Mission Mission

Kai from Mission Bicycle Company has the scoop:

Here are a few pics I snagged immediately after a crazy lady cut down the swing on Valencia across the street from our shop.  When questioned she said “this isn’t a playground.”  It was sad.

I guess that means we all have to grow up now finally.

UPDATE: Further information from our buddy Jake:

Today I witnessed the Valencia tree swing being hacked to death in the prime of its life. A few others witnessed the merciless slaying in broad daylight, and followed the killer around the corner where she clutched the lifeless body. I asked her why she would destroy something that’s brought so much joy and beauty into the world and this was her response: “you’re crazy and you need a shave. You’re probably one of those Occupy people.” She then called 911 and an officer quickly responded to reports we were harassing her. He told us the perp felt threatened by us and then admitted he was unclear about tree swing laws in San Francisco. Nobody was cited and the perp’s motive remains unclear, however she did mention almost being hit by a reckless swing-person in the past which no doubt constitutes premeditation. It’s a minor tragedy for Valencia street and another reminder that Mission will always have an element of danger in the air. We can only hope where one was cut down, many more will grow in its place.

Jake also included yet another gut-wrenching pic:

Previously:

Swings on 18th Street!

Reader Noah B. wrote in to tell us what happened to him on Monday night:

1. I was walking home from Churchills at about 8:15 pm (on 14th street just past Dolores )
2. I was talking on my phone when a man TASED (yes tazed) me on my left side.  It was not as bad as i thought it would be but def scared shit out of me ..must have been a cheap taser (per cops)
3. I fell down for quick sec but got up instantly and told him to “Get the eff away from me!” (loud)
4. I continued to back up and he said to me “give me your phone or i’ll shoot you”
5. Since i only saw the tazer in his hand, I told him to go fuck himself (loud again) (prob not smartest move i know)
6. At that time i see a woman coming and i yell at him “there is a witness now and we are calling the cops!”  He then took off…

Cops came and i was given a case number. The guy was an African american male in his early 20′s about 5’8 wearing a hoodie. Reminder to never walk alone at night and talk on your cell or text….they are looking for that now and it has been happening nightly the police say. I’m super lucky!

Mission Local reports:

On Wednesday at about 5:52 p.m., a 48-year-old woman was walking on Hampshire Street near 21 Street when two suspects snuck up on her and pointed a handgun at her, police said.

Authorities said that the victim dropped her phone on the ground and one of the suspects grabbed it. Both suspects fled on foot, according to police reports. [link]

As though stealing your bike weren’t enough, this thief leaves behind a five-fingered shoe as an extra little fuck-you to his victims. Truly evil. This Craigslist post explains:

STOLEN: Giant OCR1 (black) (mission district)

some @!#$ stole my bike from INSIDE our house in the common area between 6:45pm and 7:00pm. Whoever stole the bike propped the back door open with five fingered shoes. I HATE FIVE FINGERED SHOES.

It is a Giant OCR1 in black. The front tire has radial spokes and it looks very similar to the attached photo (right down to the saddlebag). I think the only visible difference between this photo and my bike is the spokes on the wheels.

Ugh, that photo makes me sad. I miss my bike already.

Bike was stolen near the corner of Valencia and Liberty.

If you see this bike please please please please please say something. I will love you long-time.
:*(

Keep your eyes peeled. Here’s hoping this heinous criminal gets pinched.

[Shoe pic via REI]

His name is Frederick A. Dozier, age 32.

[via Mission Local]

Let’s hope they really got him.  Mission Local has the news:

Police said they arrested the suspect at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Bernal Dwellings after receiving a tip from a resident. It’s unclear at this time whether the suspect lived there but police said that he resides in the Mission District.

Read the full SFPD press release after the jump.

(more…)

I had my bike stolen out of 24th and Mission Street BART last Wednesday. Seen it? Hey, I know it happens. It’s my second stolen bike.

The thing is, I thought I had done everything right: I brought it in the gate, ran a cable through the wheels, and secured a newer mini Kryptonite U-lock through the frame. But when I got back everything was gone. I had to double check that I didn’t get off at the wrong station.

I think the lesson is that BART isn’t a safe place to park your bike. You may think you’re protecting your bike from outsiders, but you’re also protecting thieves. The bike parking area is in a secluded corner out of view of the operator booth, the station is noisy, and people are too hurried and desensitized to weirdos to take notice of strange activity. In retrospect, someone could take a generator and angle grinder down there while wearing a bear suit and no one would pay any attention.

There is also plenty of time for a thief to monitor the bike parking patterns. For me, I was parking it there for 8 hours every weekday as part of my commute. Someone could have easily figured out the best time to strike over the course of a few days.

I give props to the BART police for showing up quickly to take my report and offer their condolences, but unfortunately they said getting any security footage for such a large window of time and secluded corner probably wont happen. So much for vigilante justice.

I took away the following advice from them:

1. Write down the serial number of your bike. You’ll need it if your bike is ever recovered. Seriously, do it now. Put it in your phone or something.
2. Powell street BART is most secure. Due to people traffic and location of the bike area, they have had the least amount of theft there.
3. Don’t park a bike in public for more than a couple of hours if you expect to keep the bike. Get a beater.
4. Write BART about improving bike security. They don’t listen to the BART cops, they do listen to you. You can do so online here.

That being said, it could not have been easy for the thief to break my U-lock. It would have been time consuming and noisy. I offer these suggestions to BART:

1. If you haven’t already, put a security camera on the bike area.
2. Relocate bike racks to somewhere within line of sight to the operator booth.
3. Station agents should do regular scans of the station areas. Grandma can wait 5 minutes for help with which end to stick the ticket.
4. Improve hospitality towards bike commuters. Station, car, and time restrictions make it really hard to justify traveling with your bike. Caltrain figured this out to an extent. We can do better.

Best of luck out there against these savages.

[photo by Improv Everywhere via Fixed Gear Blog]

“I’ll touch your butt!” What a line!

(Also, follow me on Twitter, doy.)

Check out this security footage of two assholes clipping a lock and stealing a bike from a garage downtown. The best part is when the guy tries to get on the bike, but it’s clearly too tall for him and he fails the first couple times trying to mount it.

Unfortunately, they get away with it. If you or anyone you know has any information about this theft or can identify the people involved, get in touch — the victim has a Craigslist post up here.

Here’s a picture of the bike in question:

[via pkingDesign]

There’s the guy. And here he is caught on video:

Mission Local reports:

San Francisco Police Commander Michael Biel announced to hundreds of community members on Wednesday that the City is offering a $25,000 reward in the investigation of two “brutal” sexual assaults that happened on 24th Street. The first assault occurred on Nov. 18, the second on Dec. 8.

“The attacks keep getting worse,” Biel told reporters. “We have someone who is very dangerous to the community.” The police department is working with the FBI on the investigation, he said.

Read on.