[Macomb-Cycling] [dwsys at macomb.com: Police response to bicycle accident]

[Jeffrey R. Calhoun]

The following is addional information received by Alderman Dorsett
(Thanks Dave!) as well as his response.  Note the **** stuff you
see in Lt. Carle's response consist of names that were removed for
privacy reasons.

----- Forwarded message from Dave Dorsett <dwsys at macomb.com> -----

From: "Dave Dorsett" <dwsys at macomb.com>
To: <jeff at outfitters.com>
Subject: Police response to bicycle accident
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2008 14:29:43 -0500

Jeff,
	Please post this to the listserv as my response to the concern you
brought forward. 
Thank you,
Dave Dorsett 


	"The email recently sent out on a Macomb Bicycle Club listserv
paints a disturbing picture of an alleged response to a motor vehicle /
bicycle accident by the Macomb Police Department. The account given was
second-hand and contained a slightly skewed version of events. My request
for further information from the police department yielded the following
response from Lt. Carle who was supervisor of the officer responding. I have
redacted the names of those involved.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Chief,

     I attempted to make contact with ********; the bicyclist in question;
for two days.  ********has not returned any of my calls.   I spoke to the
officer involved.  This officer told me that the two bicycle officers were
the first to arrive.  The officer said that he explained the options to
********, asked her if she wanted a report and she requested a crash report
to be completed.  The officer said that ******** was yelling at the other
driver and the officer had to separate the two parties.  ******** was not
yelling at the officer nor was she upset at the officer.  The officer told
me since a crash report had been completed; policy dictates that if an IVC
violation occurs; appropriate action be taken.  The officer issued a UTT and
was courteous to the other driver when issuing it.  The officer said that he
offered a ride to ******** and she accepted the ride.  The officer also said
that she was very appreciative of how the incident was handled.  I also
spoke to one of the bike officers.  He said that ******** was upset about
the situation but not at the officers.  Prior to the report taking officer
arrival; he had outlined her options as well.   So bottom line is who ever
has written those emails should probably get their facts straight before
making allegations of ineptness by our officers. 

     If further investigating is necessary or it is imperative that I make
contact with ********* then I will follow-up in a timely manner.   

Lt. Carle
----------------------------------------------------------------------

	Given the stress of the event, it is quite possible the complainant
bicyclist might have misinterpreted the question of whether or not she
wanted the officer to write up the incident. That is a pretty standard
inquiry in cases where there is no personal injury. The officer's attempts
to be courteous to both parties seems to me to be a plus when those involved
were already engaging in a verbal confrontation
	The City of Macomb has many issues where bicycling is concerned but,
in my opinion, a police bias against cyclists is not one of these. In fact,
speaking as a cyclist myself it is a wonder to me that more accidents don't
occur due to a lack of regard for the Illinois Rules of the Road by
bicyclists. That was clearly not the case in this instance but is easily
seen daily. I would recommend cyclists give some serious thought to
organizing and offering their input to make this a more bike-friendly town.
Perhaps in this way there might be an increase in awareness on the part of
auto drivers as well as improvements to our infrastructure.
	Thank you for your concern in this matter and please feel free to
contact me if you have additional input or questions."
Dave Dorsett
5th Ward Alderman
City of Macomb
dwsys at macomb.com
309-255-7097
239 W Chase St



----- End forwarded message -----

-- 
Jeffrey R. Calhoun                     McDonough Telephone Cooperative
jeff at mdtc.net                          Infobahn Outfitters
jeff at outfitters.com                    P.O. Box 248
(309) 836-3706                         Macomb, IL 61455