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 Ben R. on October 16, 2015 at 12:47pm
I'm Not a lawyer.
I Certainly if you willfully damage someone's private property that would be a crime. But in a case like this it seems like 'self defense' would be a pretty valid counter argument. If someone neglectfully crashed into you and injured you, that would be a crime, or just 'an accident' depending on the judgement of the legal system. If you and the car make contact, I think that could be 'an accident'. The fact that your arm which is less a than 3 feet could touch their car signals that they were driving closer to you than the law allows and that would be a crime for them - and help establish blame in the event of an 'accident' I would love to be a fly on the wall for how this whole thing plays out in the courts.

Does anyone who knows more care to weigh in?
Permalink Reply by Steve G on October 16, 2015 at 12:50pm

I'm saying tapping, and by anyone, a pedestrian or a cyclist. I just find it hard to believe that the act of touching a vehicle in a way that doesn't damage it could be against the law.

Permalink Reply by Ben R. on October 16, 2015 at 1:00pm

I tend to agree, I'm sure there's a fancy Latin legalese for 'no harm - no foul' and that's why I circled back after I had left the scene to get the pictures. They were more about providing documentation that the car/suv was not damaged by the cyclist than about creating a chainlink post.

Permalink Reply by ad on October 16, 2015 at 1:48pm

Laws are never applied robotically, and there's a lot of discretion built in.  If you go up to a guy on a street corner and tap his shoulder to get his attention to ask directions, you've technically committed a non consensual touching that you could make fit within the core elements of a battery.  No cop in their right mind is going to arrest you for battery, however.  

None of us actually saw what happened here, but Liu and the one witness that did suggest he tapped the car to solely get the driver's attention.  I'd say that if a cop was driving along and had happened to witness that type of conduct at random (assuming the description was accurate and the cyclist didn't punch the car in anger), the cop likely wouldn't have arrested the cyclist for disorderly conduct.  I'd argue the cop's discretion ended up tipping to arrest solely because an off-duty cop was involved, and that's were things start to get improper.       

Permalink Reply by Ben R. on October 16, 2015 at 12:10pm

Michael B, That is a terrifying story and I'm glad no harm came to you from it. I think that that rage feeling that we 'should' or need to slap the car's mirror or knock on the window is very similar to the rage feeling that the motorist feels when it happens. The incident that made me move away from the behavior of reaching out and striking a car as it threatened me and shift to 'the death scream' approach was a few years back in another city. A car that made a left turn too wide at a T intersection and nearly squashed me into a parked car. I tapped on the rear windows at the time and the motorist proceeded to later aggressively drive at me threatening to kill me. I had to shout my retorts back while trying to evade. They were surprisingly good for the situation I think. I remember saying something to the effect that if he was that angry for me simply touching his car, he should think how angry I was that he actually did nearly kill me a block back. He then backed down. Not every bad driver we are going to encounter on the road is an off duty police officer or someone with a gun to point, but every single one of them is driving 3-4 thousand pounds of metal and capable of doing us serious bodily harm. For whatever reason, once road rage sets in, they're probably not going to be good at controlling their reactions or thinking clearly and we are the ones who are more likely to suffer the most.

We are out there vulnerable and unprotected, when we feel threatened, however 'unfair' it is, and no matter how 'in the wrong' that motorist is, the better response is to brake as hard as conditions allow, get out of their way and yell and scream like you've just been killed. The reason is that it de escalates the situation. It alerts both the motorist and other nearby people that you are there so they look up and pay attention and become witnesses to what follows. It puts you on a moral high ground, that you are being attacked/ meanaced/ threatened and you are not the instigator or aggressor in the situation. And, I think, it probably has a better chance to cause the motorist to not get their hackles up which leaves them more open to thinking about what just happened, and that they almost did something that they would have a hard time living with and that maybe they need to change their future behavior.

I'm not arguing that its fair, or just, or instinctively our first reaction, but I think it is the most effective reaction. I understand Banging on the car feels right in the moment and it is certainly better than getting run over. However, the best response I've come up with is screaming and keeping both your hands on the brakes - hard. Even though that sucks.

Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on October 16, 2015 at 1:56pm

Outrageous on multiple levels.

First, there's the fact that the driver in question was breaking two laws; driving in a bike lane, and then violating the 3 foot clearance rule.

Second, by all accounts the cyclist was operating perfectly lawfully - until being violated.  An off duty cop should not be able to break the law and then arrest the victim of his aggression.  I can't fathom how slapping a vehicle in a bike lane is illegal, even if it isn't ideal (it is usually an act of desperation in my experience).

About 10 years ago I was biking near LP Zoo when some joker approaching from the other direction tries to make a U turn in the middle of a block, basically almost T-boning me in the process.  

Then he actually has the nerve to yell at ME, as if I should have just stopped to allow him to continue his slop move that turned into a clumsy 3-point turn. 

So I yell back. With gusto.  He catches up with me at the light and angrily informs me that he is a cop.  To which I responded that being off duty that seemed perfectly irrelevant and he wasn't entitled to break traffic laws.

He looked at me stupidly for a second with steam building in his ears and then when the light changed he floored it, presumably in some sad effort to salvage his macho pride.  What I take from all of this is that CPD needs to do a *much* better job of training their officers.  Off duty means off duty, unless you're stopping a crime in progress - as opposed to committing one.

I hope they throw the book at the cop in this case, there is no way he should be behind the wheel of a vehicle, much less in possession of a firearm.

Permalink Reply by Steve G on October 16, 2015 at 1:58pm

Well said, Carter!

Permalink Reply by Jeremy on October 16, 2015 at 3:24pm
Permalink Reply by Mike Schwab on October 16, 2015 at 3:36pm

They even had an off duty cop beating up a waitress in a bar on video.  They weren't going to prosecute until the video was broadcast nationwide and they had to.

 http://abcnews.go.com/US/chicago-police-found-guilty-covering-barte...

Permalink Reply by Maurice on October 16, 2015 at 4:14pm
Anita Alvarez bends over backwards to protect crooked cops. She's got to go. Vote for Kim Foxx in March.
Permalink Reply by Bret on October 16, 2015 at 7:38pm

I personally would never tap on a car.  I'm strongly pro cycling.  I'm very anti-car.  Still, I would never touch someone else's car.  I've been car free for over 3 years.  During this time I've done a lot of walking and cycling.  I've learned to avoid conflict in any way possible.  You never know who might be in that car or what their intentions might be.  It's better to just maneuver around them if possible.  If you have to slow down or change course, it is still better than getting into a fight.  I think we have an epic battle against the car but it's not going to be won in the streets.  It's better to support groups like active trans through donations, start petitions, and work through the political process in a civilized manor.  Just my .02

Permalink Reply by SixtyTwoPercent on October 17, 2015 at 7:50am

So...where are we on this? Did the cyclist file a complaint/charges? Has the cyclist shown up on this board (I scanned the seven pages of posts and don't see where he did)?

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