December 28, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Man riding bike victim of apparent random shooting on Sunset Beach in Huntington Beach; gunman shot by police
A gunman took aim at a couple riding their bikes at Sunset Beach in Huntington Beach in an apparent random shooting, hitting the man in the back.
However, KNBC-4 reports he first drew attention when he attempted to carjack someone in the area of Pacific Avenue and 7th Street around 12:20 pm, without showing his gun.
He then stepped onto the bike path, facing south, where a witness says he pulled his gun, and stumbling backwards, took aim at the man and women as they rode past, firing at least three times and hitting the man in the back.
The victim immediately fell onto the grass, yelling for someone to call 911.
The gunman, identified only as a man from Norwalk, continued walking to South Pacific and 3rd Street, where he was confronted by police, and shot when he failed to respond to commands.
He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
Meanwhile, his victim was hospitalized in stable condition with a single wound that was not expected to be life-threatening.
This afternoon, HBPD officers responded to reports of gunfire in Sunset Beach which resulted in the shooting of an armed man from Norwalk who shot a bicyclist.
September 30, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Special prosecutor appointed in Texas coal roll crash, and inquest into fatal deputy shooting of South LA bike rider
“They are causing their vehicle to ‘spit’ on a living, breathing, human being that is worthy of dignity and not having his or her person violated,” Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis wrote in a Facebook post. “That simple assault is easily elevated to a jail eligible offense if bodily injury occurs, which can be caused by entry of toxic particles into mouth, nose and eyes.”
Never mind that the kid actually slammed into the victims after belching exhaust on another rider.
Naturally, though, the boy’s lawyer insists it was just an oopsie.
Rick DeToto, a Houston lawyer hired by the teen’s family, called the boy “inexperienced” and characterized the crash as serious but not prompted by someone out to commit mayhem.
“The police did an investigation at the scene.,” DeToto said in an email. “This included speaking with eyewitnesses… After their investigation they decided not to charge my client and did not issue him a traffic citation. Clearly, they decided a crime had not occurred.”
According to the deputies, Kizzee attempted to flee on foot and struggled with deputies when they tried to stop him, and was shot 16 times after he dropped a gun, then allegedly picked it up and pointed it at them.
However, witness reports and security video suggested that Kizzee was running away from them when he was shot repeatedly in the back, deputies continuing to fire even after he lay helpless on the street.
Kizzee’s father has filed suit, alleging that the case raises questions of excessive force, as well as the existence of gangs within the department that celebrate and reward officer shootings.
Maybe SoFi Stadium, the new home of the Los Angeles Rams and the San Diego Chargers of Los Angeles, could learn something from our neighbors to the north.
Turns out the wall of bicycles we showed you the other day is an installation created by a homeless artist in Koreatown. There’s no word on where he got all the bikes, though, so you might want to take a close look if yours went missing lately.
March 23, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on DA calls for review police shootings, LA hiker run over by e-mtn biker, and NBA star was sideswiped by passing driver
Way to get the story wrong.
The usually reliable My News LA reports the County Board of Supervisors will vote today on DA George Gascon’s request to appoint a special prosecutor for cases involving police misconduct.
While campaigning against Lacey, Gascon promised to review several high-profile fatal shootings involving multiple police agencies, including:
— Gardena police officers’ shooting of Ricardo Zeferino, 34, who was suspected of stealing a bicycle in June 2013;
Just one problem.
Zeferino was never suspected of stealing a bicycle, or anything else.
Zeferino was helping his brother search for his stolen bike, when police stopped two of their friends who were also assisting in the search. So Zeferino ran up, excitedly gesturing and insisting in Spanish that they had the wrong men.
Except none of the officers apparently understood Spanish. And when Zeferino allegedly made a sudden gesture to his waist that no one else could seem to see, they blew him away.
Which means the only crime he committed was trying to tell a group of trigger happy, possibly racist, cops they were screwing up.
I don’t know if they belong in jail for an overreaction that cost an innocent man his life.
