It's not assault

According to the San Diego Police Department, it's not a crime to throw
a full quart-sized soda bottle from a moving vehicle at a cyclist as
long as you miss. (I'm the alleged cyclist.) I reported a full
vehicle description and license number to the police, but the
dispatcher said I couldn't file an assault charge because I wasn't
injured. She said the best she could do was "air it out to patrol" in
case the perps happened to drive through the area again. I find this
absurd. Do I have any other (legal) options?

RWD wrote:

According to the San Diego Police Department, it's not a crime to throw
a full quart-sized soda bottle from a moving vehicle at a cyclist as
long as you miss.

I'm really not surprised, as the motorist could simply argue "Cyclist?
What cyclist? I didn't see any cyclist".

I've had a can thrown at me twice in the last two years. Both times
from what appeared to be the same car. It sucks that there's not much
that can be done about it.

Rich

RWD wrote:
According to the San Diego Police Department, it's not a crime to throw
a full quart-sized soda bottle from a moving vehicle at a cyclist as
long as you miss. (I'm the alleged cyclist.) I reported a full
vehicle description and license number to the police, but the
dispatcher said I couldn't file an assault charge because I wasn't
injured. She said the best she could do was "air it out to patrol" in
case the perps happened to drive through the area again. I find this
absurd. Do I have any other (legal) options?

It is NOT true that one must be injured to file an assault charge. No
harmful physical contact need have happened. (This element is what
differentiates assault from battery.) The difficulty with getting a
conviction for assalt is proving that all the necessary conditions were
met. Usually, the only difficult one to prove is intent. I believe this
will be true in your case; as poster Rich says, this person could
simply argue that he hadn't seen you. You may find this link helpful:

http://velonews.com/news/fea/9204.0.html

For my part, I once had a beer can thrown at me by a passenger in a car
which was stopped for a red light at a busy intersection. It was easy
for me to note the make, model, and license plate number. I even
happened to have an empty plastic bag with me, and collected the
fingerprint-laden projectile. The police gave me the impression that no
civil crime had been committed (and, while I don't condone littering, I
was not concerned with getting this person cited for that). Ultimately,
I ended up not pursuing any legal action. It wasn't worth what it would
cost me in time or the protraction of the disturbance of my peace. Ride
on!

RWD wrote:
According to the San Diego Police Department, it's not a crime to throw
a full quart-sized soda bottle from a moving vehicle at a cyclist as
long as you miss. (I'm the alleged cyclist.) I reported a full
vehicle description and license number to the police, but the
dispatcher said I couldn't file an assault charge because I wasn't
injured.

Somehow I have the feeling that if you were to take the bottle in
question and throw it so it barely misses the head of a patrolman on
the street that they'd quickly be able to determine the relevant
statute. [Not that I recommend this approach to jogging their memory.]

She said the best she could do was "air it out to patrol" in
case the perps happened to drive through the area again. I find this
absurd. Do I have any other (legal) options?

You could contact the District Attorney's office and see if they're
willing to take any action. Were there any 'neutral' witnesses to the
act? Otherwise it would be hard to meet the proof beyond a reasonable
doubt standard for criminal prosecutions.

RWD wrote:
According to the San Diego Police Department, it's not a crime to throw
a full quart-sized soda bottle from a moving vehicle at a cyclist as
long as you miss. (I'm the alleged cyclist.) I reported a full
vehicle description and license number to the police, but the
dispatcher said I couldn't file an assault charge because I wasn't
injured. She said the best she could do was "air it out to patrol" in
case the perps happened to drive through the area again. I find this
absurd. Do I have any other (legal) options?

The dispatcher was wrong. Go to the station and file a report. Calling
on the phone does not constitute a "report" in the legal sense.

Regards
Bob Hunt

BTW, you may be an alleged victim and you may be the cyclist making the
allegation but that doesn't make you an "alleged cyclist" ;-)

BTW, you may be an alleged victim and you may be the cyclist making the
allegation but that doesn't make you an "alleged cyclist" ;-)

How do you know? have you seen him attempt to ride a bike?

Pat

Pat in TX wrote:

BTW, you may be an alleged victim and you may be the cyclist making the
allegation but that doesn't make you an "alleged cyclist" ;-)

How do you know? have you seen him attempt to ride a bike?

Pat


An inability to ride, not making an allegation of assault, would make
him an "alleged" cyclist but I see your point. g

Regards,
Bob Hunt

"Bob" wrote in message
oups.com...
RWD wrote:
According to the San Diego Police Department, it's not a crime to throw
a full quart-sized soda bottle from a moving vehicle at a cyclist as
long as you miss. (I'm the alleged cyclist.) I reported a full
vehicle description and license number to the police, but the
dispatcher said I couldn't file an assault charge because I wasn't
injured. She said the best she could do was "air it out to patrol" in
case the perps happened to drive through the area again. I find this
absurd. Do I have any other (legal) options?

The dispatcher was wrong. Go to the station and file a report. Calling
on the phone does not constitute a "report" in the legal sense.

Regards
Bob Hunt

(clip) BTW, you may be an alleged victim and you may be the cyclist making
the allegation but that doesn't make you an "alleged cyclist" ;-)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If you report the crime, or tell someone about it, you are *alleging* that
it took place, so. to them you are the "alleged victim." Since you ARE the
victim, with first-hand knowledge, you not the alleged victim. You are not
relying on an allegation of the facts.

"RWD" wrote in message
...
According to the San Diego Police Department, it's not a crime to throw
a full quart-sized soda bottle from a moving vehicle at a cyclist as
long as you miss. (I'm the alleged cyclist.) I reported a full
vehicle description and license number to the police, but the
dispatcher said I couldn't file an assault charge because I wasn't
injured. She said the best she could do was "air it out to patrol" in
case the perps happened to drive through the area again. I find this
absurd. Do I have any other (legal) options?

I thought if they threw something at you it was "assault", if they hit you
it was "assault & battery".

Leo Lichtman wrote:

"Bob" wrote in message

(clip) BTW, you may be an alleged victim and you may be the cyclist making
the allegation but that doesn't make you an "alleged cyclist" ;-)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If you report the crime, or tell someone about it, you are *alleging* that
it took place, so. to them you are the "alleged victim." Since you ARE the
victim, with first-hand knowledge, you not the alleged victim. You are not
relying on an allegation of the facts.

And since I wasn't referring to myself but addressing someone who has
alleged that they are the victim of a crime my usage was correct. (This
is all in good fun BTW.)

Regards,
Bob Hunt