Father’s Day Deadbeat stings a month early and two wheels short

09 May, 00:50, by John Meyer Tags:
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Bicycle Awareness Month brings controversy : News : KTVO3

The Fairfield Police Department declared May “Bicycle Awareness Month” and have been writing up violators.

Fairfield Police Chief Julie Harvey says a number of factors led to this decision.

She said the city council received written complaints, many business owners complained to the police and there were also some bike accidents involving minor injuries.

“The whole thing is to make everybody safe. We don’t want to get a bicycler hurt. We don’t want to get a pedestrian hurt. A bicycle is just not going to win against a car. The whole goal is to make everybody safe,” Harvey said.

Right, Chief Harvey. I won’t doubt your motives for right now. But the biggest danger to bikes isn’t bikes; it’s cars. Where you are writing tickets to drivers for passing too close or throwing stuff out of their cages at the bicyclists like a monkey flinging feces isn’t shown in the article.

NYPD officer guilty of lying, not guilty of assault and harassment

29 April, 23:21, by John Meyer Tags: , , ,
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NEW YORK — A former city police officer was convicted Thursday of lying about a clash with a bike-riding activist, as seen by millions of YouTube viewers, but was cleared of assault and harassment charges.

Jurors delivered their verdict Thursday in the case against Patrick Pogan, whose trial underscored tensions between the city’s police and a group of pro-cycling demonstrators and highlighted the growing prevalence of witness videos in law enforcement.

Pogan initially reported that cyclist Christopher Long steered into him and knocked him down in July 2008 in Times Square, but a tourist’s video posted on YouTube contradicted Pogan’s account. The video, which garnered millions of views, showed Pogan making a beeline for Long and knocking him off his bike.

From: The Associated Press: NYC ex-officer convicted of lying in YouTube clash

From the sound of the verdict and the cross-examination of Christopher Long this sounds a lot like a compromise between jurors who wanted Mr. Pogan punished and those who couldn’t stand the pot-smoking, bad driving, generally bad attitude of Mr. Long. Do I disagree with the verdict? Yep. I think it’s rather illogical; if he didn’t lie then he didn’t assault. But perfect justice is something that’s rare in this world. If Mr. Pogan never wears the badge of a cop anywhere in the world ever again, I can live with that.

This wouldn’t pass journalism 101

26 April, 14:02, by John Meyer Tags: , ,
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Beautiful, successful, strong Christian … and in big trouble | StAugustine.com

From all outward appearances, the Andrea Lee Zampatti, 37, of Canton, Ga., now being held without bond in St. Johns County jail on multiple crimes, is a beautiful, energetic and prosperous businesswoman with long experience in networking and a real commitment to her Christian beliefs.

And nary a word about the people that she slammed through. This piece is pretty much insulting to everybody. First off, what the hell do her looks have to do with anything. She injured four people, drove through a patrol car, and led police on a chase. If she had been so ugly her mamma had to tie steaks around her neck sot he dogs would play with her would it have made a difference to the victims.

Here. Let’s take a look at a slightly more objective piece at what this woman did:

ampatti’s vehicle, a cream-colored Range Rover, matched the resident’s description. While deputies were trying to find her, they got another report of a hit and run crash involving a bicycle.

Howard said Zampatti struck the bicyclist, a man, who was struck in the 1200 block of State Road A1A Boulevard. He was later airlifted to Shands in Jacksonville. The names and conditions of the victims were not released Friday.

FHP said that witnesses told them Zampatti was smiling after she hit the bicyclist.

Zampatti then fled to the Palm Valley Road roundabout near a retail center.

“One of our deputies attempted to make a traffic stop and she pulled over,” Sheriff’s Office spokesman Kevin Kelshaw said.

“And then she put it in reverse and plowed into the front of the patrol car.”

Then she took off again, Howard said.

Multiple hit and runs, fleeing from police, and all done with a smile. Hard to tell that from the feature piece.

But the biggest surprise from a bicycling standpoint is the comments section. For contrast, this is how comments about an accident involving a bicyclist usually run.