But they sure as hell don’t belong on the force, in Gardena or anywhere else.
………
Ms. Honey Bunnyman forwards a Nextdoor post describing a mountain biker behaving very badly, which we’re reposting with the victim’s permission.
Seriously, don’t be that guy.
Always ride safely around anyone on foot. Which includes keeping ebikes off trails where they’re not allowed, and riding with respect for others anywhere they are.
And if you know who this guy is, tell him hit-and-run applies on off-road trails, too.
………
We finally have an explanation for how former NBA star Shawn Bradley received the injuries that left him paralyzed as he rode his bike near his Utah home.
According to USA Today, Bradley was apparently injured when he was sideswiped by a passing driver, causing him to crash into a parked car.
Even though police found a fresh scratch on the passenger side of the driver’s van, apparently from Bradley’s bike.
………
America Walks is calling for you to demand stronger protections for bike riders and pedestrians in the MUTCD, aka the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, which serves as the bible for traffic engineers.
And tell the former Mayor Pete, who now heads the US Department of Transportation, to make it better.
We need a MUTCD that puts the safety of people walking and moving over the convenience of people in cars. Use our template to tell @SecretaryPete to rewrite the MUTCD in a way that puts safety and equity first. It should take about 5 minutes. https://t.co/SfGzSOVQCspic.twitter.com/vwGNcaIJcX
A San Jose area bike rider paints a dramatic image of a bad road.
And Angeleno riders should take notes, because our streets aren’t much better.
Q:El Camino Real is so bad that I broke a bicycle spoke crossing at El Monte. It’s worse now than when it was first created back in the 1760s as a dirt road. I fear the Ghost of Father Serra will return to haunt the California highway department. It will be a well-earned haunting.
AB 122, which would allow California bike riders to join the nationwide trend of treating stop signs as yields, has passed its first hurdle in the Assembly Transportation Committee, as a retired Davis police chief said the bill is embraced by the vast majority of police officers. Which is a big change from previous attempts at a similar bill, which were derailed by opposition from the CHP and AAA.
Fifty years after Oregon made a groundbreaking commitment to spend at least 1% of the state highway fund on biking and walking projects, the state legislature is considering raising that to 5%. Which compares favorably to California’s longstanding commitment to not making a commitment to fund them. Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the link.
A UK resident got screwed by Brexit after ordering a bike from a Polish bike shop and being told there would be no import duties on it. Except it was returned to the shop during the chaos as the county left the European Union, and when the shop reshipped it, it arrived with the equivalent of over $2,700 in taxes due upon delivery.
India’s homegrown Hero Cycles is looking to expand its ebike sales worldwide, as it opens a new international headquarters in London and expands its factory to make up to ten million bikes a year. Which only sounds like a lot because it is.
February 12, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on $35 million lawsuit in LASD shooting of Black bike rider, driver turns brick wall into drive-thru, and Ted Lieu is one of us
He attempted to flee on foot, allegedly dropping a gun he was carrying inside some clothes, then picking it up and continuing to flee.
Deputies alleged Kizzee pointed the gun at them, shooting him 19 times in response.
However, witness testimony and security cam video don’t support the deputies’ version of events, suggesting Kizzee was turning away from them with his hands raised when they opened fire.
Just two years after record-setting Scottish bicyclist Josh Quigley barely survived a horrible collision in Texas while attempting to ride across the US, he suffered a number of fractures throughout his body when a gust of wind knocked him off his bike while training in Dubai.
October 19, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Driver busted for Hawthorne hit-and-run, 16 LA-area bike riders shot by police, and bike-riding woman murders Metro worker
A couple quick notes before we start.
Today is the last day to register to vote before next month’s presidential and city council elections, along with a number of other important federal, state and local offices. Not to mention a massive number of California state propositions.
Also, my apologies to everyone who tipped me to news stories over the weekend; with a few exceptions, I’ve somehow managed to lose track of who sent what.
