Another biker was assaulted on the
Metro Branch Trail yesterday while en route from Brookland to Capitol Hill. This was the second assault in the past week: On Saturday
a biker was knocked off her bike by some teenagers. They didn't' steal anything; they just knocked her over as she rode past the bench that they were sitting on. Here is Daniel's first-hand account of Monday's incident, in which some teens threw "body fluids" at him, as reported on the Metro Branch Trail
email list:
This evening at about 7:50 I was heading south on my bike, going from Brookland to Capitol Hill to visit a friend. I was approaching the section just North of Rhode Island Avenue where there's a parking lot and shopping plaza. About four black youths (junior-high age) were at the bench along the trail, when one of them (the smallest kid, no more than 4 feet tall) came out with a large plastic drink cup and doused liquid at me, hitting my chest. It was not water. It was bodily fluids. I stopped and got off my bike, and tried to catch the perpetrator but they all dispersed (laughing), and I realized it was futile, so I got back on the bike and continued. I made it to my friend's house, promptly took a shower and threw away the clothes I had on, and then called 911 to report the crime. The dispatcher said that since I was no longer at the scene, they couldn't file a report, but that they would send an officer to check out the area.
Not accepting a report is definitely one way to keep stats trending down
ReplyDeleteI think I had a similar incident a couple days ago, I think it was Thursday or Friday. It was heading south, before New York Avenue, in the morning. two teens, likely walking to school, were walking somewhat in the middle of the path, as I cane up to them, they turned to me and it appeared as if one of them spit at me but I wasn't sure. In any case, it isn't normal behavior to turn in this way when you comport yourself on a path.
ReplyDeleteI have complained in my blog that there are no signs posted on the trail explaining rules/etiquette, as well as a number to call if there are problems.
Such would make a difference in terms of heightening the idea of "natural surveillance" and that there are repercussions for behaving out of line.