Yesterday I chased a bike thief down my block.
Let me begin my story. I was home sitting on the couch watching some awful afternoon TV movie when I noticed outside my window someone in the yard next door. Then I noticed the fellow reaching over the fence. My first thought was that he was putting trash in my recycle bin. Then I remembered I moved the bin to stop people from throwing trash in it. Second thought was ‘is this guy stealing my tomatoes?’ And in an instant I realized he wasn’t aiming for my tomatoes, the bastard had his hands on my roommate’s piece of shyte bike.
I screamed stop kept screaming as I grabbed my keys and headed to open the door and stop him. By the time I got the gate door open the thief was two doors down and had just fallen off the bike leaving it on the sidewalk. He ran down the block and just turned the corner heading towards New Jersey Avenue when I realized I was looking at a man on foot and not a man on bike. I was still yelling at the top of my lungs as I debated for two seconds about unlocking my bike, chasing him and trying to play bicycle thief polo with his head and my u-locks. But I chose to grab my roommate’s bike and put the stupid thing back in the yard.
I then did what my roommate should have done. I locked the bike in a way that makes it ‘harder’ to just lift and ride off with, I locked the rear wheel to the frame. I used one of my locks, and moved my bike inside as it was without it’s normal 3 locks. Then I called the roommate and relayed what just happened and fussed.
The almost stolen bike is a piece of crap, which should have been its own anti-theft device. But it is a device that cannot work alone it needs a lock. A properly locked lock. It would have helped it said bike was locked to the fence, which it was not. Short of that it would have helped a lot if said lock was locked to a wheel, which it was not. Instead a newish $35 Kryptonite lock was locked to the frame and nothing else.
Where it was on the frame may have made biking on it difficult, making for a harder ‘quick’ get away. Add to the fact the bike is heavy and only one speed and no hand brakes, running on foot may have been better if you want to get away from an angry black woman.
So kids, when you lock your bike, look at before you turn your back and ask, can someone lift it and ride away? I got 3 locks, so the answer is, not unless they throw it in the back of a truck.
Tag: crime
Be aware of your surroundings
Even as a blogger I do value the MSM (main stream media*)for reporting on things beyond my general vicinity and digging deeper on things that are going on around me, but lately I think MSM has lost its ever loving mind. The message I’ve been getting is that nobody getting lent any money, my bank is going to go bust, and the world as we know it is going to end.
Take a deep breath and try to match that with what you can ascertain yourself, match that with what is going on around you. I know Poets and Bustboys just opened up a location this week near the Shiney Swanky Safeway, a Safeway mind you with a nut bar, a counter just for nuts. That does not signal a bad economy. Yes, there are foreclosures and short sales on my street. However, several of them involve investors, and there are many more failed flips several blocks around. Their stupidity, bad judgement, and poor cash flow makes me as sympathetic to them as I am to SUV drivers who are suffering due to the high cost of gas.
My bank, unless they are lying to me, is not going to shut down. I belong to a credit union. A boring, fuddy duddy, pain in the butt to get to, non-sub-prime credit union. And the credit union is still offering car, boat, student and house loans, as well as Wachovia, were I keep my food/mad money allowance. When the Wachovia branch at Dunbar and Penn Quarter shut down or cut back, then I’ll be concerned. I also own some shares of Wachovia, but their value is pretty much the equivalent of dinner for two at Equinox.
I also have stocks (also the equivalent of dinner for two at a good restaurant, tax, tip and wine included) in Pepco and Washington Gas. I’ll worry about them if I can’t have lights and there is no heat this winter. And we all have no light or heat then the price of the stocks are the least of our worries.
What of development in Shaw? Well considering all other sorts of other things can stall that, like the developer saying the community can’t agree on what design of ugly the library should be, being one example. Or a crazed puppet-regime ANC, throwing a wrench in the works. Or Jemal doesn’t feel like it. Or insane taxes on an arts venue.
Take a deep breath. Take a good look at your surroundings. Take off your ipod buds and hear what’s going around you, on your street, in the store as you shop. Get off the damned phone and be observant, factor in that people are still driving (like maniacs), they are still fixing up their yards, or still ignoring them like before. People are still walking around, going out, still illegally parking, still doing stuff that does not signal the end of the world.
