So My Son was Run Off the Road By the DMPD

The scene of the crime

Wednesday August 16, 2023, the first and only day my youngest son ever rode his bicycle to work, he was attacked and ran off the street by a Des Moines police officer.  Timothy's car was in the shop so he decided to use Earth friendly mode of transportation.  At the time he lived on Capital Street on the east side of Des Moines, Iowa.  What should have been a pleasant 3 mile trip home from his job turned into terror, a violent crash and a chipped bone.

His route was a simple mile from his home on Capitol St to the sidepath along MLK Jr Pkwy.  It was recommended by his mother, a very experienced urban bicycle commuter.  Unfortunately, this route involved the use of E 18th, notorious for a section of multiple railroad tracks.  These tracks stick up about 4" from the road surface, so high that that most people just idle their cars over them.  My daughter once drove our CR-V over those tracks at speed resulting in a broken exhaust flex pipe.  

BUT NOT ON THAT FATEFUL DAY IN AUGUST 2023

This used to be a living hell to drive on.  We always walked our bicycles over these.

He sat here in agony while enduring a verbal assault from the abusive officer of the law.

One can see how much they raised the surface.

My bicycle in the photo.

The road was resurfaced just before that August day and the tracks were no longer above the street surface.  However, E 18th was closed as the work had recently been completed.

Tim rode his bike down the closed road on his way to work.  That evening he rode on it again on his way home.  His luck ended when one of Des Moines Not Finest spotted him. 

Like a raging bull full of hatred and bloodlust charged his police cruiser at him at speed.  Miraculously, he missed but he was so close to my unprotected riding a bicycle that Tim was knocked off the road and crashed. 

"THIS ROAD IS CLOSED!!!  I'VE BEEN HERE ALL DAY GIVING TICKETS TO CARS VIOLATING THE CLOSURE!!!!"

Tim just sat there in the August heat, taking the verbal abuse, contemplating his next move and assessing his injuries.  He was in pain.  His arm was hurting very badly.  As suddenly as the public servant appeared, he left only to return minutes later.

"WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE??!!??!!!  I TOLD YOU THAT YOU TO LEAVE!!!!"

"I'm in a lot of pain.  You ran me off the road.  I thought you were trying to run me over, sir."

I always tell people to take their phones into the x-ray room with them.  There is always that moment that you are left to look at your sin, or in this case, the sin of others, and have the best chance to take a photo of the damage.  Or ask the tech.

Eventually, he got up and walked the bike a mile to his house.  A visit to the doctor reaved bone chips on his elbow.  A call to the police station was a futile gesture resulting in a rude encounter with the police.  Brotherhood of Silence.  Time to lawyer up...

There is body cam footage.  Tim's lawyer has that.  Said officer who will not be named here, was under internal investigation for a previous incident(s).  Run around and stalls.  8 months later an offer was made but Tim's lawyer rejected it and threatened to take it to the city council meeting.  A better offer was made and subsequently accepted.

Tim plans to take his daughter on a Disney cruise and invest the rest into retirement savings.  I don't think he will ever ride a bicycle again.  Thank you, DMPD.

NOTE:  not all police officers are bad.  But there are times that they really need to clean up their rooster.