Road-raging firefighter gets 120 days for shooting at bicyclist
Thanks Nate for the link.
Apparently the poor firefighter is the one who was threatened, so he had little choice but to point a gun at the cyclist’s head and pull the trigger. But he feels just terrible about it.
Former Asheville fireman gets 4 months for shooting at cyclist
By Clarke Morrison • November 20, 2009
ASHEVILLE — A former Asheville firefighter will spend 120 days in jail for shooting at a bicyclist, narrowly missing his head with a bullet that pierced the man’s helmet.
Charles Alexander Diez, 42, pleaded guilty Thursday to assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, but testified during his sentencing hearing that he only fired a warning shot and didn’t intend to hurt Alan Ray Simons.
“I was the one who felt truly, truly threatened,” Diez told the court. “It was not my intention to shoot him.”
I often have to tell my clients that bicyclists are basically hated by a large segment of the public, and must not expect the same treatment by juries, judges, arbitrators, and insurance adjusters that a motorist would receive. If you get hit from behind while on a bike, for example, you are going to be declared to have swerved in front of the vehicle until proven otherwise. Not so if you are a motorist.
And it seems that if you are shot in the head by a firefighter, you shouldn’t expect sympathy either.
–Erik Ryberg
November 20th, 2009 at 10:17 am
I am utterly at a loss for words… Shoot a person in the head, and by the grace of god only put that round through his helmet, get 4 months.
As a cyclist, if you going looking for justice… what you’re going to find is just us.
Damn.
November 20th, 2009 at 10:59 am
It’s ok, he’s a veteran, a firefighter and a top-notch employee, so he can just shoot at people on a whim.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:11 am
…this is just sad.
November 20th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I referred to a cultural shift in
an earlier post…this culture has
a long, long way to go.
I still think these incidences bear
similarities to hate crimes and wonder
why that route isn’t used.
November 20th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
[...] TO ADD: Tuscon Bike Lawyer has a couple of posts on this topic. Plus, he’s a lawyer. His conclusion: I often have to [...]
November 20th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
We’re dealing with a similar (yet less insane) case in Toronto (google Michael Bryant & Darcy Sheppard). If this is any indication of how these cases play out, we’re all screwed.
November 20th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
“I was the one who felt truly, truly threatened,” Diez told the court. “It was not my intention to shoot him.”
So he is justifying why he didn’t walk away? And on top of this the Grand Jury lowered the charge.
November 21st, 2009 at 4:46 pm
So, if someone threatens me with a motor vehicle I can legally shoot them?
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:15 am
Opus,
only if he grabs your shirt and you are a firefighter and a veteran. And only if there is a possibility of killing him in front of his family.
If and only then.
May 25th, 2010 at 10:38 am
[...] a gun at you “just for kicks,” I don’t get off with a $124.00 traffic ticket. (Although if you are a bicyclist the penalty won’t be all that severe even if I shoot you.) (And see also the comments to this post, including one from the [...]
July 28th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
[...] R. dropped me an email about this one this morning. He’s got a post up over at Tuscon Bike Lawyer. Just makes you glad to be alive, don’t it? A former Asheville firefighter will spend 120 [...]