But please accept my thanks anyway. I always appreciate the help, even if my feeble brain fails me from time to time.
Meanwhile, the now-15 year old victim remains in a coma with major head trauma, as well as a broken leg, arm and feet, more than two weeks after the crash.
Yet despite the horrific harm she allegedly caused, Delgadillo will face a maximum of just four years behind bars for felony hit-and-run under California law.
Maybe someday we’ll get our elected leaders to take this crime seriously.
An investigative report from the LA Times reveals that 16 bike riders have been shot by police or sheriff’s deputies in LA County over the past 15 years for what started out as simple traffic violations.
Eleven of those were killed.
The Times identified 16 cases since 2005 where a stop for bike violations in Los Angeles County resulted in a police shooting, according to interviews and a review of public records from the district attorney, coroner and various court cases. Most of the stops occurred in communities made up largely of Black and Latino residents. In 11 incidents, including Kizzee’s, the bicyclists — all male and Black or Latino — were killed.
Among those 16 cases, violations ranged from riding on the sidewalk to biking without a light or on the wrong side of the road. In 11 cases, authorities said they found a firearm. In one shooting, deputies found an airsoft gun they said looked like a semiautomatic handgun.
It’s an important read, because constantly having to worry about getting stopped by the cops for biking while Black or brown is bad enough.
But something is seriously wrong when people of color also have to worry about getting the death penalty for a simple traffic violation.
Thanks to everyone who sent this one to my attention.
@bikinginla Slow Streets II Make public comment in advance or if you're able, call into the meeting. At 1:15pm on Monday call 669-254-5252 use Meeting ID No. 161 750 5079 then press #, # again when prompted for participant ID. Once admitted, press *9 to request to speak.
Public radio station KPFK is in deep financial danger, and could take the popular Bike Talk program down with it without your help.
Bike Talk's radio host, KPFK, 90.7, is in trouble. We'd like to show Bike Twitter's support with even one of your dollars. Please click here: https://t.co/mP1rFn2ate
Bicycling and SRAM will examine the issues facing people who have been swept under the rug for far too long.
Join us on Wednesday, October 21st at 12 ET for Cycling at the Intersections, a virtual event in partnership with @SRAMroad. We will be discussing the experiences of Black trans, femme, women, and non-binary cyclists. Register here: https://t.co/NAZbVMLDaipic.twitter.com/VqimpXKysR
There’s a special place in hell for a Montana man who was charged with a sex crime involving an 11-year old girl, after he was previously charged with intentionally running down a man on a bicycle, claiming it was his bike. Although you’d think if it was really his bike, he wouldn’t want to run it over with his car.
You don’t need to speak Spanish to get that maybe this driver should pay attention to the road instead of complaining about people on two wheels.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A 19-year old New York man could face a murder charge after a group of bike-riding teens argued with a 79-year man before pushing him to the ground; the victim died later after being rushed to a hospital. There’s not a pit in hell deep enough.
A 67-year old Australian man recovering from open heart surgery was left bloodied and banged up after he was hit from behind by a bike rider while walking on a pedestrian bridge. Yet another reminder to alway ride with extra caution around pedestrians. Not only are people unpredictable, but they’re the only ones out there more vulnerable than we are.
A 49-year old San Diego man suffered a broken leg and broken ribs when a motorcyclist slammed into a group of bike riders in the city’s Pacific Beach neighborhood; the motorcyclist walked away with road rash.
Great French hope Julian Alaphilippe broke his hand in two places when he became just the latest cyclist to crash into a race moto in the Tour of Flanders. Once again, there is no excuse for allowing motorcycles in the peloton. Keep them in front of the cyclists or well behind, for everyone sake.
And maybe people don’t really love their cars after all.
