FYI - I reached out to a lawyer friend to give me the lowdown on what one's options are when harassed or threatened with injury, as was the case with Grant's encounter.
I asked: I think many people on the list are confused about the ability of the victim - Grant - to "press charges." I.E. force a criminal charge to be filed against the driver. If the police won't pursue it, and the DA won't file, there really isn't anything more that Grant could do, right? And since he wasn't really injured, there isn't any case for a civil case, I would assume. I think I'm just interested in the general idea that someone who is physically threatened - whether with a gun, a car, a baseball bat, or fists - has really no recourse in the courts. If you aren't hurt, and your property isn't damaged, a jerk can go around threatening people, or even attempting to hurt them, and unless the police and DA pursue it, the victim can't make anything happen. Here is his response, which intentionally does not address this case directly: *Below is the process for prosecution. A person does not have to be injured for a crime to occur. Example criminal disorderly conduct, criminal damage to property, reckless endangerment.... * * * *In Wisconsin police can issue a citation (fine only like a speeding ticket) to people. Criminal charges are brought by the district attorney of the county. A criminal charge means possibility of jail time (not just a fine). "Pressing charges" is a t.v. term. Prosecutors charge people all the time when the alleged victim recants, or asks the police or prosecutors not to arrest or prosecute etc. * * * *Police often recommend certain charges to the da. The da gets the police reports and either files the recommended, files something different, files a citation only, or does not file anything. * * * *A person who believes they are the victim of a crime can contact the da and request criminal charges. The da could do any of the above or even charge the alleged victim or both parties.* * * *If a person requests a da to file criminal charges and the da refuses, the person can petition a circuit court judge to file the criminal complaint. See wis stat 968.02 (3). * * * *If someone was injured they can sue civically for "damages.". This generally includes things like med bills, loss of wages, pain and suffering. If the injured person can prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the person who injured them acted intentionally or with knowledge their actions where substantially certain to interfere with the rights of the injured person, then the injured person may be allowed to ask a jury for "punitive" damages to punish and deter future similar conduct. If an injured person sues someone, the injured person has to prove the other person was at fault and caused their damages. * Robbie Webber Transportation Policy Analyst State Smart Transportation Initiative www.ssti.us 608-263-9984 (o) 608-225-0002 (c) [email protected] On Mon, Jun 24, 2013 at 9:53 AM, Grant Foster <[email protected]> wrote: > So, I was struck (twice) by a MV yesterday while riding on Williamson St. > Some friends and I were returning from a long road ride and were headed to > Monty's. East of Dickinson, a guy in a fancy Cadillac rolls up along side > of the group and starts yelling at me that there's a bike path 1 block over > and to get off the road. (We were travelling in the right hand lane > alongside the parked cars and weren't any impediment to MV traffic.) I > yelled something back about there also being other roads he could drive > on.He then proceeded to swerve in to my lane of travel. I swerved away from > him, but didn't have a lot of room due to the parked cars. He was so close > that I knocked on his hood as I was swerving away, in hopes of helping him > understand how dangerously close he was. This must have put him over the > edge, because he backed off for a second or two before accelerating into my > rear wheel. This wasn't a side swipe, but actually driving at me at an > angle trying to hit me/run me over. I'm not sure how I didn't fall, but I > didn't. This apparently frustrated him even more, so he took another pass, > this time gunning it enough to squeal his tires. By this time the parked > cars had finished, so I was able to swerve to the right as he came at me. > His side mirror hit me on the butt/hip as he gunned it. It was forceful > enough to knock his mirror in and, although I didn't feel it until last > evening, it left my hip tender (no bruise that I can see). > > I was in such shock and disbelief that I kept riding to Monty's and > actually ate lunch while talking about what had happened with my friends. > (We had done 80 miles and we were all on the edge, so stopping to eat > wasn't exactly optional.) We talked about how important it was to report > what happened and I debated a little. Somehow, since I wasn't injured and > my bike was mostly unharmed (the rear QR skewer and fender stay show the > black of his tire where he hit me and the fender was bent) I wondered if > there would even be a consequence for his action? Would it just be a pain > in the butt and waste of time to report what happened? > > One of my friends did get his plate and I decided it was important that I > call it in. I really felt like this was beyond the worst road rage and that > this guy was actually unstable. I called it in when I got home. An officer > called me back and I gave her my report and agreed to 'press charges'. I > also gave her the info for one of my friends that saw what happened. > > > The officer said she was able to identify the vehicle, but didn't have a > phone number that worked for the owner. She would be sending out a letter > asking him to call in and we would take it from there. She was great to > work with and I feel like she cared about what happened, although, I was > kind of surprised that an officer wouldn't show up at the MV owner's house > to ask questions and take a look at the car. > > So, today as I reflect on it I'm left wondering: What will happen to this > guy? What would happen if he would have pulled out a pistol and shot it at > me, hitting my bike and grazing my arm? Would he get a letter in the mail? > Is that a false comparison? What does 'press charges' mean? Is what he did > considered criminal? > > I'm interested in people's thoughts. Stay safe out there. > > Grant > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org > >
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