BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

At the Pittsburgh Police Department Zone 5 Community Meeting last evening, the following recommendations were made for any cyclist involved in a situation where they have been harassed, intimidated or assaulted.

1. The message for all riders in the East Liberty Boulevard area, especially after dark, is to ride safely, but to be very alert. If in doubt, err on the side of caution. That may mean diverting from your intended route, running a stop sign or a stop light, or turning off your light in questionable areas to make you less visible from a distance, and thereby reducing the time for small groups to mobilize against you. The Police were hesitant to encourage such measures, but also clearly said that personal safety should take precedence at such times.

2.They also encouraged anyone involved in a questionable incident/experience to PLEASE call 911. It not only provides a log of problem areas for them, but in the event that evidence is available (they said they could even fingerprint a bicycle left at the scene to help identify the individuals) they can retrieve such evidence. Also, by creating a history of such incidents, IF the perpetrators are found and prosecuted, a history of offenses is much easier to prosecute than a single incident.

3. When calling 911, be as descriptive as possible (but don't put yourself in danger by staying to collect extra information). Height, weight, gender, race, age and number of individuals is helpful. Particularly helpful are any unique features....a green stripe on a tennis shoe, or an unusual piece of jewelry, for example. I think the same could be said for bumper stickers on cars, etc.

4. If you have been involved in an incident of intimidation or harassment (but not full assault) in the East Liberty Boulevard in recent weeks, the Zone 5 Police would like to hear from you. You can call 911 or stop by the Station. They want to collect as much data as possible. We will be working with them to try to establish an on-going communications link other than 911 (such as email) but this is not yet in place.

5. If you are involved in a situation and you WONDER if you should call 911, the answer is yes, you SHOULD call 911. They will prioritize the call, and may not get to your call immediately, but the mere record of your call helps them considerably.

6. Final note, it is no longer just cyclists that are being assaulted. A pedestrian in East Liberty was attacked over the weekend, and sent to the hospital with three broken bones. Don't think you are safe just because you are not on a bike. These are random acts of assualt -- not muggings, not robberies, just assault. Nothing is ever taken.

Sorry to be an alarmist on all this. But, by being educated via this board and the meeting last night, a cyclist was able to avoid a potentially bad situation last night. Share this information widely. The sooner these idiots are rounded up, the safer we will all be. End of rant.