Assault does not require a collision and can be prosecuted using cyclist video evidence.
There have been many occasions where law enforcement refused to accept a cyclist’s assault or reckless driving incident report because there was no collision, even with irrefutable cyclist video evidence. The Glendale Police Department desk officer refused the cyclist’s incident report for the egregious incident below because there was no collision. In our 9/18/2014 Castro Valley egregious incident the driver admitted intent in CHP’s Investigation Report, the incident was recorded via cyclist video evidence, and CHP still refused to cite the driver for reckless driving, assault, or even breaking the 3 foot law.
Glendale, California – Assault Incident – January 18, 2016
Hear the tires screech.
See the rear of the car rise when he slams on the brakes.
Dennis Reed swerved in front of these cyclists and slammed on his brakes. Glendale Police initially refused the cyclist’s incident report because there was no collision. Assault and reckless driving do not require a collision.
Cycling community outrage led to a call from City Hall to the Police Chief who assigned an Investigator. The Investigator concluded this was felony assault and an assault warrant was issued. The Glendale District Attorney charged Dennis Reed with two counts of Misdemeanor Assault.
Over one year later, January 31, 2017, Dennis Reed pled Nolo Contendere to misdemeanor assault, 245(A)(4), resulting in a $300 fine and 50 hours of community service. His conviction was dismissed on January 31, 2018 having paid his fine and completed his community service. His record was expunged, erased, upon request to the judge. This incident demonstrates why it’s critical that cyclists enter all of their near miss incident reports into our free Incident Management System in addition to reporting them to law enforcement. This incident has been expunged from the legal system but our Incident Management System will never forget the incident. All cyclists who have an incident with this vehicle can now search to identify this driver as a repeat offender.
Without this cyclist video evidence Dennis Reed would never have been charged, convicted, and we would not have a record of his assault to establish a potential pattern of behavior should he continue assaulting cyclists or prior assaults be uncovered.