Stop Thief!

I stopped a bike theft today.

I was driving along Broadway when I saw a guy struggling with a bike lock...more so than one should be if the lock was giving you a problem. Yet no one seemed to be paying any attention. I've seen videos of this before - people stealing bikes in broad daylight and no one noticing/caring - I just never thought I'd witness it.

So I pulled into a gas station and walked back and asked him if it was his bike. He said it was his bike, that it had been stolen and that he was going to put a new lock on it. I then found myself in a difficult situation. How do I prove it's not his bike? He word against mine.  It was a shitty bike and he even pointed it out..."Would I steal this shitty bike?" He finally called my bluff and told me I could call the cops and we could sort it out. So I called it right back. I said, "Sure. Ok. Brb." and went to get my cell phone from Walden.

Luckily the real owner of the bike returned just as I was walking back and confronted the guy also. So buddy skulked off across the street. I went up to him and reported what I had seen (he was on the phone with the 5-0).

The cops helped cut the new lock off the bike and the owner phoned and thanked me profusely.

If you see something like this happening - imagine it was your bike - please do something about it. Call the police. If they are truly the owner of the bike....they will gladly talk to the police about it and explain why they are cutting the lock off.





The thing I don't get. Why put the new lock on the bike? Why not just take it?