BOOGALOO FILES COMPLAINT, GETS APOLOGY FROM SGT.
Thread started by
boogalooSHRIMP at 06.6.08 - 12:25 pm
This post is in part response to:
BHPD Intimidation
http://midnightridazz.com/forums.php?topicId=3344&pgnum=1
Complaints can go a long way. The SGT taking my case apologized to me for "the waste of time" this citation has caused.
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Here is the letter I wrote to the Commanding Officer and the case is currently under investigation by Internal Affairs.
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Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Santa Monica Police Department
333 Olympic Drive
P.O. Box 2200
Santa Monica, CA 90401-2200, USA
To whom it may concern:
Please accept this letter as separate complaints against Officer Rogozik and Officer Amersfoot of the Santa Monica Police Department. My first complaint is regarding an erroneous citation I received from Officer Rogozik on December 7, 2007. My second complaint is against Officer Amersfoot for verbal harassment at the Santa Monica Police Station on December 11, 2007.
Regarding Officer Rogozik:
On December 6, 2007, the day before I received my citation, I spent two hours installing batteries into a total of 40 front and rear bicycle lights. These lights were to be donated to bicycle riders that lacked proper lighting and wanted to ride with Santa Monica Critical Mass. The following day at a Santa Monica Critical Mass ride, I notified the more than 150 participants that Santa Monica law requires riders to have lights. I announced to riders that if they lacked proper lighting, they could approach me and I would give them a forward facing light and/or rear light on a donation basis. I, along with many others, donated 20 dollars that went towards the purchase of these lights.
On December 7, 2007 I was issued a non-correctable citation for not having forward facing front lights on my bicycle by Officer Rogozik. The truth is, I had two (2) forward facing front lights on my bicycle that were turned on. Not only that, I had three rear facing back lights, a bright red flasher attached to my seat post that faces left and six (6) flashing lights affixed to my the pegs on my axles and tire valves, all in working condition and all turned on.
At approximately 8:00pm I was traveling south on Main Street during a Santa Monica Critical Mass ride as it rode past City Hall when Officer Rogozik motioned for me to approach him. I did not think I was being stopped for a citation as I had not violated any law. When Rogozik told me he was issuing me a citation for not having headlights, I was stunned and told him I did have lights and pointed to the two headlights affixed to my pegs. Rogozik said that they weren't on, to which I replied, "If they weren't turned on, how are they turned on now?" There was no possible way for me to have turned them on without his knowledge, since this would have required me to get off my bicycle and reach down to turn them on. Many riders stopped to question Rogozik’s citation and everyone pointed out that my lights were on and had been on during the ride. I’ve attached a few letters written by those riders. Rogozik then changed the reason for my citation a third time now saying that they weren't bright enough.
Equipment Requirements
(d) Every bicycle operated upon any highway during darkness shall be equipped
(1) with a lamp emitting a white light which, while the bicycle is in motion, illuminates the highway in front of the bicyclist and is visible from a distance of 300 feet in front and from the sides of the bicycle
The lights affixed to my pegs are Knog FROGS. Here is the rating from the manufacturer:
Features: Water-resistant, flexible silicon body, integrated clipping feature, variable beam direction,
quick-release mounting. Hold down button for ‘shortcut’ on/off function. Visible up to 600 meters.
http://www.knogusa.com/en-us/dept_6.html
600 meters translates to over 1,968 feet or over a quarter mile visibility!
Rogozik changed his reason for citing me a fourth and final time now saying that the lights were not forward facing, indicated by the reason on the citation: 21201 (D) VC NO FORWARD FACING BIKE LIGHT.
Then Editor of the Santa Monica Daily Press, Michael Tittinger and staff photographer, Brandon Wise witnessed and photographed my the incident. Tittinger wrote his account of the incident in an article in the Santa Monica Daily Press. The article in the December 15-16, 2007 issue of the Santa Monica Daily Press (see attached), Tittinger wrote:
“Alex Cantarero, got picked off from the back of the procession (Santa Monica Critical Mass) by the bike cops, who seemed to hedge quite a bit on the reasoning for the ticket—his lights weren’t on, his lights weren’t bright enough, his lights weren’t forward facing. Each seemed to be lamer than the last. About 10 fellow Critical Mass riders who stopped to see what happened could plainly see a pair of lights on Cantarero’s bike, shooting forward... All the while bike riders occasionally rolled past on the east side of Main Street sans lights and sans police attention... ‘Are you his lawyer?’ the police (Rogozik) responded to repeated calls by riders for an explanation of the tickets. Since when do we need an attorney for an officer to explain what we did wrong?”
In addition to newspapers, several blogs and various other media outlets have written about this incident.
Regarding Officer Amersfoot:
On December 11, 2007, I went to the Santa Monica Courthouse to ask why my citation was not marked correctable, since other similar citations that the Santa Monica Police Department issues denote this type of infraction as a correctable violation. Officer Mark Wilson of the West Hollywood Sheriffs Department, who was working at the Santa Monica Court screening visitors, signed the back of my citation and verified that my bicycle was in fact equipped with lights. His name and serial number are written on the back of my citation (see attached). Wilson advised me to go to the Santa Monica Police Department and file a complaint, which I did. I walked over to the the police station, entered and asked the the officer for a form to file a complaint and explained the citation to him. He was extremely rude and said “Why do you want to file a complaint, for fun?” I was shocked by his statement. When I asked for his first name, he replied with a stern, “Officer” and nothing else. He then said that he knew him (Rogozik) and believed him over me. Obviously I felt utterly helpless having confided in explaining the situation to him and felt belittled that he was so reluctant to point me in the right direction regarding my complaint.
On January 17, 2008 I appeared in court to contest my citation. I was given a trial date set for April 15, 2008 where I entered a plea of not guilty. My trial was set for May 29, 2008 in which I appeared with six witnesses, including the editor of the Santa Monica Daily Press. Officer Rogozik did now show up and my trial was dismissed.
I’ve attached some photographs of the incident, photographs of my bicycle and its light setup, copies of my citation, news articles and letters from witnesses and friends who know how much I advocate for bicycle safety, especially the use of proper lights! Here is a YouTube video link that shows how my bicycle was illuminated the night of my citation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nqTQhBSVWM
On a more positive side note, I would like to congratulate the Downtown substation and Officer Bristol for returning my stolen bicycle, to which he referred to as having “a crazy light setup!” My bicycle was stolen on 6th and Wilshire on a Sunday afternoon and returned to me the following Tuesday. I thought I would never see it again. Luckily I registered by bicycle with the city of Santa Monica. Amazingly, all of my accessories, INCLUDING TWELVE LIGHTS were intact upon it’s return! I would also like to point out that the community officers that patrol the Third Street Promenade like Officers Palmer and Atkins have been very pleasant when informing cyclists about the rules pertaining to bicycling on the Promenade. Their exemplary behavior is the type of etiquette one expects from our public servants.
I really enjoy bicycling in Santa Monica and I am working towards helping Santa Monica achieve it’s goal of being a sustainable and bicycle friendly community.
Thank you for your attention to this matter and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Sincerely,
Alejandro Cantarero
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