Posted by: Mr X Location: Co Spgs on Apr 26, 2010 at 12:09 AM

Hey Cyclist, go stick your head where the sun doesn’t shine! the ole lady was wrong n did or going to finish her time. it wasn’t u who got killed,,,,,,LOOKOUT,,,LOOKOUT,,crunch. i bet if your mother did the same thing how would u feel in this same situation. BARF,,,BARF,,cyclist make me SICK! Get out of my Damm way u idiot,,,,,,,,,,BAM,,,o,,,sorry..

That’s par for the course. The feature story on the “beautiful, strong Christian” runs the complete opposite.

Just the facts, please
By davidpaul | 04/24/10 – 08:48

Not only is the headline (and story spin) sexist, it his hilariously tabloid-y and speaks to what the Record apparently thinks is the uninformed, backward mindset of its readers. Imagine, a person with hidden human problems, emotions and motives seething beneath the surface of “beautiful strong Christian.” Oh, and blonde, and rich, too. I guess reporter Guinta wouldn’t have been so incredulous if she had been a poor person of color, or a non-Christian. We all know those are the real troublemakers. Please, in news stories, just stick to the facts and add the color commentary for the made-for-TV movie version.

ThinkTwice

Too bad the feature couldn’t have brought in the same information.

One year for two murders is way too little

26 April, 12:51, by John Meyer Tags: , ,
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Cyclists Ask For Help Keeping Convicted Killer Behind Bars

30-year-old Edgar “E.J.” Juarez and 28-year-old Jayson Kilroy lost their lives when Thomas hit them with her pick-up truck. “It really is dangerous,” said Mark Lewis, an avid cyclist who is campaigning to keep Thomas in jail. “There’s a bit of a war with the traffic a lot of times.”

First off the sentence in and of itself is way too little. You’re telling me that you can drive in a reckless manner without eyeglasses and on meds, kill two people, and get out of jail in less than half a decade? Thank goodness she didn’t plow into a race, or she might have had to serve hard time. Like 5 years.

Yes I know the woman’s age. And from her picture she doesn’t look too long for this world. But three years is still not enough. Still, we can’t argue with her sentence right now. What we can argue with is the fact that she’s up for parole after serving less than a year. That’s a slap in the face to every cyclist out there. I’m usually not one for slogans, but I would urge you to contact Mr. Hand and tell them that Ms. Thomas did the crime so she should do all the time of a very light sentence.

BUI

23 April, 19:14, by John Meyer Tags: , ,
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Laws, Life, and Legal Matters – Court Cases and Legal Information at Leagle.com – All Federal and State Appeals Court Cases in One Search

After approaching appellant, Officer Mahl noticed that appellant had a very strong odor of alcohol on his breath, his eyes were bloodshot and watery, and he was unsteady on his feet, as he “wobbled” and “sway[ed].” In short, Mahl believed that appellant was very intoxicated. Similarly, Officer Stagon observed that appellant’s speech was slurred and very loud and that appellant could “hardly stand.” The officers asked appellant to quiet down and move on, and told him not to ride his bicycle because he was so intoxicated. Appellant, however, proceeded to ride his bicycle. Officer Mahl repeated his warning not to ride the bicycle, but appellant rode away. As he crossed Otis Place, appellant almost hit a small child who was in the crosswalk. Appellant then lost control of the bicycle and fell on the ground. Officers Mahl and Stagon arrested appellant for violating D.C. Code § 50-2201.05.

Very few people are aware that Bicycling Under the Influence (BUI) is just as much of a crime in several jurisdictions as Driving an automobile under the influence DUI. And it should be. As we can see with the above situation, it can be just as dangerous as driving a car under the influence of alcohol.

What bothers me, however, is the fact that the officers told him to “move on”. Now this question is raised later on in the case and the court dismisses it. However, the question is still there: exactly why did the police tell an intoxicated person to take a bicycle and “move on”. I doubt they would have done the same with an intoxicated car driver. Did they expect the person to walk a bike all the way home? Don’t get me wrong: nothing the cops did (or did not do) excuses the bicyclist’s behavior. But I’m just wondering about the state of mind of those two police officers.

Hello world!

07 February, 09:19, by John Meyer
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