Ever wonder why so many people, especially cable news anchors, say “Americans have a love affair with automobiles” or some variation of the phrase? A little-known 1961 NBC special starring Groucho Marx had something to do with it. Learn more in episode 50: https://t.co/GJ6Hi2DPvMpic.twitter.com/ilJZONALFL
October 5, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Sheriff’s deputies shot Dijon Kizzee 16 times, blaming road diets for CA decline, and things are looking up in Santa Ana
And escalated when Kizzee allegedly dropped a stolen gun as he struggled to escape the deputies; what’s in dispute is whether he attempted to pick the gun back up. Especially since the official version of events has changed several times in the days following the shooting.
At least four of those shots could have been fatal.
Never mind that road diets have been successfully used for decades throughout the US, including in red states.
But that would have involved doing a modicum of research, which might have gotten in the way of his preordained conclusions.
………
It looks like things are about to get much better in Santa Ana.
And should be everywhere.
The Downtown cycle track network is starting to come together. Here is the section that will be a bi-directional between the Santa Ana Train Station and Garfield Elementary. It’s still under construction but it’s looking great. pic.twitter.com/shVFQibFzT
BIKE RECOVERY: "Someone was offered the bike by a Craigslist seller, and contacted me after seeing it on Bike Index." @BikeIndexBOUpic.twitter.com/fM8MmBY21I
BIKE RECOVERY: "Bike Index was key to police being able to recover this bike from a pawn shop. Inputting the serial was very very important. Thank you for this tool." #yegbike@stolenbikesyegpic.twitter.com/mx5w01S3zL
it’s up to us to make sure the free, voluntary program stays that way to prevent abuses like we saw with the city’s previous mandatory licensing program, which became an excuse to stop people of color without probable cause as they rode their bikes.
………
Deep thought of the day.
The stationary bikes have been moved outside and I feel like the SoulCyclers are *this* close to an epiphany pic.twitter.com/DiKomRvdqm
Talk about not getting it. Apparently confusing the treatment with the disease, a London columnist complains that bike lanes are choking the life out of the city through fume-filled traffic jams. Someone should tell him that it’s all those cars that cause the noxious fumes — and the traffic. And safe bike lanes mean fewer of those on the roads.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A columnist for the Southern California News Groupremembers Long Beach real estate scion and bike advocate Mark Bixby, who fought to get a bike lane across the new replacement for the Gerald Desmond Bridge, and won, before dying in a 2011 plane crash along with four other people.
State
Sad news from Eureka, where a bike rider was killed in a collision when the victim allegedly swerved in front of an oncoming car, according to the driver and multiple witnesses.
Chicago business owners blame new protected bike lanes for a drop in business, with one hardware store owner insisting the loss of parking spaces has meant a 30% drop in sales. Although a far more likely explanation is the same drop in business suffered by brick and mortar retailers across the US during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Sportsmanoffers a nice profile of Josh Quigley, the bicyclist who set a new record for the northern crossing of Scotland, just months after he barely survived getting run down at 70 mph driver by a Texas driver while on an around the world bike tour. He was inspired to do the ride by Britain’s Sir Chris Hoy after a failed suicide attempt.
A bike-riding Philippines columnist says it’s time the country has a mandatory bike helmet law. Never mind that experience around the world shows that helmet laws depress bicycling rates, which is exactly the wrong thing to do with the world facing a climate crisis — let along the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lacey inexplicably ruled that the shooting was justified, because Zeferino gestured as he as speaking, and failed to understand the orders shouted to him at gunpoint in English.
At last report, all three officers were still working as Gardena cops, without so much as a slap on the wrist.
Which is more than enough reason to give my vote to Gascón.
………
Ted Faber reports there are new bike lanes on Manchester Blvd.
When conversations about race within the cycling industry come up, white cyclists often say things like, “The trail/bike/biking doesn’t care what color you are … just ride.”
When I’m feeling generous, I can write this off as naiveté. When I’m being brutally honest, I understand this as a dangerous distraction from the real issue.
For many white cyclists, the bike is often separate from their sociopolitical lives; it’s a means of escape, a recreational machine reserved for fitness or fun.
For many BIPOC cyclists, the bike is a tool that is intimately connected to the way we experience the world.
