Follow-up:
I really liked ChipSeal's approach of wanting to be educated. Hence the "Grasshopper" in the title, taken from the old Kung Fu TV series. It also seemed more positive than bringing in ten pounds of backup documentation. It didn't work out.
#1. I get to the police station and, it turns out nobody is there. Just a sign saying no "police present." It turns out the station is essentially a locker room where police come to change into their uniforms, store gear, and take off in the cruisers.
#2. I called the "non emergency" number posted on the sign. As you might imagine, there's no menu number for someone irritated over getting pulled over and not actually getting a ticket. The lady who answered was very nice, if not very helpful, but she said if I wanted, she could have a police sergeant call me back. About this time, I was realizing this was going nowhere fast.
#3. Give you three guesses about the call back. The first two don't count.
#4. Now, on the way home, I thought about the letter, but there are a few problems, such as I didn't get the officer's badge number, or even the license number on his SUV. I suspect there are a lot of officers that could answer to the description of "middle aged white guy with a mustache and driving a FW Police SUV," And, since there's nobody at the station, it may be difficult to identify his actual chain of command.
Time to let it go...
5 comments:
Well, I learned that wearing earphones is not illegal. I had the idea that they were banned for bicyclists.
Has this changed any of your thinking, Steve?
Yes. Next time I will at least get a license number.
I think this will not be a common event. I've been riding this new route for a month now and this was the first incident.
OK Grasshopper, keep a little notepad with pencil handy with your repair kit to write down details: officer name, badge, vehicle plate, date, time, location and if asked to pull over, ask "What is the reason for the stop"? Let the officer do the talking and be sure you get a clarification of specific traffic code in question.
Check if the patrol vehicle has a dashcam?
Be civil, you'll also need that same notepad and pencil to report vehicle operators who buzz, honk or intimidate cyclists!
For future reading enjoyment see John Allen's review of "Bicycling and the Law: Your Rights as a Cyclist" by Bob Mionske, JD
http://john-s-allen.com/blog/?cat=23
Denton Public library has a copy.
Identifying the chain of command is easy. Write an email to the chief of police (since shit always rolls downhill) with cc to your councilman and the mayor. Be polite. Point out that the officer involved is obviously unaware of both cycling law and cycling practice, and always offer to have a sit down meeting with the chief or any of his designees.
I don't live in Fort Worth so the "your councilman" part won't work, but otherwise, I think I will follow Ed's suggestion. I can cc the councilman who has Alliance in his district.
I didn't even think to LOOK for a dashcam!
Much wisdom in the comments above. -Grasshopper
I previously read BICYCLING AND THE LAW - for those in Texas that read this blog, Texas has an EXCELLENT interlibrary system called Texshare. It lets me use the Dallas Library amongst others, but usually I just order up the book via my local library. It's how I initally read both of Forester's books before I bought my own copy of EFFECTIVE CYCLING. I read the Mionske and Hurst books the same way. I didn't feel the need to actually purchase either of those.
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