Portland Police Bureau assault detectives have arrested a woman for intentionally ramming a man with her car in downtown Portland.
The man, 47-year-old Brian Lee Groce of southwest Portland, suffered “non-traumatic injuries” in the collision.
Here’s more from the PPB:
On Thursday April 3, 2014, at 12:00 p.m., Central Precinct officers responded to the report of a crash involving a bicyclist and a vehicle at Southwest Broadway and Jackson Street.
Officers and medical personnel arrived and contacted the bicyclist, 47-year-old Brian Lee Groce of Southwest Portland. Groce was suffering from non-traumatic injuries and told officers that he had been cut off in traffic by a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta (driven by 29-year-old Celine Julia Geday) and he’d ridden up to her and told her that she’d almost hit him and she replied by honking her horn.
Groce explained to police that they were both traveling East on Jackson and stopped at the red light at Broadway and he repeated to her that she’d almost hit him. Groce told police that the light turned green and they both started to cross Broadway when the driver swerved left, knocked him off the bike, then stopped her car.
Thankfully, Groce was able to describe the events to responding officers (often in these cases, the bicycle rider is so severely injured that they’re not able to give their version of the story). His account, combined with statements from witnesses allowed PPB assault detectives to confirm that the collision was an intentional act. Geday was arrested on a charge of Assault in the Second Degree and booked into the Multnomah County Jail.
UPDATE, 5:30 pm: The DA has released Geday pending their ongoing investigation of the incident.
Thanks for reading.
BikePortland has served this community with independent community journalism since 2005. We rely on subscriptions from readers like you to survive. Your financial support is vital in keeping this valuable resource alive and well.
Please subscribe today to strengthen and expand our work.
Congratulations, Julia. You’ve been charged with Assault II, a Measure 11 offense that carries a mandatory sentence of nearly 6 years in the slammer without any chance of sentence reduction! Enjoy your stay.
That’s probably why you’re crying.
And if she “accidentally” hit him and killed him, she’d get no jail time. Thank God this collision was not worse.
It seems more people with helmet—or bicycle cams in general are very helpful. The driver’s (or even the cyclist’s) story may not match up with the video.
Think of how many additional cases would be solved if people were given insurance incentives to use cams or it was mandatory for services that solely drive (i.e. taxis) to install cameras. Would be pretty helpful.
It would also be helpful of bicyclists were licensed and has to display their plate. But that won’t fly in Portland, because the bicyclists refuse to pay vehicle fees on their bikes, and don’t wish to be held accountable for anything they do.
Hi Citizen,
I’m Jonathan Maus, the owner and publisher of this site. Just want to let you know that I don’t appreciate your comments and I’ve deleted several of them — not because I disagree with what you’re saying, but because I find them necessarily inflammatory and not conducive to productive dialogue. If you’d like to continue to comment on this site, please have consideration for the community and be mindful of your tone and content. Thanks.
–Jonathan
…and because the cost of implementation would outweigh the fees received. The only way to come out even is to overcharge registration for a bicycle. Considering that roughly 90% of cyclists in PDX are motorists, and I’m sure even more have driver’s licenses (Even if they don’t own a car), there isn’t much extra to be gained there. Besides, slapping a license plate on a car does not identify the driver of the vehicle. Plenty of people getting away with hit-n-runs and speed camera infractions because the driver cannot be proven to be behind the wheel at the time.
That’s a lie that bicyclists constantly tell. It’s based on a convoluted scheme in Toronto in the 1930s that didn’t work. Bicycle licensing could be run through the same system as car licenses. Much easier to stick to the lie, though, and then wonder why the majority of people in the area really dislike you, and wonder why new businesses coming to the area are far more likely to locate themselves in the suburbs where they and their customers and employees don’t have to put up with you.
I hope you enjoy this city as much as I do. Have a good weekend.
Pedestrians should also have walking permits and hang license plates around their necks. Fees for sneakers to pay for crosswalk wear and tear!
