news 5 Arrested After Attack on Cyclist in West Marin
MCBC is grateful to the Marin County Sheriff and the California Highway Patrol officers who teamed up over the weekend to catch a car containing five individuals who were apprently targeting cyclists on roads in West Marin.
A cyclist was riding along Highway One (Shoreline Hwy) near Sir Francis Drake Boulevard when someone in a silver BMW evidently shot him with a paintball. The cyclist was able to catch up to the vehicle where he received verbal threats and gestures from the occupants of the car. The car then fled the scene.
Lt. Doug Pittman of the Marin County Sheriff happened to be driving through the area at the time and came upon a small crowd that had witnessed the incident, could describe the car, and indicate the direction in which it fled. One witness, a motorcycle rider, had fortunately recorded video of the incident, which included clear images of the vehicle and its license plate.
Pittman radioed deputies, Rangers and Highway Patrol officers working in West Marin. The vehicle was spotted traveling southbound on Shoreline Highway near Dogtown and eventually stopped near Bolinas.
According to Lt. Pittman, “Deputies detained all involved, eventually locating beer, whiskey, a little weed and other drug paraphernalia inside the car. Initially all denied knowledge of any paint ball guns or rifles but found it a little difficult to lie their way out of what really happened when deputies located orange paint balls matching the color of those used to shoot at the bicyclist and, oh yea, the videos taken of them at the time of the attack…at which time their memories began to return to them.”
CHP officers assisted in the investigation, as did National Park Seashore Rangers, leading to the successful apprehension and arrest of those responsible.
“The Sheriff’s Office and our allied law enforcement agencies have ZERO tolerance for this kind of irresponsible behavior that endangers all who share our roadways,” stated Lt. Pittman.
MCBC has reached out to law enforcement officials in recent weeks, sharing stories of aggressive actions by certain motorists, particularly in West Marin. We urged them to take action to stop this dangerous and unlawful behavior, especially by serial perpetrators. It’s clear that law enforcement officials are taking these attacks very seriously. We heartily thank them.
Safety is MCBC’s first priority. As cyclists, we deserve to be safe – and feel safe – while riding our bikes.
It’s why we’ve initiated a campaign to identify and seek enforcement against those who threaten our safety.
Please share any dangerous or threatening incidents with the proper law enforcement authorities, as we outlined in the “When the Road Is Not Shared” email sent out a couple weeks ago. Many members have reported they have been mounting their GoPro cameras on regular rides, or employing the new tail light/camera combo style rigs which record HD video and sound. These devices provide the very sort of high quality images that can be used to identify and prosecute offenders.
Remember, we also need you to report any such incidents through the MCBC Road Harassment Report page, and please also share your videos and images with us.
