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news
Black cyclist stopped by Met.PNGVideo: “…not got your licence plate” – Black cyclist stopped by London cop for "anti-social behavior" including not wearing helmet or hi-viz
A video posted to Twitter shows a Metropolitan Police officer accusing a cyclist of “anti-social behaviour” because, among other things, he was not wearing a helmet, hi-viz clothing or displaying a licence plate on his bike, none of which is a legal requirement – leading Twitter users to question whether he may have been stopped simply because he is black.
police getting more bored by the day, whole bully van parked cos a black yute riding his bike🤦🏽♂️ pic.twitter.com/Io6GRbbAkn
— dimi (@7dimii) June 30, 2020
The officer told the cyclist he had been stopped for “Anti-social behaviour, okay?”
The cyclist asked, “Does this look like anti-social behaviour to you?”
In reply, the officer said: “Well, the way you’re cycling around, at the moment you’re in and out of the road, on the pavement, on the road, not wearing a [mumbled], not wearing a helmet, not got your licence plate, not got your hi-viz … ”
“So everyone who’s not wearing a helmet, it’s anti-social behaviour when riding a bike?” the cyclist responded.
That last point seemed to throw the police officer, who seems to say, “Did I say that?” with the camera zooming in on her rather perplexed face before the footage cut out.
While the Highway Code recommends that cyclists should wear a helmet “ a cycle helmet which conforms to current regulations, is the correct size and securely fastened,” and “light-coloured or fluorescent clothing which helps other road users to see you in daylight and poor light,” there is no legal requirement to do so.
Calls for cyclists to be licensed have consistently been rejected by the government, and where such systems have been tried, more often than not they have been abandoned due to the cost and effort involved in implementing them – especially when resources are better directed to policing motorists, who are responsible for the vast majority of road traffic casualties.
And while pavement cycling is technically illegal, official guidance for more than two decades now is that police should exercise their discretion, and not take action against those who do not endanger people using the footway.
On a street on which the only other people present appear to be the half-dozen or so police officers, it’s unclear who the cyclist has put at risk here.
A number of people replying to the tweet suggested that the reason the bike rider was stopped had nothing to do with the way he was riding or what he was wearing, and was down to the colour of his skin, with these being a couple of the responses.
I have the same bike, I don't wear a helmet, I travel on and off road. Never been stopped by the police, but I'm white....
— Cray Mac (@CM_Manc) July 1, 2020
Did this really need a riot van and 5 police officers because a young kid was riding a bike? Oh sorry a IC3 as the police like to put it
— OnlyBuilt4CubanLinx🇯🇲 (@OnlyBuilt4CL) July 1, 2020
I do all the things she listed almost every day of my life on a bike, you can guarantee they wouldn’t be stopping me. #WhitePrivilege
— Tobias Zeidler 🌹#BLACKLIVESMATTER (@tobyzeidler) July 1, 2020
Earlier this week, it emerged that a black 13-year-old boy undertaking a charity bike ride in east London with his father was pushed off his bike by a plainclothes police officer.
Both father and son were handcuffed before being released, with officers having incorrectly suspected them of having been involved in a stabbing in a nearby park.
> Black teen on charity ride ‘grabbed from bike’ by Met police officer
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- Geordiepeddeler 8 min 54 sec ago
Why is it stupid? Please explain.
- redimp 20 min 25 sec ago
Can road.cc put in an FOI for the dossier on incidents involving motor vehicles and right an article on that, for balance?
- hawkinspeter 20 min 58 sec ago
You're right. I just use the main Long Ashton Rd to get between the A370 and Ashton Court/B3128. Looking at a map, Festival Way doesn't go far...
- eburtthebike 1 hour 22 min ago
This research is totally, completely, entirely bollards.
- hand0j1n 14 hours 38 min ago
Hopefully the new device is a big success, but wahoo do have a lot work to do in terms of convincing that their quality control has improved. ...
- chrisonabike 13 hours 28 min ago
Agree that the moaning comes from a place of priveledge and ultimately "if only there weren't so many other people driving"....
- Simon E 15 hours 14 min ago
Have added some clarification....
- Simon E 15 hours 23 min ago
I was tempted to try Galibier gloves but opted for Endura Freezing Point from LBS last year. Not cheap (£60, I think). I'd prefer a shorter cuff...
- Simon E 16 hours 1 min ago
I can't wait that long! Here's a series that any good vlogger / 'grammer would surely recognise....
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35 comments
They were scraping the bottom of the barrel the day they signed her up.
What a smug little PC baiter. If I saw a cyclist riding on and off the pavement I would want the police to stop him and have a word. I'm sick of that sort of cycling where there is no regard for pedestrians and no regard for road users. He wants it to be about race, but it's not he's. He's a pathetic scum bag.
Indeed, but she did seem fairly typical of the not too bright cop, so still a PC. If she had just stopped at riding on the pavement, in and out of the road, there would be no issue. Why bring up a whole load of stuff which is irrelevant.
We only have her comment to know that the lad was doing anything wrong, and from her same brain/mouth that he actually required a licence plate.
Obviously not the most reliable, difficult that, seeing that a major part of her responsibilities is to act as a professional witness.
I wonder if she had any bodycam footage of the incident to put forward her side of the story, but I doubt the MET would want to release it as it still wouldn't justify what she said about license plates etc.
‘Pathetic scum bag’? That’s quite the judgement call. Let’s hope you’re never in a position of authority, especially when it comes to young people.
#bikingwhileblack
More like #cyclingwhilestupid
#policingwhileanidiot?
I'm sorry, but HOW MANY police does it take to give (poor) cycling advice to some bloke on a bike...?
