Cyclist0108

Even if he wasn't one to begin with ...

it sounds like he transmogrified himself into one (or more?).

Bmach

Where are you guys seeing that he assaulted an 11yo. I have read that they are 18 and 19. Not that what did is changed by that but they are not little kids.

Cyclist0108

That was in the original report. It also looked like a little kid.

Ross520

Why do you keep attempting to minimalize what happened?

First you refuse to concede that she was grabbed, then, after other members unequivocally proved to you that she was, in fact, assaulted, you continue to be an advocate for that perpetrator of said assault.

Your use of phrases such as "placing a hand" when it's CLEAR AS DAY that she was violently grabbed, and her friend shoved to the ground, is rather sickening.

My God, man, we're talking about an individual who had no qualms about attacking a little girl and others, in broad daylight, ON CAMERA. I can absolutely guarantee that this wasn't his first time putting his hands on someone vulnerable. You don't just wake up one day and do that sort of thing, this guy is your typical scumbag, rage-o-holic abuser, and should be treated accordingly.


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bruce19

TV is our area reported that they were posting "racial justice" flyers related to the George Floyd incident. This....https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...24220/...gives a lot of info. Apparently, he turned himself in and has apologized profusely. In addition, several people were named as the perp by all the sleuths on social media. As a result these innocent people have had their names and reputations besmirched.

"Anthony Brennan III, 60, of Kensington is charged with three counts of second-degree assault."

Kapusta

He is not a former cop. That was just one of several false accusations flying around twitter.

Miele Man

Watch the ABC News video I posted above. You can CLEARLY see the guy grab the little girl's arm and tug yanking on it as he attempted to grab the flyers.

Heck, here's the link to that video again.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/cyclist-as...ry?id=71080297

Cheers

Miele Man

Watch: https://abcnews.go.com/US/cyclist-as...ry?id=71080297

It was NOT, "...it was just placing a hand on her arm...". He did a LOT more than just place a hand on the little girl's arm. Near the beginning of the video You can see that he grabbed her arm and at one point had two hands on her whilst AGGRESSIVELY trying to take the flyers from her. This was not a benign touch as seems to be indicated in your comment.

cHEERS

unterhausen

Yes, wrong guy. I'm a bit embarrassed.

billridesbikes

I hope by the time I’m 60 I’ll have the good sense to act properly in public.
All dude had to do was keep riding, mind his own, and enjoy the day.

Cyclist0108

It also came as a surprise to me, after watching that video at least twice and posting a screen grab of the assault (which is still bad enough), that the "little girl" is in fact an adult. We have to be very cautious of the power of suggestion, our own expectation biases, and Trial by Twitter should never replace Trial by Jury.

indyfabz

Solely for the sake of accuracy, all three victims are over the age of 18, which came as a shock to me because the young woman who was grabbed looked like a child to me, from what I could see in the video. Not that that lessens what he did. Child or legal adult doesn’t matter to me. As I opined before, part of his punishment should be at least a temporary banning from that trail, and maybe make him spend his weekends policing it as others ride by and wave to him. Or not wave, but that’s an issue for another thread.

Kapusta

I must admit, my first gut reaction (i.e., my prejudices) were telling me it was likely that the perp was a cop or retired cop. So I was inclined to believe this when I saw it.

I’m glad they found this guy before more people got dragged into it.

Miele Man

Thanks for the update that they were all over 18 years of age. Still, as you so rightly said, the fellow's actions were inexcusable. It'd be interesting to hear what his defense is.

Cheers

indyfabz

Maybe Skidder can offer a defense.

bruce19

I saw that and posted a video somewhere in this thread. As I recall there are three charges of assault 2nd degree.

mstateglfr 

The irony that you end this critical post with 'cheers' is just fantastic to me. Thank you for the chuckle at the end.

Paul Barnard

Now that it has played out, how did your bias serve you?

Cyclist0108

The problem is expectation bias always influences what we see. No one is immune from this. At one point, I even thought to myself "that isn't a young child" but then I dismissed it, because all the reports said it was a child. Some were even more specific, saying it was an 11 year old. We tend to see what we are told to see.

Similarly, how much aggression etc. was present is a matter of interpretation. Clearly it looked more aggressive to me than it did to you. But maybe you were right and I was wrong. We both looked at the same video and saw different things. (It is still an assault if he touches her without her consent, but it is less problematic if it isn't a child.)

