From R to L: Officers Phil Blanchard, Robert Pickett, Robert Quick, Police Chief Sizer.(Photos © Jonathan Maus) At a ceremony this morning in downtown Portland, four members of the Southeast Precinct Bike Patrol Unit were among those recognized at the Chief’s Forum Awards — which intend to “reflect on the value of community policing partnerships”.
(Photos © Jonathan Maus) The other day I met someone who claimed to have gotten more tickets while on their bicycle than anyone else in town. While I don’t think that’s anything to be proud of, I did think it was an interesting story and I was curious to know more. I asked the person, … Read more
SE Bike Patrol officers Pickett and Quick on Hawthorne Blvd.(Photo © Jonathan Maus) Four Portland bike patrol officers will receive recognition for their community policing efforts at the Police Bureau’s annual awards ceremony next week. Officers Phil Blanchard, Robert Quick, Anthony Zanetti and Robert Pickett will be recognized by Chief Rosie Sizer with a “Community … Read more
Karl Rohde(Photo © Jonathan Maus) Karl Rohde, the BTA’s head of public affairs and governmental relations, reports on the BTA blog that he had a “productive meeting” with Captain Vince Jarmer of the Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division yesterday. They met to discuss the many enforcement-related issues that the BTA (and many in the community) … Read more
The “Enforcement” slide from a presentation by PDOT at last night’s bike safety forum.View entire presentation here Last night in the Portland Building, Commissioner Adams and his Bike Safety Committee heard public testimony on bike safety issues and gave a presentation titled “Bike Safety in Portland” (view presentation). From all reports (I was not able … Read more
Press conference Friday, 12:30 at City Hall. Rally Saturday, 12 noon at Salmon Street Fountain. More info here. In the wake of a tragic October that revealed chinks in Portland’s bike-friendly armor, community members have come together and planned a press conference and rally under the banner of “We are all traffic”. On Friday there … Read more
Last Friday at City Hall, Commissioner Sam Adams hosted a meeting to discuss the enforcement issues that have caused frustration and outrage in the bike community and a public relations crisis for the Police Bureau. At the table were representatives from the Police Bureau including both Chief Sizer and Assistant Chief Lynnae Berg, along with … Read more
Lawyer Bob Mionske Portland-based lawyer Bob Mionske, a former Olympian who writes a monthly legal column for VeloNews Magazine, has added yet another voice of concern over what he sees as a bias against bicyclists at the Portland Police Bureau. In his most recent VeloNews column, A fatal bias?, Mionske goes in-depth on four cases … Read more
[Updated: 11:28am] “The driver said the civilian investigation seems like a ‘vigilante’ move that won’t fix anything.”–From a story on KGW The Oregonian and KGW have picked up the story about an effort by a local lawyer to work toward a citation against the driver in Tuesday’s collision. Today’s Oregonian also features a forceful opinion … Read more
Scott Bricker, the Executive Director of the BTA, has posted an update on what he has been doing in light of ongoing community discussion surrounding enforcement issues. Here are excerpts from his post:
“There just has to be some consequences for drivers who plow into cyclists.”–Julie Rawls, a witness to yesterday’s collision. The frustration of many people in the community has reached a boiling point. The well over one-hundred comments on this site (and others), emails and phone calls I’ve received, and messages on local email lists leave … Read more
[*Updated 3:17pm] Bob Verrinder remains in serious condition.(Photo courtesy of Bob’s friends) On Thursday, October 18, Bob Verrinder was seriously injured when he and a motor vehicle collided on NE Marine Drive. Unfortunately, because a separate tragic event occurred the following Monday, I have been unable to follow-up on this story. First, I want to … Read more