Doctor sentenced to 5 years in prison for slamming brakes in front of bicylists

[Liberal_in_LA]

Doctor sentenced to 5 years in prison for assaulting bicyclists in Brentwood
January 8, 2010 | 11:05 am

A doctor convicted of assaulting two bicyclists by slamming on his car brakes after a confrontation on a narrow Brentwood road was sentenced today to five years in prison.

Christopher Thompson, wearing dark blue jail scrubs, wept as he apologized to the injured cyclists shortly before he was sentenced.

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The case against Thompson, 60, has drawn close scrutiny from bicycle riders around the country, many of whom viewed the outcome as a test of the justice system's commitment to protecting cyclists.

One cyclist was flung face-first into the rear window of Thompson's red Infiniti, breaking his front teeth and nose and cutting his face. The other cyclist slammed into the sidewalk and suffered a separated shoulder.

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On the day of the crash, Thompson said he was driving down the road on his way to work when several cyclists swore at him and flipped him off as he called on them to ride single file. He said he stopped his car to take a photo to identify the riders and never intended to hurt anyone.

But the cyclists said the doctor was acting aggressively from the start. They said he honked loudly from behind them and passed by dangerously close as they moved to ride single file before he pulled in front and braked hard.

A police officer told jurors that shortly after the crash that Thompson said he slammed on his brakes in front of the riders to "teach them a lesson."

Prosecutors said Thompson had a history of run-ins with bike riders, including a similar episode four months before the crash when two cyclists told police that the doctor tried to run them off the road and braked suddenly in front of them. Neither of the riders was injured.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/01/cyclist-sentenced.html

[parasim]

1. Good! Sure, Dr. Christopher "teach them a lesson" Thomson (asshole) weeps apologies now...

Didn't think about that when he was in the process though.

Hating on cyclists must stop!

[tkmorris]

2. That is excellent news

Bicyclists can be asses just like anyone else but there is no excuse for using your vehicle as a weapon.

[Don Caballero]

3. We cyclists rejoice in this news

We must stand up to unruly cagers who try to confront us. Always carry pepper spray, your cellphone and a pen and paper to write down plate numbers

[a la izquierda]

4. If it's not drunk, it's jackasses like this guy.

My husband has had more stuff thrown at him than we can count.
I was nearly run off the road last summer. A friend of ours was hit and nearly killed by a guy reaching for his cellphone. Two riders were killed near Tulsa by a woman who'd been convicted of DUI on more than one occasion.
Good riders obey the laws of the road. But we lose against cars/trucks no matter how careful we are.

[Ahpook]

12. I can relate

Thankfully, Knoxville has a path named the Greenway we can ride. Getting to it is the hairy part.

We had some young jerks aim at us and swerve at the last. When they passed they claimed "You are gonna die, fags" You know, what the fuck? These are neighborhood kids as well. I'll catch those bastards one day and see what the problem was. I know where they live:)

We have also had items thrown at us. A tomato slice from a fast food place was one. Ohhhh, the irony:)

Also, many close calls with speeders as well. Why someone needs to go 50mph through here is beyond me.

[a la izquierda]

22. My husband and friend had a sock full of batteries...

hucked at them. A-holes. Out east of town, we have nice, hilly country roads to ride on. But the rednecks can get out of control.

[Ahpook]

23. Whoa, thats deliberate

I assume the bits thrown at us were a last second choice?

I really don't understand the problem if we are obeying stop signs, etc? We try to get off the roads. I'm thankful we have those socialist pathways to ride on.

I just wish we did not have to ride a stretch of those "socialist" roads to get where we want to:)

Fuck you, America! You are a drag:)

[applegrove]

5. What a creep.

[slackmaster]

6. He was an idiot for admitting that he did a brake-check to teach the cyclists a lesson

Should have kept his mouth shut.

The cyclists were tailgating. If the doctor had stopped because he saw a ball bouncing into the street, the results would have been the same except that he would not have been charged with a crime.

He's an assclown and a dumbshit.

[tkmorris]

7. They were NOT tailgating

They were in front of him. He whipped around them, pulled directly in front and then locked his brakes all in one maneuver.

[slackmaster]

8. Actually that is three maneuvers

Whipping, pulling, and locking. The cyclists did have an opportunity to get out of harm's way.

In any case it's not their fault, it's entirely the doctor's fault.

[tkmorris]

10. Whatever friend

I know what the man did and I cycle quite a bit. If someone did this to us I don't think we would have much chance to get out of the way.

[canetoad]

27. At exactly what stage

and with how many split-seconds to spare (allowing for normal human reaction times) did they have opportunity.

You, my friend, are talking shit.

[Cirque du So-What]

9. K & R for cyclists

who have always gotten short shrift in our motorized vehicle-centric society.

[Skittles]

11. I don't understand the hate some folk have for cyclists on the road

I'm always a bit fearful for their safety (which is why I myself don't do it) but is it really that hard for people to slow down a bit to let non gas-guzzlers share the road? Come on.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

13. My dear Skittles!

Don't you know...it's all about them!

:P

[hlthe2b]

15. Agree... I slow way down (appropriately) when riding beside cyclists...

and invariably have the asshole driver behind me start honking or damn near hit me from the rear...Then they seem determined to teach me and the cyclist a lesson by passing us both, barely missing us both...

[glitch]

20. I think it's free-floating hatred, anyone vulnerable is a target. Pedestrians also deal with this. n

[Gregorian]

14. So many of these attacks go unpunished.

I have never understood why so many drivers have issues with cyclists. I've commuted by bike for many years, and it's more than a few drivers. It's as if this society has issues with cyclists. It seems to me that it's endemic of a culture of car drivers. As if they felt a sense of guilt that comes with the many many things wrong with the automobile. I also think it's a weakness that can come from wielding the massive amount of power that a car has with respect to a vulnerable person on a bike. Thousands of hours on a bike will reveal much about this society.

[whistler162]

18. Yeah its not the cyclist blowing through the

stop sign just as the driver is about to pull out. Or the cyclist talking on their cell phones while they ride down the street.

YUP all the car drivers fault!

[Gregorian]

28. Every encounter I've ever had was on a long uninterrupted stretch of road.

Maybe I missed the sarcasm in your post.

Almost being killed by someone is not trivial. It can do more than ruin one's day. Time and time again when there is 40 feet of roadway invariably the car values that yellow line more than the cyclist's life. It's infuriating.

[Obamanaut]

16. I live in a rural area of N. Florida, and ride a recumbent on local

two lane roads regularly. Since beginning this about 5 years ago, every single time I've been overtaken and passed from behind, the driver of the vehicle has gone completely into the other lane.

I often get waves as they pass, and always with all the fingers. This is a good area for bicycles.

[fishwax]

17. nice to see the courts take the safety of cyclists seriously

It can certainly be nerve-wracking being on a bike and dealing with some of the drivers out there ...

[whistler162]

19. To bad too many cyclist don't!

[L0oniX]

21. Not all cyclists are innocent either.

I see them break driving laws a lot. Maybe it's just me? I ride a bicycle too but mostly on a paved trail or a side walk and never in the street with traffic ....in Florida that would be a death sentence.

[Obamanaut]

26. My part of Fla is ok for bicycles - post 16 above. nt

[BBG]

24. Some bicyclist scare your mother?

Geeze dude, some bike riding maniac scare your mother when she was carrying you? What's with your attitude?

[Vidar]

25. K&R.