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news
Contraflow cycle lane (copyright Simon MacMichael)Fake cop stops cyclist and demands to see his ‘licence’ to ride in bike lane
Police in Leicester have urged people to be vigilant after a motorist impersonating a police officer flagged down a cyclist and demanded to see his ‘licence’.
Leicestershire Police say that the incident happened at around 9.45am on Monday 21 June.
The cyclist, riding what was described as a high-value bike, was riding along Ethel Road when a driver passed him in a small black Ford car and waved him down.
The motorist, who was wearing a stab vest with “police” printed on it then put a small blue light on the car’s roof and told the cyclist that he needed a licence to use the cycle lane.
Of course, no licence of any kind is needed to ride a bicycle on the public highway in the UK.
Police say that a heated discussion then took place, with the man, described as white, 5’11”, aged in his late 20s and with brown hair and a beard, leaving the scene when a woman approached.
Investigating officer PC Ben Hill said: “We would ask the public to be vigilant and if in any doubt ask an officer for their identification.
“We would also like to hear from anyone who saw this incident or from anyone who was driving along Ethel Road and may have captured it on dash cam.”
Anyone who has information is requested to call 101 quoting reference 21*347219, or to contact police online.
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.
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35 comments
The most insulting part of this incident is that the painted white line on Ethel Road is referred to as a cycle lane!!
I thought that impersonating a police officer was a Very Serious Offence...?
"Investigating officer PC Ben Hill..."
Did anyone else have 'Yakkety Sax' start playing in their head as they read this?
No, because there was nothing PC about that Ben Hill
OK, you won. 👍
I look forward to the potentially unlimited fine and up to 6 months jail time he will get for impersonating a police officer when they catch him. Ironically he'd probably get less if he just rammed the cyclist off with his car.
Given the blue light and stab vest obviously premeditated.
At least the fake cop had the decency to make some effort with his fancy dress costume and blue light. Usually the self appointed road police just sound their horn or close pass you as punishment for whatever made up rule that only exists in their own head they think you broke.
There's no other possible explanation....
Venomous as ever! Keep it up Cap'n.
Just warming up!
Positively dripping with the stuff.
Eeewww
So what was incorrect wisdom per se?
Point one: Drivers should check mirrors before manouvre. Basics taught day on on learning. Mirror Signal Manouvre. It is not like driver wasn't aware cyclist was there as he pulled out ahead of him less then a minute before. So yes, easily to deduce the motorist didn't check his mirrors / over the shoulder.
It literally states that in the Highway code except that the driver should check for undertaking cyclists.....
How long was the indicator on for in your biased eyes? For people seeing reality, it is literally ONE second from first flash to manouvre. So the driver might have been aware from him joining the road he was turning off in a few hundred metres, but from anyone else on the road, it was a last second decision to turn. Easy enough to make that deduction on all available evidence on that video.
And finally, the cyclist stayed in the gutter and the car door zone all down the road which is why Mikey advised him better centrally on roads like that. Which is good advice. If the cyclist had dived down the left after being central, then I would begrudgingly agreed with you more on "he was only doing it to try to undertake cars". He wasn't, he was doing it because he feels safer as far over to the left as possible in most cases which is actually putting himself in more danger from close passes and doors opening.
I'm so suprised at your irrational dislike of anything Mikey does that you see this video and see an indicator on for 10 seconds, a car turn into the cyclist meaning mirrors were checked and good advice to the cyclist as incorrect wisdom. But then I'm responding to someone who has defended bigoted, racist, conspiracy theory spouting ex leaders and who was banned from here before for racist comments aren't I BoobooNoClue.
So coincidental that you are a lancashire based cyclist (or close to wtjs) is based like Boo was. (Unlike London based Socrati)
Coincidence you have a sub to the Telegraph.
Coincidence you have a raging boner for Trumplethinskin.
Coincidence you have a raging hate boner for Vine and Cycling Mikey.
Coincidence you have the John Stephenson Telegraph link at hand alot to use.
Coincidence you hate Trans People.
Just needed TT bikes and club rides of more then 6 moans for the bingo house but I suspect even you realised that would be too telling so decided not to do those. Don't worry your secret is safe with me.
(And TBF I might be barking up the wrong tree as most of the above apart from location rings true for others of a right wing/brexit persuasion.)
Last time that was my line to BooBoo. Save me repeating myself.
We have allowed Nige to highjack yet another thread by posting unrelated guff about an individual who has no connection with the story.
Posting inflammatory posts to start a flame war on another subject is classic trolling. It is actually the definition of the term.
On the other hand, he's started using the 'clown' tag repeatedly, which was a hallmark of SophisCyclist's posts. I'm beginning to suspect that they're all spoof accounts operated by The Management to generate more comments.
J'accuse!
So what's your alibi?
Damned right! Every time a middle aged white bloke gives evidence in a criminal court I fear for my safety.
Bl00dy snowflake ex-boxers grrrrrr
I love your jokes, keep them coming.
Yet another reason for a camera. I wonder if the fake cop checked that the cyclist didn't have one before stopping them?
There doesn't seem to have been any attempt to steal the "high value bike" so what other reason would anyone have for randomly stopping a cyclist and demanding something impossible.
Seems a lot of effort to go to. I wonder if the intention was to "impound" the bike, but he f*cked up his script?
to be absolutely honest, given the fact that I've actually been asked by a REAL police officer why I wasn't riding in the cycle lane, I wouldn't be at all surprised if this wasn't a fake cop, but rather one who was completely ignorant of the laws of the road. Although I suppose asking for a cycling license is pushing the ignorance a bit too far.
I've had a high-ranking police officer insist that he could arrest me for not having my driving licence with me when driving. He repeated this threat a number of times each time I told him he was incorrect. I then asked him if he was going to arrest me for "the offence". He was abusing his position of authority and harassing us just because we were young.
It wouldn't surprise me if this was an actualy police officer, venting his cycling-hating bigotry.
That one seems to be a very common misconception among the general public, but it's worrying if a police officer thought it too...
It's pretty clear he didn't actually think that, he was just using it to threaten and bully a young person.
impossible for us to judge, but awhile back now there were plenty of PCSOs around who had very dubious handle on what laws actually existed, or even what powers they had, and were often guilty of making things up as they went along when challenged, I wouldnt doubt there are some in the police rank and file are just as capable of behaving the same way.
but in this case I suspect probably was a fake copper, I dont think unmarked cars use Starsky&Hutch style flashing lamps, the lights are embedded in the grill or hidden in roof racks, but then so what was the setup/scam ?
He repeatedly stated that he knew that it was illegal to drive without having your licence on you... even after I repeatedly explained the law and the process to him. (I had been through the process myself and knew the relevant law, rather than just made it up in my head and assumed I could never be wrong.)
So he didn't just think it was illegal, he knew it (even though you can't know something that is false). In the same way I cannot know that the sky is red, because it isn't.
He was pratically having a shouting match with me about it because he didn't have the decency to admit he could be wrong. Fully improper, on many levels, for police, at any rank. It got to the point that 21-year-old me wanted to teach the bully a lesson so I was near enough daring the bully to arrest me for the imaginary offence.
Just as well you kept your cool. A friend and his Mrs are in the police, they always advise be very cautious, as it's easy to get yourself arrested (please excuse my victim-blaming tone, I know it's the rozzer that actually does the arresting).
The old adage that everyone's guilty of something is a hypothesis the police can test to its limits - they have all the time and resources to do it, and if they don't find anything the best that you can get is released.
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