On the other hand I think we should all be delighted that all crimes have been solved, prosecuted and prevented to the extent that so many of our police could dedicate their time to taking this young man to task for his heinous crimes, which are all definitely illegal.
So all the drivers from the vido the other day, driving on the pavement to get around the road closure, will all have had a visit from half a dozen police officers? I'm pretty sure none of them were wearing a helmet or hi viz, and it's just as much of a legal requirement for them to do so.
Blimey, that officer looked super dense. That expression - it was like 'I'm thick'.
I'd like to know what the Met has to say about this incident.
Why is everyone so quick to bring race into this?
Working on a bicycle, see so much, other riders doing 25+ down narrow pavements in front of stair doors
Had ones where people cycling on pavement changed their minds but assumed the cycle lane is free and have almost knocked me into traffic suddenly jumping into it.
Wish the police would stop them, just like they SHOULD be stopping drivers that do the same.
Yeah, she did spew some crap about helmets, plates etc but did the guy get fined? or did the police just have words with him about cycling dangerously/irresponsibly?
For the record, I have never been hit by a motor vehicle, been hit by cycles though the last one destroyed my frame and I would probably have serious head injury if I wasn't wearing my helmet.
Well, it's not Boatsie. Needs a bit more work.
Four posts eh?
I take it you are white
Are you judging the color of his skin or the content of what he says?
You may not have noticed, but there's been some recent demonstrations in the U.S. and U.K. to support Black Lives Matter. The demonstrations are to protest the inherent racism in society and specifically racist actions by the police.
Whether or not this particular incident was intended to be racist is a question for the officers involved but I'm not aware of similar frivolous stopping of cyclists where the cyclist isn't black. If you have any contrary evidence, I'd be pleased to view it.
Sorry to hear about you getting hit by numerous cyclists, but at least you're still here to talk about it whereas being hit by a motor vehicle is often a death sentence.
Well my experience from about 10 years ago, cycled by 4 officers on the pavement when I was a teenager, got stopped and had a very stern talking to pretty much what I saw in the video without the high vis, reg plate babble, and without me disagreeing with them.
There is also this guy that also got fined recently
https://road.cc/content/news/deliveroo-rider-york-fined-confrontational-...
Video doesn't show much and only says "stopped" was it all down to his race? or his actions? 26-second video there isn't enough information for us to make a conclusion that isn't wild speculation in my opinion.
Reckon more details about the incident could make either of us change our minds about it.
Thanks about the last bit I do feel lucky I never been hit by a car have seen more than my fair share of dangerous driving and know the potential for harm is huge (so do most drivers)
But just get irked by people thinking cause they on a bike they can't hurt anyone as I said almost ended up under a transit van after that cyclist jumping down into bike lane.
That York incident is a bit different in that the fine was for the pedestrianised section (which I think is bullshit by itself), though the police certainly seemed over-zealous in tackling a cyclist.
Fair point about the video not showing both sides of the story - I'd like the police to be more open about showing their bodycam footage (assuming they have some) to explain their side of things. Due to the current divisive climate, the police have to realise that people will video any suspicious behaviour and then share it on social media with their own choice of editing.
Any yes, people on bikes can cause injury to others, though it happens far less often than certain media sites would have people believe. My attitude is that I'd much rather see an idiot on a bike (or even e-scooter) than an idiot in a car/lorry.
25+ what? But that's a minor point.
Would not a quick "Dude, please can you stick to the road " have been sufficient?
It's ok to stop people for spurious reasons? If you're white it's not a major imposition cos it happens so rarely. The police do use constant stops and doorstepping for repeat offenders, and it is a very effective form of intimidation. So what effect will constant stops have on you if it's because of colour, regardless of whether the bias is conscious or not?
Not being fined is neither here nor there. I think the lad in the vid showed a huge amount of self-control/ forbearance.
You sure you haven't had a head injury
Surprised to see so many police officers with nothing better to do than to pick on an easy target. We could do with some of those bored police officers where I live, wielding speed guns and stopping speeding motorists instead. I haven't seen a police officer in months round here.
Clip is quite short, but starts with the policewoman saying that he "was riding in and out of the road, on and off of the pavement." - any chance they were passing and saw dodgy riding and stopped to tell him off, perhaps issue a fine for pavement riding?
whilst that may have been the case for the initial stop/discussion, then kid seems to have remained calm whilst the PC (backed up by 5 others in the immediate vicinity is in itself intimidating) quickly moves from any guidance /discussion on his riding, to adivce on helmets and HiViz (there are no rules only guidance to wear it certainly no reason to stop someone) and worst of all questions the lack of a "Licence Plate" bearing in mind no such thing exists for any vehicle in the UK (the term is number plate) and they do not and never have existed for bicycles. then throw in the fact that the rider comes from an ethnic minority in times of heighted racial awareness and intolerances then I would say we are looking at an instance of racist victimisation here, not a random traffic stop for anti social behavior
"Number plates (also known as licence plates)..."
https://www.gov.uk/displaying-number-plates
Just sayin'.
I may be wrong but 'Licence plate' sounds more like an American term we have adopted at some point years ago (among many others).
You are right, it is much more American usage. We call them number plates (as in ANPR, etc) or registration plates.
If it's not exactly English usage, you have to wonder - why would she suddenly lapse into American?
So, is that really what she said? It's all a bit garbled. Could it be "you haven't got your lights displayed"? Yes, I know that's not a requirement etc, but it is language in the repertoire of the police stopping a cyclist. Whereas "licence plate" is unlikely to be a phrase they ever utter.
I don't know, but licence plate, it seems so bizarre.
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