Don’t support mandatory sentences. Judges should have discretion. It’s part of what makes a legal system fair. Also, I’m speaking generally. Don’t apply my response to this case (just a per-emptive note).
She’ll plead out to a lesser.
Charges were dropped.
Probably because striking someone with a car is apparently okay when the most that instigated it were mean words. I don’t have to like the guy to feel a little uneasy about that type of retribution becoming standard in all walks of life. This type of event is hardly unique to cycling. Lots of “stand your ground” events have happened over the past few years that stir up similar controversy and disagreement.
it seems that many people don’t like being told when they’re wrong… for some reason the default response is to start a fight rather than to actually consider what you may have done wrong…
That it does whether its a car speeding or cyclist running an intersection (not specific to this case, multiple details are lacking in order to make an appropriate conclusion here – is quite focused on just the cyclists view, then again what other kind of unbiased reporting would come from here).
Classy.
enjoy your jail time, legal fees, and lost pay….***word deleted by moderator – no insults please***. glad the cyclist wasn’t injured. but let me guess, she gets to keep her drivers license.
I’ll bet if she fired a legally-registered gun at him she wouldn’t get to keep it.
Hope you’re OK Brian!
Did you see the guys picture in the Oregonlive story, he is pretty messed up, and traumatized.
If they were both traveling east on Jackson how did she swerve to the left and hit him? Shouldn’t he have been on the right?
Jackson eastbound is downhill for quite a while, making it easy for people on bikes to keep up with auto traffic, and there is no bike lane anyway.
Google maps shows it only lasting about 2 blocks around there in which Broadway is in the center so only 1 block. However VS does have a good point that if they were headed eastbound on Jackson and she swerved left that puts the cyclist in oncoming traffic. At the same time with Broadway being a one-way, any movement to the left could be easily seen as intentional.
I think you’re mixing SW Jackson up with SW Sam Jackson Park Road. SW Jackson is about two, maybe three blocks long, running along the southern end of PSU. SW Sam Jackson Park is a windy, hilly road that runs through/around OHSU.
There are exceptions to mandatory sentencing (http://www.crimevictimsunited.org/measure11/measure11sentences.htm#note1)
Note 1: In the case of Assault II, the judge has discretion to exempt the offender from Measure 11 mandatory sentencing if :
The offender has no prior convictions for serious offenses and
The victim did not suffer physical injury by means of a deadly weapon and
The victim did not suffer a significant physical injury.
And the judge should have discretion! Mandatory minimums are one of the worst ideas in legal theory.
KATU reporting that the DA is not pursuing charges at this time.
http://www.katu.com/news/local/Woman-arrested-after-intentionally-hitting-bicyclist-police-say-253960181.html
Disgusting.
well whatever comes out of this, I’m sure she had a good scare–as she should have (at least).
Not as big of a scare as Brian Lee Groce got. Seems weakly disproportionate to simply “scare” a person that deliberately brought malicious bodily harm to another.
Better check poor Brian’s criminal record before you shed too many tears. This looks like he was doing a typical road range thing.
KGW reports that charges have been dismissed.
That’s correct, because the minute they put the “victim” on the stand, the driver’s lawyer would’ve been able to quiz poor Brian Lee Groce about his Assault II beef, his Attempted Assault II, his weapons charge, his two parole violations, and his disorderly conduct beef. I don’t think his rebuttal, “I’m just an average Portland bicyclist,” would’ve been too persuasive.
It’s starting to sound like there’s more to the story. Mr. Groce has quite a few mugshots online, for disorderly conduct and assault….
so if someone has a mugshot online it’s OK to assault them?
Sounds like the cyclist chased this woman down and was screaming and coming off as threatening. Getting tired of cyclists like this.. take down the plate # and call the cops but do not start smashing on someone’s windshield, cursing and coming off aggressive.
