Justice in bike harrassment case

Most cyclists have had negative experiences with motorists who behave badly. I've had cans thrown at me, been honked at aggressively for riding in the road (regularly), been yelled at (regularly), but have never been intentionally hit. A Girl and Her Bike was hit from behind by someone who thought it would be fun to harass an innocent cyclist. She was actually hit twice.

It turns our that "A Girl" is written by a DC police officer. She was going to ignore the first bump from behind "I ignored this. Why? 98% of the time, it is not worth it to engage with an aggressive driver. At best, you end up getting angrier, at worst, you get hurt. Plus, I spend the majority of my day dealing with people like this and by the time I'm done with work I Just. Don't. Want. To. Anymore."

Then came the second, harder bump from behind. Out came the badge. See her account of the incident and what happened next. The motorist will face sentencing on August 19:

I want to pack the courtroom with cyclists. As the victim of a crime, I am able to present a "Victim Impact Statement" to the judge. You better believe that I intend to bring up the fact that I am a cyclist first and foremost, and that this whole saga began when a driver decided to literally push around a cyclist with his motor vehicle. It was just a matter of luck that this cyclist also happens to be a police officer as well. It is Not Okay for drivers to bully cyclists on our streets. His actions were not only irresponsible, but CRIMINAL. He didn't "accidentally" hit me--he made a conscious decision to hit a human being with a 2-ton vehicle. That is assault. These sorts of things have to STOP.

As the date nears we'll post more info here or you can check A Girl and Her Bike for details.