Hit-and-run from May

[ImaCynic]

Sorry to hear about this. Did the witness provide you with a copy of the driver/vehicle/lp photos and/or if he/she actually provided these to the MPD?

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

[dbehrend]

The witness did not provide me with copies of the photos. The witness who took the photos was an attorney from Richmond, who seemed pretty earnest about helping out. He asked the responding officer for contact info to forward the photos. I thought he sent them to someone before he left the scene, but it’s possible he didn’t. It’s also possible he changed his mind or something happened to the photos in the last 3 months.

I received a form letter from the detective on August 16 (dated August 6, postmarked August 14) requesting a response within 20 days of “issuance” of the letter, or the investigation would be suspended. The letter asked for information about witnesses. I pulled the witnesses’ contact information from the police report, which I requested and received on June 12th, which I had also referenced in my emails to the detective on June 22nd and August 1st. Based on the letter, it was my assumption the witness had not been contacted as of mid-August.

[dbehrend]

@dbehrend 181549 wrote:

. . . which I had also referenced in my emails to the detective on June 22nd and August 1st.

In response to the form letter, I also provided the witnesses’ contact information in my statement on August 19th.

[Steve O]

You should call Bruce Deming and see if he has any advice.

[mstone]

I really, really wish this kind of shit still came as a shock

[Brett L.]

Assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder would be the charges I’d attempt to pursue. That’s not a traffic offense, that’s criminal.

[n18]

That’s perhaps for guns and the like, for cars, there is attempted vehicular homicide.

[ginacico]

I’m so sorry. Definitely speak to a lawyer. Contact WABA (or PM me) for a list of attorneys who specialize in bike crashes. I agree this goes way beyond what’s typical.

[dbehrend]

Thank you for the recommendations to reach out to a lawyer. We did report the incident to the WABA crash tracker. I’ll reach out to WABA to get a list of attorneys.

It’s truly discouraging that a cyclist needs to contact an attorney to advocate for the police to pursue a hit and run driver. I’m most concerned that there’s a driver out there thinking it’s okay to ram cyclists with her car when she’s frustrated with them, and that one day someone’s not going to be able to jump out of the way. I’m far less concerned about recovering the cost of a chainring.

I went to my local bike store to have my bike checked out the day after the assault. The owner said that it sounded pretty horrible, but that unfortunately, he heard too many similar stories, and he sincerely doubted the police would pursue it.

I’ll continue to follow up. I’ll let you all know if I hear more.

[Judd]

I’d suggest contacting Charles Allen’s office and asking for assistance with the police. Charles is the Ward 6 council member where you and your girlfriend were assaulted and has been a great pedestrian and cycling advocate.

He co-chaired an oversight committee hearing on DC’s lack of progress on Vision Zero and is currently on fire about it.

[dbehrend]

Thank you for the suggestion, Judd. I’ll contact his office.

[dbehrend]

After 6 months, the assigned officer responded to one of my monthly emails requesting an update. This is the first contact I received aside from the form letter requesting a statement. He responded to say that hit-and-run investigations have been transferred by DC Council away from sworn police officers to civilian personnel.

Yesterday, I spoke with a woman in the office now handling the investigation. Disappointingly, it appears that no investigation occurred over the last 6 months. Additionally, since the officer that responded failed to enter the license plate in his report, it sounds like no action has been taken to contact the owner of the car. She said she would follow up with the previously assigned officer, and listen to the audio from the officer that responded to the scene, to try to figure out why more wasn’t done. She promised to call me back in a few days.

I emailed Councilmember Allen in October, but I never received a response. I will try contacting his office again to voice my concerns.

[Author]

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