The “jaws of death” have given a Portland woman’s bike new life.
Last week Erin Goldwater noticed someone had put a U-lock around her bike while she was at work — and she says it was done intentionally by a thief who planned to steal her bike. The incident occurred at NW 18th and Irving.
Here’s what happened, according to an email we got from Erin this morning:
Someone had locked their bike to the pole and to my bike. As I got closer, it was very obvious this was no accident. The other guy (I saw him while he was struggling to lock up his bike, but I was busy working so I couldn’t to go out and check on him) used a brand new tiny Kryptonite lock to secure his old, rusty, beat-up bike to mine. His bike was jammed up to mine yet there was an open bike rack 10 yards away. It was completely intentional.
According to Bryan Hance of Bike Index, it’s not unheard of for bike thieves to do this. “I think it’s very uncommon, but crafty,” says Hance. The thieves hope the person is forced to leave their bike overnight so they can come back under cover of darkness and steal it, or strip the parts off of it.
In Erin’s case, she knew of this potential and was determined to not leave the bike overnight, so she called the Portland Police Bureau non-emergency line (503-823-3333). Two officers showed up within ten minutes but they were both unable to remove the lock. They called the Fire Department to come and saw off the rack. It took three firefighters less than a minute.
Here’s the video:
The police confiscated the other bike and Erin got her bike back. “I happily rode my bike home with a huge smile on my face,” she said, “Not only were the cops and firemen super helpful and the whole thing entertaining, but I also got quite the satisfaction out of imagining this fellow returning to the bikes at 3 am prepared to steal my bike only to find them both gone!”