If you are aware of your surroundings not only do you reduce your risk of being a crime victim, you also may keep yourself sane.
*If I fall into the jargon abrev. trap bring my attention to it.
Hate crimes and regular old muggings
Today coming home from work a neighbor told me that last night up the block a woman was attacked, and the guy who rushed out of the house to help the woman, also beat by the perps. Apparently, I failed to notice the various cops and the helicopter responding to the scene. Add that to other muggings and gay bashing that I’ve heard of, this seems to be on the increase. However, I’m tempering it with the sense that things seem to get worse before they get better.
The good that I’m hoping that will come of this post is a reminder that you need to BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS. For the love of Pete people too many people are walking along yakking away on cell phones, texting, and rocking out on ipods. I’m not saying live in fear, just be safe. Take a cab if you’re drunk. Have your keys out when walking at night. Turn off the mp3 player or at least have one ear free to hear what’s coming up behind you. Make the phone call quick and hang up. If you’re walking with friends still remain aware.
We’ve been through this cycle before, let’s work to bring back the sense of safety by becoming safe.
I’ve just called the po-po on your bad a$$ed chillun
Thank you other person who also reported the little heathen rock throwers. I’ll guess you may also be the adult who yelled at them, and they ignored you. Hopefully the the police will grab them, throw them in juvie and carefully examine their family home life. Seriously, I dislike the state invading the private life of the family, but with rights come responsibilities and somebody isn’t being responsible.
If these are the same little bastards that caused over $2000 worth of damage on my block earlier this month, and they are simply continuing on their reign of destruction, I have no sympathy for them. I’ve heard their mother isn’t particularly responsible, claiming that it couldn’t have been her babies that engaged in some other mischief on another block. Well right now they are elementary/middle school aged, and if they keep going on the same path, lady you’re going to be crying for your babies when they get carted off to prison or the funeral parlor. I mean it’s 9:30 PM, at night. Why aren’t your pint sized terrors at home?
Oh and to anyone on 3rd Street or Bates with a broken/ chipped/ cracked car window, it was the kids, not the crackheads.
Catch last night’s ghetto bird?
Round about 10:30 last night I heard what sounded like kids setting off a couple of fireworks in the alley. I guess I was wrong because after hearing two sets of “fireworks” or a couple of a couple of loud pops, I hear a helicopter. Then later I hear the neighborhood kids carrying on. When I looked out they were dancing in the spotlight of the circling whirlybird. Kids are weird.
The helicopter made a couple of passes beaming down a strong light on our block. Then it went away. And the only sound left was the kids yakking in the street.
Fun with the DC Code: Disturbing the Peace
Here’s something to ponder the next time you get to argue with the 911 dispatcher about the guys on the corner (bolds are mine):
Division IV. Criminal Law and Procedure and Prisoners.
Title 22. Criminal Offenses and Penalties. (Refs & Annos)
Subtitle I. Criminal Offenses.
Chapter 13. Disturbances of the Public Peace.
§ 22-1307. Unlawful assembly; profane and indecent language.It shall not be lawful for any person or persons within the District of Columbia to congregate and assemble in any street, avenue, alley, road, or highway, or in or around any public building or enclosure, or any park or reservation, or at the entrance of any private building or enclosure, and engage in loud and boisterous talking or other disorderly conduct, or to insult or make rude or obscene gestures or comments or observations on persons passing by, or in their hearing, or to crowd, obstruct, or incommode, the free use of any such street, avenue, alley, road, highway, or any of the foot pavements thereof, or the free entrance into any public or private building or enclosure; it shall not be lawful for any person or persons to curse, swear, or make use of any profane language or indecent or obscene words, or engage in any disorderly conduct in any street, avenue, alley, road, highway, public park or enclosure, public building, church, or assembly room, or in any other public place, or in any place where from the same may be heard in any street, avenue, alley, road, highway, public park or enclosure, or other building, or in any premises other than those where the offense was committed, under a penalty of not more than $250 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both for each and every such offense.
