So Angry with Police

Ballabriggs

turkolina wrote: »

3 weeks later the Police phoned to confirm nothing was being done as there was no witnesses and the stories were not the same... Asked about the taxi driver they apparently spoke to him and he said he didn't see the argument (well done for being an upstanding member of the public).... She then went on to say to stay away from this man and she had told him the same thing.. As you can imagine my husband was fuming and so was I but I did calm him down eventually.. Had this have been a woman would it have had the same outcome .... Unlikely... and my husband not being English.... yep another reason to be spoken to in a patronising manner and I had no qualms in telling the policewoman

Did you mean to say had it not been a woman the outcome would have been different? If that is the case then that is sexism which is just as bad as racism! Pot - kettle colour check? If your husband had shown this attitude towards the policewoman whilst he dealt with her then I think she did well to keep her cool! Or did you mean had your husband been a woman it would have been different? In which case, I think the same applies!

In fairness the police did look into the matter and found that the stories didn't match. The taxi driver did not support your husband's version of events, given that he didn't seem to know either party would suggest that he had no reason to lie. Without evidence the police cannot proceed and to be honest with you I for one think that this is a good thing. Should they take action on the un-corroborated word of one person? Of course not.

Your husband is okay and not hurt. Some idiot shouts things out a window, ignore it and he will soon get bored.

Personally I'm not a great fan of the police, but I'd rather they were out catching the drug dealers, rapists and child abusers than worrying about hurt feelings.

ifstar

There is very little the police could have done in the first instance, if the taxi driver did not provide a statement backing up your husband then there is not enough evidence. It would have been exactly the same outcome whether it was a man, woman or child. If there is not enough evidence then the police can't charge someone with an offence.


The same would be true of the second offence with the guy shouting abuse at your husband, as there were no other witnesses.


With regard to the latest incident, if his colleague is willing to provide a statement that backs up what your husband says, then there could be enough to charge him.


I very much doubt the police officer was intending to speak to your husband in a patronising tone, is it not more likely that she realised English wasn't his first language and was speaking like that to make sure he understood?


As has been suggested, a helmet camera for the bicycle would be a worthwhile investment as this would provide evidence to support your husband should it happen again.

victor2

TBH, you sound to be as much of the problem as the van driver. Claiming racism because your husband says the policewoman was patronising him, isn't going to achieve anything except wind you up.
Without hard evidence of a criminal incident, what do you expect the police to do?

There are troublemakers in this world. We just have to accept it and get on with life. Tell hubby to get witnesses and photographs of his harasser if it continues.

Stabbald

Man.

A whole lot of crying over some name calling. It all seems rather juvenile. What's with all the knee-jerk claims of racism?

**professor~yaffle**

I read another disturbing case about a cyclist being knocked off his bike, and then chased and assaulted by the driver! Why do car drivers hate cyclists so much. (and the other way round) What we need is proper bike lanes like they have in other countries.

As for the Police, OP, yeah they're just being lazy. If there's not much chance of a conviction they do absolute diddley-squat. So yes, you've got thugs like this who won't get caught, cautioned or punished in any way until (God forbid) they actually kill someone, and you also get people who have done much lesser things who get taken to court. It's all about the paperwork and whether they think they'll get a conviction, as I say.

You could make a formal complaint, especially if there's racism involved.

slightlyconfused1

Sorry I am confused. If your husband was turning right he would be in the centre of the road. How on earth did he fall into the kerb?

There are idiots everywhere and this van driver sounds like a prize idiot, however as there were no witnesses to the initial incident then there really is nothing the police can do. As for the 2nd incident when someone shouted out of a van, do you really think this was criminal?

You also seem to imply that your husband is planning to do something to the other driver that may be criminal. Not wise. He is obviously not "in fear" as you stated earlier just angry.

I really hate when people automatically play the racism card when things don't go the way they want them to. From the story you tell I think the police acted appropriately. They spoke to both parties and told them to stay away from each other, I presume you said something similar to them that you stated above ie if they didn't deal with it then your husband would.

Bad behaviour is not always criminal. I have lost count of the number of times cars (and bikes) have driven through zebra crossings when I am crossing, or when cars have got too close when I am cycling You need to take a deep breath and calm down. You must have a lovely easy life if something so trivial seems so important that it is worthy of so much angst.

Caroline_a

Over the past few weeks I've seen bad driving by both car drivers and cyclists. I've seen stupid cyclists dressed all in black with no lights after dark, and car drivers that drive too close. I've had car drivers cut me up, and cyclists who insist on driving on the road on narrow streets that already have a cycle path!!

However I didn't run to the police, I just took avoiding action and carried on. Had I been raped, burgled, attacked, then I would have gone to the police. These incidents you describe seem like handbags at dawn. Tell your husband to get over it, there was no racism here, just an idiot in a van.

Nadstar

Confused by the racism point? Whose? The police can only work with what they have, in this instance, varying versions of events. The driver, well assuming that the husband had a helmet on, like the responsible cyclist he is, and given that it is cold, then from behind as the driver approached, he would have had little idea whether the cyclist was male/female/black/white/green even!

FBaby

I get annoyed by bad driving almost every day. It also includes some cyclists and motorbike riders who think they own the road. Sometimes, one of them do something stupid that potentially puts me at risk. I either curse or hunk, and then I move on. Most people do.

Why you would think this incident is any different to the 100s of thousands that happen every day every where in this country is beyond me. What do you want the police to do when all they got is two totally different account and a witness who either didn't see what happened, or is not interested in getting involved. Are you infering that the police should believe your husband and assumed the other guy is lying just because your husband is foreign?

Your husband was angry, so are you. Fine, move on. Harassement because the guy happened to be there and exchange some words with your husband? That's not harassement especially when your husband can just turn his back and choose to see nothing if he wanted to.

bryanb

turkolina wrote: »

No my husband was turning right (he was first at the traffic lights) and the van was trying to push past him. There was nowhere for my husband to go.. Either under his wheels or towards the curb so therefore he fell into the curbside.

A cyclist turning right at a junction should be in the centre of the road, not near to the curb.
Has he passed his cycling proficiency test?