Met Police admit officers "clearly wrong" to scold cyclist who swore when unmarked vehicle blocked bus lane

I've editted the link - should be ok now.

Thanks. Although I note that this is from 2012 and CPS guidelines seem to change in 2014 so It's not certain that this would even reach court today.

Also interesting is:

It is a defence for the accused to prove—

(a)that he had no reason to believe that there was any person within hearing or sight who was likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress, or

........

(c)that his conduct was reasonable.

Ergo, I suggest that as the officers' conduct put him in harm's way, his reaction is reasonable and as the officers were in a car they were unlikely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress - on the contrary, they appear to be pleased to have something to do.  QED.

Similarly - those close passes which are ignored because of the language should go back to the front of the queue

60kg lean keen climbing machine wrote:

It seems like a long time ago (30 years) I was in my 20s and took all my A/L from work and went to USA on a working/holiday.  One subject that I will never forget was a piece advice that the people I was living with gave Me  "when I was out and about, be carefull who you get into aargument/disagreement with"  as it could land Me in a lot of trouble.  This stuck with Me and I was glad to call the Uk home. now this home is just as messed up and poice have seeming given up in some parts of the country.  When whoever you are - sex/ethnicity/cyclist (the list endless) you now have to take care, so as not to become a victim of the thugs and narcissist, that is a very sad day indeed.

This has always been the case. Never get into an unncessary argument when out and about (regardless of your situation), as you don't know who you are dealing with. A tale as old as time.

Nothing to do with your race, gender, or anything else - the person you're dealing with might be really thick, might have mental problems, might just be at the end of their tether.

That's why these goady cash-for-clicks van Twerp videos are so toxic - they have the power to wind up the kind of people who might make it their business to teach cyclists a lesson.

Kultcha wars innit?  They should be going round helping old ladies across the road and slamming people's genitals in draws to get confessions apprehending criminals but instead they're too busy nannying people, harassing law-abiding vehicle operators (is this right?) and being the woke police on the internet.

Moral police - it's exactly the same as in Iran, or something...

hirsute wrote:

I didn't realise it was part of the police's job to give people moral lectures.

You clearly don't watch enough prime time TV on Channel 5

Can't remember the last time I watched C5 !

Yeah, why catch criminals in real life and risk offending cyclists?

After all, policeman could be sat in a comfy chair back at HQ with a cup of tea and a donut, policing opinions on Twitter.

Rakia wrote:

Many of us are perfectly normal people who also disagree with the disgusting wave of narcissism...

Perfectly normal people do not get themselves banned at least twice from a website for racism and libellous comments and continue to come back under new usernames time and again pretending to be someone else. Indeed, as the clinical definition of a narcissistic personality disorder includes "an inflated self-image and addiction to fantasy, lack of empathy for others and a delusional belief that the subject is superior to the rest of his social and professional peers" you would appear to be disagreeing with yourself, which of course explains a lot.

I'm not sure about Mr Rampa's credibility these days but I still think Mrs Fifi Greywhiskers is a great name for a cat. We don't have cats. We have dogs. But I might get a cat one day. And I wouldn't call it Mrs Fifi Greywhiskers. Oh no. I'd call it Sooty. Especially if it was black. Or grey

Why not call your dog Sooty? Seems like a perfect name for a black-coated dog, and avoids the racial connotations of previously loved dog names.

Now that's a way to spend your days!  Might make a good Christmas gift for the right person too.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Living-Lama-Mrs-Fifi-Greywhiskers-P-S-C/dp/B01F...

Thanks for the link. Well, at the Tower of Babel mankind was deprived of telepathic communication due to his treachery towards animals. Apparently. That seems a shame

perce wrote:

I'm not sure about Mr Rampa's credibility these days but I still think Mrs Fifi Greywhiskers is a great name for a cat. We don't have cats. We have dogs. But I might get a cat one day. And I wouldn't call it Mrs Fifi Greywhiskers. Oh no. I'd call it Sooty. Especially if it was black. Or grey

Our rescue black cat is called Sort.  He came to us with that name - apparently it's the Danish word for 'black'.

Steve K wrote:

perce wrote:

I'm not sure about Mr Rampa's credibility these days but I still think Mrs Fifi Greywhiskers is a great name for a cat. We don't have cats. We have dogs. But I might get a cat one day. And I wouldn't call it Mrs Fifi Greywhiskers. Oh no. I'd call it Sooty. Especially if it was black. Or grey

Our rescue black cat is called Sort.  He came to us with that name - apparently it's the Danish word for 'black'.

Our rescue dog is black. She's called Lottie. I don't think it's anything to do with black, we just liked the name and it seemed to suit her. 

I think we'll get a rescue dog next time. I don't think I could go through the puppy stage again - all the training, early mornings etc. Too old for that

To quote "Yeah, why catch criminals in real life and risk offending cyclists?" 
Did they take the time off from the capturing of real criminals to do the really really very very important job of lecturing a father on how to bring up his kids? You complain about police policing Twitter but are perfectly happy for them to do it in real life? 
You fucking idiot. Anyway, C U Next Tuesday? 

Rakia wrote:

Everything that is wrong with the police exemplified in this article.

The policeman was perfectly correct to hold the cyclist to account for his disgraceful swearing with two young children in his care, and to warn him that his conduct increases the risk to himself, yet the donut-munching woke jobsworth duffer back at HQ hung him out to dry.

The cyclist, rather than posting the video for clicks and lols on Twitter, should reflect on their behaviour and - next time - be a better person.

I hope the policeman reads this comment and understands that not all cyclists are swearing, shrieking, child-abusing attention seekers. Many of us are perfectly normal people who also disagree with the disgusting wave of narcissism engulfing society.

Do you think the police should be spending their time telling people off for swearing, under the misapprehension that it's a public order offence? Or would you prefer if they spent their time investigating actual crimes?