This general interpretation of anyone who confronts a motorist is a huge deterrent for me to engage. I’m a level-headed guy who can simply talk to people without getting hysterical. But, when it comes to how the general public, a police report, or a newspaper article will interpret my actions, I will most likely be the “aggro cyclist” scaring the poor little defenseless driver. So I don’t engage anyone and keep on rolling no matter how threatening or stupid their maneuvers are. I don’t think the road is the time for education, but for different reasons. I see it as a PR/legal mountain to climb should a motorist take physical action on me for my words.
Helmet cam. Stay silent and grimly, repeatedly point to it — as if you were Scrooge’s third ghost. Puts their tail between their legs real quick (so far). Later, if you find you got both the plate number and the face, you might consider a citizen cite if the severity warrants the hassle (not yet, for me).
Tip: The GoPro, boxy as it is, may be harder for others to mistake for a light.
unbiased witnesses seemed to think that she purposefully collided with him.
Charges were dropped for a reason.
What was the reason?
Because her “victim” has a long history of felony assault.
And if that’s really the reason, rather than if it’s been established that she did _not_ purposely collide with him (or that he implied deadly force or something), then it’s much more like politics or PR than justice.
That’s not the case Citizen. I’m in touch with the DA’s office and will put together a follow-up on Monday.
“Sounds like the cyclist chased this woman down and was screaming and coming off as threatening. Getting tired of cyclists like this..”
Why? Is this happening to you a lot?
Could it be that she perceived this guy to be threatening? You weren’t there. I wasn’t there(nor were you!!) but I would bet he wasn’t just saying that “you almost hit me”. And you may notice that she is female and he is a male, take this in consideration.
No, but the fact that there has not been a trial means that there might not have been an assault. This will play out in the court system where his past might actually become an issue if he has disorderly conduct and assault convictions (I’m a little murky on my rules of evidence on reputation / past conduct of witnesses or victims).
The facts as reported also leave unanswered questions. Jackson has a single lane of eastbound travel and a single lane of westbound travel at that intersection so if the person on a bike was positioned to the left of the person of the car and has he claims, repeated to the person in the car that she had cut him off, that seems to indicate that the person on the bike was at her driver window at the stoplight and “chased” the person in the car down. It is entirely plausible that she did not want to engage someone attempting to engage her in an unusual manner, felt threatened, and a collision occurred in the panic or confusion once the light turned green while he for some reason was still along side her.
i guess you missed the part where charges were dropped by the cowardly DA. this incident proves, yet again, illustrates that a motorist can intentionally hit, maim, or kill a cyclist or pedestrian and get away with it with no repercussions.
The charges weren’t dropped according to the KATU article. The case is still under review. Usually it takes a bit for it to get to the indictment / information / grand jury stage if the DA determines that a prosecution is warranted.
What it shows is that if you’re a bicyclist and have a bunch of violent felonies under your belt, the D.A. isn’t going to carry your banner.
Citizen, ask yourself why you feel “if you’re a bicyclist” is necessary in that sentence at all — as well as in your many other bloodshot contributions here. If you have any remaining courage, maybe you’ll begin to realize how the world sees you: as a water-carrier for a brand of bigotry that’s no less repugnant even though it’s based on something other than the more typical race/religion/etc.
Citizen, it’s high time to man up, figure out what’s really holding you back in your life, and address it. (‘Cause it ain’t people who ride bikes.) With this pathetically transparent business of scapegoating those who seem vulnerable to you (not only men like you but women, children and old folks — “bicyclist” can mean any of those) you portray yourself as a coward. At least, those are the signals you’re sending here.
O.K. then let’s do the long division here. If you are a bicyclist with a track record of violent felonies, and you pursue a driver down the street in a road range incident, and then some up with some tale about how she was texting to justify yet another outburst of anger on the streets, you’d better not expect that D.A. to carry your banner.
The same would go if you were a motor vehicle driver with the same background. The difference is that drivers wouldn’t be leaping to some criminal’s defense just because he was in a motor vehicle. The defenses and excuses for this bicyclist here are beyond pathetic.