For those of us who are white, it’s impossible to know what it’s like to experience our streets as a person of color, unless we take the time to actually listen.
Pieces like this may not celebrate the world of bicycling that we know and love.
But they are vitally important to make riding a bike, and our world, more inclusive for everyone.
………
Here’s your chance to enter Dutch academia, while working on the science of bicycling.
There are only a few days left to apply to work with us at the @tudelft Bicycle Lab as a Postdoc. Apply here:https://t.co/6JEpjyBdj8
Earlier in Delta Park, some yelled ‘get him’ to a bicyclist passing through and then pursued and stopped and harassed him – before letting him pass thru pic.twitter.com/I5KUReLQ0R
No bias here. After a Texas driver was confronted by a bike rider enraged by his close pass, he responded by suggesting that a) bike riders should be licensed, b) bikes are too slow to be allowed on roads, and c) bike cops should get tickets for not signaling their turns. Apparently d) maybe he should try driving a little more safely next time never crossed his mind. (Scroll down)
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Culver City continues to leap past Los Angeles in repurposing the streets, including a new protected bike lane on Washington Blvd. Although it seems to be best protected from pedestrians and diners, with only thin plastic bollards to keep the cars away.
Bay Area residents are celebrating the governor’s signing of SB 288, which streamlines bike and transit projects by exempting many projects from the environmental reviews that were too often used as a cynical tool to stop them. We should be celebrating that one down here, too.
September 18, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on LASD exonerates itself in Kizzee shooting amid calls for sheriff to resign, and e-scooters just ain’t the problem
According to a department spokesperson, deputies originally attempted to stop Kizzee for riding salmon, a crime that does not normally carry the death penalty.
Deputies fired at least 15 shots after spotting the weapon when he dropped it, along with some clothes he’d been carrying.
However, after giving the deputies over two weeks to get their stories straight talk to investigators, the gun somehow went from the ground, as the sheriff’s department originally stated, into Kizzee’s hand as claimed in the new report.
Never mind that security video appears to show the deputies shooting at Kizzee as he ran away.
Unfortunately, we may never know for sure what happened, since LA County Sheriff’s Deputies aren’t currently required to wear body cams.
But the shooting does raise questions, especially in a department where gang-like groups wear matching tattoos and call themselves names like the Executioners.
It doesn’t matter who Kizzee was, or whether he had a record. It also doesn’t matter that he ran from the deputies, or briefly tussled with one when they tried to tackle him.
For the crime of riding on the wrong side of the street.
What matters is whether the deputies had a legitimate reason to fear for their own lives, or that of the public, before opening fire.
Let alone whether the department can, or will, conduct an honest investigation of its own deputies. Especially under the current administration.
Because this one doesn’t begin to pass the smell test.
Several members of the Civilian Oversight Commission for the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department have called on Sheriff Alex Villanueva to resign. @leilamillersays and @AleneTchek report: https://t.co/6tZKDvWhdm
Which compares to roughly 112,500 people killed in motor vehicle collisions over the same period.
Admittedly, I’ve never been very good at math, but I’m pretty sure 41 is less that 112,500.
A lot less.
So which one is really the problem on our streets?
………
Something is seriously wrong when you’re not even safe from cars and their drivers in your own home.
#BREAKING: A person is dead after a car slammed into a house in #Pomona. The person was trapped underneath the car inside the home for about 20 minutes. @LACOFD did all they could but the person died on scene. @RoadSageLA overhead in #Sky9#CBSLA
Whatever details the sheriffs leak or reveal over the coming days about why Dijon Kizzee was shot dead in Westmont, we know for a fact that a Black man stopped while riding his bicycle should not be dead today,” Waters, D-Los Angeles, said in a statement. “I stand with the community in condemning unaccountable rogue sheriffs and police officers who continue to hunt and murder unarmed people of color in our communities.
