reho on November 9, 2015 at 5:15pm

Police officers have a hard job, and I get that.  However, being a police officer does not give anyone a license to be a bully and a jerk as they please.  This officer apparently thinks that because he is a policeman, he can do whatever he wants to anyone he wants, whenever he wants.  His conduct in cutting through several lanes of traffic and suddenly stopping was childish, irresponsible, and dangerous.  From the facts as given by the highly credible, impartial witness, the officer should at a minimum suffer a suspension from his duties.         

Permalink Reply by James Liu on November 9, 2015 at 7:26pm

By the way, the administrative hearing for this is coming up. Thursday, Nov. 12 at 10:00 am. 400 W Superior St. Room 101. I'd really appreciate a cyclist presence in the courtroom that day.

Permalink Reply by Steve G on November 9, 2015 at 7:33pm

I'm planning on it, and I wouldn't be surprised by a large turnout as there is so much for the cycling community to resonate with. This issue hits on many facets of the experience we have out there, and it's the type of story that can move culture forward. 

Permalink Reply by Steve G on November 13, 2015 at 10:01am

Sorry I couldn't actually make it.

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