Who hasn’t almost been hit on Broadway? To chase down the driver to repeatedly tell them what they already know, that they almost hit you, just seems like asking for trouble. You never know the state of mind of strangers out there…
And drivers never know the state of mind of bicyclists out there. The double standard needs to stop.
Indeed it does, pixelgate. Please pare down the excessive mass of you and your motorbunker to about 200-300 lbs. or so, earth weight, which is all a person of courage needs in order to get across town. Fix that double standard and sure, we can talk.
I don’t think “double standard” means what you think it means.
And yet, somehow, I’m not surprised.
If I rip you out of your car and beat you half to death you think I would be walking around? I would say there is a double standard, but it runs opposite the way you think it does….
If this incident is as it was discussed in the BP article…why would it be labelled as a “collision”?
Does the PPB report a gun shooting as a “collision” with a bullet?
There needs to be a new word for when a motorized vehicle is driven as a weapon. Just as a ram becomes a “battering” ram…so to must a car become a “weaponized vehicle” or a similar term.
This is the case where we find out if the Prosecutors are serious about protecting people on bicycles. It seems like a pretty open & shut case, so I hope they don’t give this psychopath a plea deal. They should have charged her with attempted murder.
Once the criminal case is settled, Groce should go after her with a civil suit.
Or self defense. You don’t know what is behavior was but it probably wasn’t him just telling her “you almost hit me”. Why did he have to stop a second time. Was he threatening? There is probably more to it. The point is, you weren’t there.
The charge should be at least assault with a deadly weapon. Though I’m more inclined to say attempted murder.
There are a couple of other possibilities besides unjustified assault:
1) She may have been trying to make a turn or change lanes and the cyclist crossed her path.
2) Since this was the 2nd time the cyclist had assaulted her verbally about nearly hitting her, she may have been afraid of him and tried to knock him off his bike so he could get away from him – an act of self defense.
“she may have been afraid of him and tried to knock him off his bike so he could get away from him – an act of self defense.”
Orwellian fantasy?
Let’ not forget that we’re talking about two people, one one a bike and one in a car. The one on the bike seems to have been unquestionably knocked to the ground by the one in the car.
I’m trying to think of the last time I heard about someone in a car being injured/assaulted/intimidated/frightened by someone on a bike.
Does anyone know if he was in a bike lane the first time she turned and almost hit him?
The problem I see with his case is he moved into a traffic lane occupied by her car. The lawyer will argue that he came too close to her car.
She’ll probably say that she felt threatened and was acting out of self-defense. Even if she didn’t, her lawyer will tell her to say that. Bet she doesn’t get more than a couple of months.
The Oregonian snagged an interview with Groce. In it, he sounds honest. The O asked for an interview with Geday: “…She did not return a voicemail message seeking comment. …”.
More from the O story: “…Based on Groce’s account of events and statements from witnesses that the crash appeared to be an intentional act, police called out assault detectives to the scene, rather than traffic investigators. …”.
If the witness accounts verify that she deliberately drove her car into him, she’d better have a very good reason for having done that. Unless she was unable to drive away from him or close her car window to escape from him, for her to say she drove into him self defensively doesn’t sound likely to go well for her.
He says he saw her fingers on the phone, suggesting she was texting as he called out to her. In this day and age of electronics investigation, where if true, that kind of thing can be proven, that’s an ‘uh-oh’ for her.
Sorry…forgot the link to the O story: http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2014/04/portland_bicyclist_says_driver.html
I made the mistake of reading the comments on this link.
I’m amazed at how many people driving around encased in huge steel boxes capable of reaching speeds in excess of 40 mph feel threatened enough by people on bicycles to advocate running them over instead of just driving away. It’s almost as if the car and the bike serve to remove our respective humanity.
