Well, this is a strange world we live in: I just picked up the police report from the BPD and it contains the name and address of the person who ran me and a bunch of other cyclists down on Friday night. Wouldn’t you know it, I’m “friends” with this person on Facebook. It’s a very distant connection, and I haven’t had any contact with this person in at least 15 years other than accepting their friend request. They “friend-ed” me if that makes any difference. Anyone who is on FB knows that you are “connected” to tons of people to whom you have no real connection.
If you were one of the other cyclists that was hit and need the information, please let me know. I have also retained counsel and will be proceeding with a suit against the perpetrator. My lawyer has agreed to take the case on contingency, and has offered to represent others if they are interested.
As for the ongoing issue of police indifference, stay tuned…
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August 2, 2011 at 9:33 pm
mtalinm
sounds like the police did their job after all
maybe you want to un-friend that person asap
August 2, 2011 at 9:58 pm
"other" Jeff
I was actually wondering this today, that what if, in such a small city, it ended up being someone you work with, or your mom’s dentist, or your spouse’s ex, or something like that.
But a “friend”?
Effed up.
August 2, 2011 at 10:44 pm
Stephan
Small world. Glad you found the “perp.”
August 2, 2011 at 11:16 pm
Jonathan
It is yet to be determined whether the police did their job. I got the suspect’s contact info from the copy of my statement that they gave me, on which I supplied them with the license plate number. I have yet to be contacted by anyone from the BPD, and their conduct at the scene still remains. I will gladly retract at least part of my statement about the police’s indifference if they pursue the case.
As for “un-friending” this person, I think I may hold off so as to retain my ability to monitor their account. They will of course be able to un-friend me once they become aware of my identity, but we happen to have 15 mutual friends, so I’m not worried about being able to keep tabs on them.
August 3, 2011 at 1:13 am
slick
um, i would totally like to get in on this. should i file a separate report? the officer at the scene wouldn’t take my info b/c i “did not seem to be damaged.”
August 3, 2011 at 7:46 am
Jonathan
I’ll email you outside of the blog comments to give you the details. I’ll try to email you at the address you used when you posted, but if that one is no good send me where I should contact you.
August 3, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Gretchen
I hope you are ok. What the hell is wrong w/ people???
August 3, 2011 at 4:09 pm
Matt
Hello. If you’re interested in speaking with Boston.com about the incident, please email Matt at mjrochele [at] gmail [dot] com. Thank you!
August 3, 2011 at 6:19 pm
Jonathan
Matt,
I’ll admit I got a bit of a chuckle when I saw your post. It is outfits such as the Globe, posting journalistic drivel from the likes of Brian McGrory, that contribute to a sense of entitlement in Boston drivers that endangers cyclists, pedestrians and city dwellers every day. I trust the Globe will not have much of a problem doing a hatchet job on me regardless of my cooperation in any potential story, so I figure I may as well just sit back and watch. I look forward to reading how the Globe rationalizes the violence that was perpetrated against me and my friends, and will be paying particular attention to the blood-thirsty visitors to your site who routinely make some of the most outrageous statements imaginable (often including threats of bodily harm) whenever there is a cycling related story. I’ll leave it up to you to feed the carnivores that drive page-views and thus ad sales.
I’m sure you are a very nice person -maybe even ride your bike in the city- and I don’t want this to come off as a personal attack, because it is most certainly not intended to be so, however I will never cooperate with the Globe on any article. The paper is irrelevant and caters to suburbanites who fancy themselves city-dwellers, thereby adorning themselves with the robes of cosmopolitanism while simultaneously having contempt for those of us who actually live in the city and get in their way when they come to visit.
August 6, 2011 at 2:18 pm
Stephan
Second the above….
August 17, 2011 at 8:17 am
galen
so can you update us on what happened? will charges be filed and will this see a court room?? this could be a precedent in Boston to a certain extent, one that has wide ranging impacts for all sides (violent aggressive drivers and CM riders…). I don’t know how the system will treat this, so your case is a litmus test for us fellow riders
August 17, 2011 at 6:54 pm
Jonathan
I will post an update in the next few days. I talked to the BPD yesterday for the first time since I filed my report…