“It’s past time for the attorney general of CA, Xavier Becerra, to intervene and investigate the pattern of abuses at the L.A. (County) Sheriff’s Department,” she said. “The department is out of control and has lost the confidence of the community it is supposed to protect. There will be no peace in our streets until the LASD cleans house.
Kizzee’s family retained famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump — the lawyer representing Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Jacob Blake, among other victims of police shootings — who asserts Kizzee was shot 20 times in the back as he tried to run away.
Apparently, the proposed rapid bus line on Colorado Blvd in Eagle Rock is not the only Metro project that could result in removing much needed bike lanes.
Maybe this has come up before, but Metro's "East San Fernando Light Rail Transit Project" will likely do something similar to bike lanes on Van Nuys Bl, possibly (re)moving them all together. https://t.co/IU15SknE5ipic.twitter.com/002cQeH6Nb
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
An Illinois woman faces a hate charge after telling three Black bike riders they needed a permit to be on a public pier, then smacking one rider to stop him from filming her, and claiming she’d been attacked by them even though she was the aggressor throughout.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Ontario, Canada officials still haven’t identified the victim in the bike-on-bike crash we mentioned yesterday, posting photos of his bike and other personal items in hopes someone will recognize them. Yet another reminder to always carry some form of ID that won’t get lost or stolen following a crash; I wear a Road ID every time I leave my home, let alone ride my bike. Speaking of which, if you know anybody who works there, tell ’em they should sponsor this site, as often as I plug them on here.
A pair of Welsh drivers played the universal Get Out of Jail Free card, claiming they couldn’t see the bike rider they killed because the sun was in their eyes. Never mind that if you can’t see, the correct solution is to pull over to the side of the road until you can, not keep driving until you hit something. Or someone.
If you’re going to steal a bike, make sure no one sees you — when you take it, or when you ride it later. If you’re going for a drunken early morning bike ride while carrying meth and weed, put a damn taillight on it.
The bike, that is, not the weed.
And evidently, lions aren’t just king of the jungle.
September 2, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Sheriff’s deputies kill Black bike rider in South LA, driver rams LA bike protest, and Metro nixes Eagle Rock bike lanes
Biking While Black has long been treated like a crime.
They attempted to stop him for some unspecified traffic code violation, which could have been anything from riding the wrong way to riding a cruiser bike with raised handlebars.
Or it could have just been a pretext to stop and search, despite a lack of probable cause.
Sadly, I have no confidence in the Sheriff’s Department to conduct a full, fair and honest investigation of the shooting. Especially under the leadership of a sheriff who seems more interested in getting fired deputies back on the force than in protecting the people of LA County.
Metro proposes taking a big step backward by removing bike lanes on Colorado Blvd in Eagle Rock, and replacing them with bus lanes that bike riders can use.
As long as they don’t mind having a speeding bus run up their ass.
Someone on a bicycle attacked a New York City judge, punching her in the jaw as she was walking to the courthouse Monday morning; it’s not clear whether she was the victim of a random attack, or if someone deliberately targeted her. Thanks to John Damman for the heads-up.
Apparently, LA bicycle advocates have gone “way beyond the pale of being pro-mobility” and are somehow tied to crooked developers. In that case, I want to know who’s getting my take, cause I’m sure as hell not getting it.
Yahoonames America’s most bike friendly cities, led by Portland and Minneapolis; California is represented by San Francisco and Oakland, ranking fifth and twelfth, respectively, as well as a surprising Irvine at 24th. Needless to say, Los Angeles is nowhere to be seen.
New York won’t be upgrading the bike network in the Bronx, despite four bicycling deaths in just three months; instead, the city will respond with heavier police enforcement, even though that didn’t help when they tried it earlier this summer.
This is what is looks like when photographers don’t get the hell out of the way.
Dangerous finish in CoppieBartali – riders nearly ride straight in to the photgraphers after the line, Aplecin Fenix rider gets a bump on the line from Astana rider, almost goes straight in to the barriers to the right of the photographers, looks to have just stopped on time https://t.co/ujtGmgpsR1