When you’re stuck in heavy traffic and a road-raging bicyclist is screaming at you, it’s not easy to “just drive away.” In this case, the road-raging bicyclist is a criminal with a personal violence background.
Sounds honest? Do a Google search.
You check your reading and comprehension skills. What I wrote was:
“The Oregonian snagged an interview with Groce. In it, he sounds honest. …”
What that means, is that to me, his comments about the incident to the O interview sound honest, and they may very well be honest. Efforts to find out who of the two parties involved in the incident, or those having witnessed the incident, are telling the truth, is why the police were called out.
As you managed to find out, Groce apparently has a police record. There’s no justice in simply assuming that because he’s got a criminal record of violent behavior, he must have behaved violently in this incident.
I suggest that if there were witnesses who would affirm that the person on the bike had deliberately ‘assaulted’ the person in the car by ramming the bike into the car, he would still be getting those free meals. Basically, DAs, like most police, are a bunch of people who drive cars. I’d be happy to hear about any exceptions, and yes I know about the cop who commutes on a fixie.
Released w/o being charged…
http://www.katu.com/news/local/Woman-arrested-after-intentionally-hitting-bicyclist-police-say-253960181.html
Why are we not surprised?
Extenuating circumstances could, of course, explain this.
But Wanda Cortese, as far as we know, never got punished for all but killing Christeen Osborn with her car either (unintentionally, we have to assume).
The guy has a quite violent record.
http://www.pdxmugshots.com/mug/brian-lee-groce-1
Better do some research on your hero. Seems as if Brian Lee Groce ain’t quite the upstanding fella you think he is. Or maybe a couple of assault beefs, a parole violation, and a weapons charge are typical of Portland’s bicyclists.
I was gonna comment on this statement, but I think most readers already are thinking what I was going to say, so i’ll just go take out the recycling instead…
I don’t he “followed” her. It is quite possible that because of the speed of traffic downtown he ended up next to her for several blocks. It is fairly easy to keep up with and sometime go faster than the flow of auto traffic downtown. And even if he did “follow” her, it does not give her the right to serve into him, knock him over, and injure him.
She was probably terrified, and given his criminal record it would seem that she had good reason. Or maybe “Bike Portland” ought to be renamed “Bike Felon Portland?”
So how do you know someone’s criminal record from looking at them?
So tell me, is this the typical Portland bicyclist? Is that why you’re so strongly on his side?
From “pdxmugshot.com” — search on “Groce” there.
4/6/10 — Disorderly conduct 2 (misdemeanor), Parole/supervision violation (felony)
7/14/11 — Assault II (felony)
10/19/11 — Attempted assault II, Unlawful use of a weapon (both felonies)
9/24/12 — Parole/supervision violation (felony)
What do you think, citizen? Do you think the “typical Portland bicyclist” has 4 felony convictions?
Beats me, but I notice everyone here is all in favor of the bicyclist, even though he’s got two felony assault beefs, a felony weapons beef, two parole violations, and a disorderly conduct charge. I’ll judge you by your friends.
pdxmugshot is notorious for containing exaggerated and false information. and the fact that you are willing to use an internet rumor-site to tar another person says something about your ethics.
so how come he wasn’t already locked up per measure 11? And did the PPB check to see if the bike he was riding was hot?
While agree a persons record should be taken into account when believing their account, if there are other witnesses who say she turned her car into him and hit him does he have a lesser right to live than someone who has not committed a crime?
It’s about who you people will believe and defend. As long as it’s a bicyclist, you will take the word of a repeat felon just because he’s a bicyclist. Gee, and then you wonder why you have such bad will among drivers?
Citizen,
I really dislike the words you’re choosing in your comments. I don’t tolerate things like “you people.” I’ve deleted a lot of your comments already. Please watch your tone if you’d like to continue to participate. Thanks.
As long as it’s a bicyclist, you’re on their side, even when it’s a criminal. Good job!
