[pct-l] Horse encounter with illegal MTBs

[Dan Jacobs]

On Tue, Jun 25, 2013 at 11:34 AM, Brick Robbins <brick at brickrobbins.com>wrote:

> On Tue, Jun 25, 2013 at 10:41 AM, Dan Jacobs <youroldpaldan at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > Just so you know, you have no right to forcibly stop people to give them
> a
> > lecture for riding a bicycle on a closed trail or to teach them proper
> > etiquette. doing so may be a crime.
>
> They have no right to run me over, or threaten to do so
>
> To do so is assault, which IS a crime.


Do what you like. It's your ass you're risking, not mine.

Assault is a crime that requires *intent* to harm a person. Simply riding a
bicycle on a closed trail cannot prove the intent to do physical harm to a
person. A crash is not enough to prove intent. "I'll run your stupid hippie
ass down if you don't get out of the way!" or some such would be useful to
prove intent.

To ride a bicycle on a closed
> trail is also a crime.
>

What kind of crime? Misdemeanor? Felony? Infraction? What can a citizen
arrest for where you are at the moment you witness this occurring? Is it
very possible that if you attempt to stop or arrest someone for an
infraction or misdemeanor where you are at the moment you may be committing
to a higher crime than the bicyclist is committing by riding on a closed
trail? Do you know?

Do you care? If you want to avoid legal trouble and avoid quickly moving
from victim to aggressor, you should know, and be very clear about what to
do and how to do it. If you don't care, you can make yourself an expensive
kind of "martyr". I hope you know an attorney that can represent you. At
least a bail bondsman to get you out of jail quickly.

Those cyclists causing grave injury to the equestrians, and stock,
> while riding on a closed trail is also a crime, and actionable in
> civil court.
>

Yes, it is, but that is an incident that involved much more than simply
riding on a closed trail. Even still, what is the appropriate course of
action for a bystander or victim with regards to the bicyclists that caused
the incident? I won't speculate, as I wasn't there, and witness and victims
statements are often missing important facts. I certainly won't hang
someone based on a newspaper report. But, think about it for a moment. Is
it appropriate to detain or arrest the bicyclists? Should you take their
bicycle from them by force and ride it to seek help? Just what is the
appropriate *and* legal action to take at that moment at that place?

I have found that cyclists that ride illegally on closed trails
> (poaching, as they call it) know what they are doing, and are already
> carrying fear and anger. I'd like to be able to walk on a trail
> without fear of being assaulted by a cyclist traveling at high speed.


You can, if you want to. Do you worry about being hit by lightning? Gored
by a bull?  Spontaneous combustion? What are the odds of any of those
things happening to you, and do those odds make it worth your concern? You
can choose your fears, or choose not to be afraid. Choose wisely. Choose
for yourself. Don't cause unnecessary fear in others. Be kind even when
others can't, it will speak volumes about a person and their intent when
compared to others when bad things happen to good people.

I am not a lawyer, but I played lawman a long, long time ago, in a galaxy
far, far away,
Dan Jacobs
Washougal
-- 
"Loud motorcycle stereos save lives."
Motorcycle to hike, hike to motorcycle.
Make a friend of pain and you'll never be alone.