When people see me with my bike stuff on, it isn't uncommon for people to say I look like Robocop. Probably most people with a bike helmet and mirrored glasses or lenses (like I have) look like our stereotype of a motorcycle cop. It didn't help on the other thread where I mentioned that someone in the comments section below the posted video had posted a snarky comment to the effect that Vegas is giving 200/1 odds it is a cop. Rumors propagate, and maybe a snarky comment I laughed at morphed into a rumor?

mstateglfr 

I dont think I have been minimizing what happened. I do think I have been less enthusiastic to go overboard with charges than many here, and i have explained why- prison is all too often a default go to response.
I have continually stated the man acted inappropriately and have continually opined that if guilty, his punishment should be a mix of financial compensation, social service, and classwork. To me, that is significant and ongoing. When tarnished reputation is also taken into account, it seems like an appropriate punishment for grabbing someone's arm and taking fliers and then charging at someone else with a bike.

I do not advocate for the person. Again, I have continually stated what he did was wrong.
In this thread, at first I said I couldn't see that his hand was on the woman's arm. Then once a different link was posted, I said I could see his hand on her arm. I think I even mentioned that the first video I saw wasn't as clear.
Seriously get over it- I agreed he didn't just grab the papers.
You have an odd view of advocacy since thru this thread, I have maintained that if the guy grabbed her arm and if the guy ran the cameraman over, he should be punished.

When I grab someone's arm, I do so by placing my hand on their arm.
As for the friend being shoved to the ground, I dont doubt it happened, but I haven't seen video of it happening and this entire discussion has been over video of the incident. What I've seen is the dbag charging at the cameraman and then the camera being on the ground. If the cyclist shoved the guy to the ground, thats wrong. If the cyclist rammed his bike into the cameraman, that's wrong. If the cameraman was getting out of the way and tripped, that sucks and was due to the cyclist raging, but perhaps it is legally different than being physically pushed or tackled.
This was my point earlier- that we don't know and I think it is dangerous to message board convict people based on assumptions when it comes to serious issues like this.
Again, what I was commenting on was video only and thst video didn't show much in this instance.

Perhaps he has done this before, I have no idea. If he has done this before and its known, then I hope his punishment is adjusted accordingly.
You sure seem to know for sure he has, but I am not comfortable making such an assumption and then forming my opinion based on that assumption.



You may find my responses lacking. If so, that is unfortunate, but not surprising. I simply do not tend to turn to prison as a default answer for things like what I saw in the video. Arrested jail time, financial compensation, community service, and social classes are what I would like to see instead.
If you feel like that is me advocating for the guy, I suggest you look up what that word means.

Edited to add- the was fired from his VP position too, which is quite understandable.

indyfabz

Sweet!

jlaw

Not well. I thought I had him nailed, but unless I missed it the Washington Post article I read today did not mention a current or former profession. I am assuming that if he has a police connection they would have mentioned it. So, I guess he's just your average angry white guy who's been taught that he is the real victim in this world.

I do feel that my observations were fairly objective even if my conclusion was not correct. I respect the police and the difficult and dangerous job that they do on behalf of all of us. But, being a police officer is also a priveledge and the outrageous and unacceptable statements that some police unions make on behalf of their members make many realize they need to be reminded that they work for us, not the other way around.

Sure, I have my biases just like anybody, but I really don't think I am biased in the way that you are assuming. I'm just making an 'educated guess' in a respectable manner given the evidence available.

Are you being biased against me?

Paul Barnard

The poster above you understood what I was saying in the few simple words.

There's a subjective line between a bias against one group as a whole and a bias held against other groups as a whole. The line isn't clear. If a line exists at all, it's a social construct based on individual values. If we asked a room full of people which biases are okay, we'd have wide ranging responses. While it's not possible to remove all bias, my belief is that we are better off not giving into to any bias. We should deny ourselves permission to hold any. As a cyclist, I find some of the biases people hold against cyclists in general to be unfair and in some cases potentially dangerous.

jlaw

Oh come on! Everbody knows bicyclists are a pain in the a## and should be banned from all roads!

Am I right or am I right?

Miele Man

I end all my posts with "Cheers". I see though that in the post you quoted that I had mistakenly had the caps lock on. LOL

In these trying times we can all use a chuckle now and then.

Cheers