He didn’t lose his life. He’s a criminal who pursued a frightened woman down the street, and wound up getting banged up. And you are a typical Portland bicyclist who’s come down firmly on the side of some criminal just because he’s on a bike. And you wonder why your “community” has a bad image?!
Citizen,
Please stop using phrases like “typical Portland bicyclist.” Stuff like that does not allow for a productive dialogue. Thanks.
–Jonathan Maus, publisher of BikePortland
How would she know he is a convicted felon just looking at him?
Even if she did feel threatened (inside a steel box) it does not give her the right to ram him and knock him off his bike.
I don’t like this “once a criminal, always a criminal” attitude I am seeing here. He did his time. It does not make him a suspect forever.
And no I am not a reformed felon, my record is clean with the exception of minor traffic infractions and a dismissed trespassing charge.
I am 100% calling “Citizen” out for character assassination. What you are doing is despicable, and using social media websites to further your own agenda when the person is not able to defend themselves is the kind of tactic I would expect out of the CIA.
This person must feel incredibly smug that he/she can conduct anonymous internet Googling to pull up dirt on other people. Amazing. What a piece of work! Half of this thread is dominated by Citizen’s smear campaign, which adds almost nothing to the conversation beyond a footnote of “hey, priors.”
However, I guess in your fantasy land you think that running people over with a car is completely acceptable behavior. Unbelievable.
Jonathan, I call on your journalistic integrity to yank his comments as he is, IMO, pushing his/her own agenda by engaging in an attack campaign against this person, who most readers on this site likely don’t even know. I find this reprehensible and amoral.
I feel so strongly about this, that I will cease to read BP if this type of BS aggressive commenting by trolls or persons (bots?) with agenda like this continue.
Wait, this MAN attacks a WOMAN, gets his, ahem, hat handed to him; and SHE goes to jail.
Thanks again for turning my hometown into a circus. Love ya’ll. byez
BINGO! And isn’t just wonderful to see so much of Bike Portland firmly on his side? And then they complain about their image?!
Hey “Citizen” (seriously?) at first glance it looks pretty outrageous to attack someone with a motor vehicle.
Now that we’re learning of this cyclist’s violent history and that he might have been harassing or threatening the driver it’s becoming less clear-cut. But not everyone who’s posted above had that information yet, and – justified or not – she did attack him with a deadly weapon. Your complaints against the BikePortland community for our initial reaction to what certainly appeared to be an aggravated deadly-weapon assault are unwarranted. Calm down.
Have no idea who “Rob A.” is, but somehow I doubt that’ll ease your paranoia.
Also, if it turns out he was indeed harassing her and completely overreacting to her driving behavior, I’m fine with the DA throwing the book at him for that.
But I hope the DA also at least investigates the texting allegation (easy enough to do) — and, if founded, throws the book at her for that too. IF the information as it appears this afternoon proves correct, maybe they can both end up with criminal charges.
Or maybe he was reacting to someone almost killing him with their car, and then what does she do? She tries to kill him with her car!
But that’s okay, because at some point in his life he was a criminal.
“At some point?” Try two felony assault beefs, a disorderly conduct beef, a weapons charge, and two felony parole violations — all since 2010. This is not some kumbaya kid who got in trouble a long time ago. This is a criminal on two wheels, and you are defending him for no reason other than he’s a bicyclist with a story you want to hear.
Yeah, a repeat felon tells a story, and because he was riding a bicycle you automatically believe him. Is that because so many other bicyclists are repeat violent felons?
So if he hadn’t been a convicted felon, would you be siding with him? Probably not, he is still a cyclist.
If he didn’t have a history of violence, I’d still be asking why he pursued the woman down the street. But, given his background, which is highly relevant, the defenses and excuses I’m seeing in this thread are absurd and stereotypical of the Portland bicycling “community” and its arrogance.
You too. I stay out of Portland as much as possible, just like a lot of people do. It’s why the vast majority of the new jobs get created in the suburbs, and why businesses in the city are struggling while ones outside the city are thriving. Between the homeless and the bicyclists, who wants to deal with Portland if they don’t have to?