CREDIT(S)
(July 29, 1892, 27 Stat. 323, ch. 320, § 6; July 8, 1898, 30 Stat. 723, ch. 638; June 29, 1953, 67 Stat. 97, ch. 159, § 210.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 22-1107; 1973 Ed., § 22-1107.; DC CODE § 22-1307
Okay the problem seems that the language hasn’t been changed since 1892, but hey, it’s the DC Code, use that outmoded lingua to your advantage.
Get more of that funky code here.
Take back the alley, if only for an hour
I have heard from some dog owners that a good way to keep the ‘activity’ down is to walk your dogs through the alley. This is not for every one and every alley. Another thing I was told, was cutting down the weeds and removing the trash, so the dealers would have fewer places to hide their products.
So for about and hour or so I took to cleaning a small part of my alley. I leave the regular maintenance to alley cleaning man, his broom, and his tersely written signs. I had a big garbage bag, some gardening gloves, some garden tools and a hatchet. For entertainment, music and an earphone in one ear, leaving the other free to listen out for cars that are occasionally known to drive through.
While I was cleaning and whacking down weeds I noticed a man on a cell phone near the mouth of the alley pacing by and looking down the alley. I got the feeling that if I weren’t in the alley he would have walked down it. Then a little bit later a red sedan, possibly mid to early 1990s model, started to turn into the alley. I moved out of the way, but it had enough room to change plans, and not come down the alley. About 10 minutes later, I swear the same car began to turn into the alley on the other end, backed up and drove away.
Well, 8 feet of the alley is now weed free-ish, and trash free, and whatever was to have happened in the alley thwarted.
My greatest danger is anything with a motor
Once again, I am nearly run down by a SUV. If I hadn’t read my paper I would have communicated to the driver of the SUV that I was much displeased by his nearly mowing me down by flinging my plastic wrapped newspaper at him. Instead I used my words. I had the right of way, he was making a right on to 7th, and the crossing sign had just lit up and was counting down when I stepped into the crosswalk of DEATH.
A week ago I was 10 seconds away from getting hit. At New Jersey Ave and R the light had just turned green for R, and I was still a ways on the sidewalk, and thought of running for it, but I was carrying something heavy and didn’t. If I had I might have been in the way of the sedan speeding north on New Jersey that didn’t seem to think that red light was meant for him. He did stop a few feet past the crosswalk to keep from hitting the car, travelling west on R, and the cyclist, also travelling on R.
Guns are the least of my worries when every other day I have to take care that I don’t get hit by some jackhole behind the wheel.
Broken Window Practice
as opposed to theory.
Be on the lookout for pre-teen boys on bicycles. One is wearing a red shirt with white writing. The lil’ bastards are throwing rocks and breaking windows in alleys. I screamed at the hellions when I realized rocks were hitting my house. They weren’t aiming for my house, they were aiming for the house next door with the new windows. Rocks and bits of concrete were landing in my yard, damaging my plants, hitting my walls.
I mentioned this to a neighbor walking by and apparently there is a band of bicycling young hoodlums looking for vacant properties and trying to bust out all the windows. They failed with the house next to me, they only got one. I’m sure they would have knocked out more if I didn’t come out screaming like a loud crazy woman.
I called the owner of the house next door, told him what just happened. I’ll let him do a police report if he wants to, as it is his property and his loss.
Oh and a word of advice, get those Pella, and Anderson and [name of brand of windows] off the windows asap, they are attracting an element.
Keep chipping away, ’cause I think I see a dent
Watching the 400 block of Q, on the Ward 2 side has been interesting for the past year or so. More so in the past couple of months. As some of you know that block has been the domain of some fellows keeping court on the sidewalk. Drug dealing has been suspected and then there was that shooting incident.
Since the shooting the police presence has been noticeable. At least a few times a week I see a cruiser being all flashy in the area where the guys hang. Sometimes it’s one cop car, sometimes two. And on really special occasions they bring out the guys in the fancy bulletproof vests. There was a cruiser flashing yesterday afternoon, and some of the regulars & friends decided to go to the store and watch the excitement of the 3rd District, from the 5th.
Even when I don’t see the police there is a change on that block, however it isn’t a done deal. Police and residents will need to keep working on that block to make sure that trees that grow shoes and a sidewalk blocking crowd is a thing of the past. So keep chipping away friends.