And yet, somehow, you’ve been here dealing with (Bike)Portland all day.
Because, she almost killed him with his car. You’re right as motorist you should have the right to do that. After all they could be a convicted felon, and as a Citizen you are judge, jury, and executioner. Just smash into and run over cyclists any time you want. And then blame them for it.
Citizen, I’m genuinely disturbed and saddened by your apparent revelry in this incident. **sentence deleted by moderator** Personally, I don’t know what exactly happened out there on Jackson Street. My take is if the collision was accidental, then it boils down to recklessness or lack of judgment on someone’s part; if deliberate, then that would seem to warrant an assault charge. But I’m sure you’ll interprate my unwillingness to pass kneejerk judgment on this guy as rushing to his defense. I wonder how it’s possible that the irony and hypocrisy of calling everyone here out on their bias has escaped you, who are so obviously giddy to blame the bicycle rider. Like I said, sad.
felon or no, listened to his interview on the oregonian…sounds like she turned left and cut hit him off, he yelled at her, he began to continue thru the intersection, she honked and flipped the bird, and with that he turned and chased her down.
This guy was harassing the girl. He chased her for several blocks yelling at her. Road rage is a criminal offense. We’ll see if there are charges against him.
We will have to wait and see if there are charges filed against this guy for harassment. That is a criminal charge.
We need a moderator. this thread looks like an oregonian comments section.
Except for one person bombarding the entire thread with multiple posts, the thread isn’t so bad. “Citizen” seems very intent on making certain the world understands that he has a chip in his shoulder against people who ride bikes. It would be nice if he were trying to contribute rationally to good conversation, but I’d hate to see the threads becoming too filtered.
I, appreciate the gentle (gentle being that I didn’t encounter this person on the street) reminder that there are people driving motor vehicles who really are convinced that once I am riding a bike I become an object of all their insecurities and rage. It’s easy to forget sometimes, when the community is so full of intelligent and healthy people. And I will ride just a little more aware for it.
Hi was carless,
I agree. I’ve been cleaning things up by deleted comments by “citizen” and leaving notes and replies on others. Sorry for letting this thread get out of hand. I welcome people (like citizen) to express whatever perspective they have — but it must be done with care for the quality of the dialogue and respect for our community. That being said, please do not use these comments to personally insult anyone, regardless of their opinions. I will deal with inappropriate behavior and if you respond to it (not you personally, but in “you” in general) with equally inconsiderate comments you are just adding to the problem.
Thanks.
A couple of points:
IF, as he claims, she cut him off, then he would be justified in yelling “effin idiot” like he says he did. That should have been the end of it – he had not been hit at that point. People get cut off every time they drive – unfortunately it’s just part of driving in our country today – and it doesn’t matter if you are in an 18 wheeler or on a bicycle – you WILL get cut off.
Where he blew it (and invited his injuries) was to go another block and lay into her again. The fact that he made the decision to not let it go, and to follow her and engage her again, may speak to why he has a criminal record. He needs to learn that idiots exist and will offend you – go out of your way to avoid them.
The cyclist seems dangerous. If I were the woman, I’d take added precautions for my safety.
In reading Citizen’s comments, his anger and writing style sounds uncannily close to “itgoesbothways” that was commenting in this post: http://bikeportland.org/2014/01/06/transportation-activist-joe-rowe-looks-to-unseat-kotek-from-oregon-house-99489
He said it was the last time he was going to post on this site so he he had to change his handle.
Seems my comment didn’t make the cut. Reading all of the above, I hadn’t realized the bar was set so high. Or maybe I’m mistaken; maybe my post was just eaten up by Internet gremlins.
Thanks to everyone for the contributions to this thread. I’m closing the comments now because I feel there’s too much information about this case that is unknown at this time and it’s leading to unhelpful speculation. Stay tuned for an update on this story on Monday.