"I would write the poster off-line, but she has no e-address here.

I've been in the forefront of agitating to get cyclists to use the PIPC bike rack at the Alpine police and administration office and dance with Lynn Pierson of the PIPC about this several times a year.

That said, I seriously doubt there is a law at play here, i.e. an infraction actually written into whatever law or code governs PIPC property requiring that bikes not be leaned against the flag pole. Yes, it is a courtesy, maybe even a custom to use the rack; and, yes we should when we can. But is it a lawful order to remove a bike from leaning against the flag pole?

The bike was clearly not blocking, not obstructing the entrance to/exit from the building. So I would contend there was no lawful order given, that it amounted to no more than a REQUEST and there is no legal requirement to grant a mere request.

If a policeman says, ""Call me 'sir' or 'officer,'"" are you required to do so because that is an order he issues? Answer: no.

That this policeman was intoxicated with his own authority is hardly unusual. That is clearly one of the major attractions to that line of work."

"This whole story really bothers me. First off, even without the mitigating circumstances, is it a big deal to lean a bike on a flag pole?
I was a trial lawyer for some 25 years. At this point I am out of practise New York, (not New Jersey) attorney. I am fairly confident that Apline Police Court will admit me pro hac vice (that is latin for ""just this time"" or something like that). So email me with the details, we are going to win this case."

"Years ago I was cited for taking a photograph not too far north of the police/administration station, around the overlook turnoff. The police contended I was doing something against the law, maybe taking a picture without permission.

I showed up for trial and, lo, then and there ""they"" changed the charge to something else. Distracting drivers.

I told the court I came prepared to defend myself against one charge and now you suddenly charge me with something else. Surely I'm entitled to a postponement in order to prepare a new defense for your new case and to get witnesses who can testify regarding that new charge.

The judge agreed and offered me a postponement but the hassle in getting up there another time and the all too evident disposition to find me guilty regardless of circumstance militated my going ahead then and there.

Incidentally, this was a fun piece of the police officer's testimoney: he testified I was alone, was holding a sign, and photographing it.

Q: Was I holding the camera?
A: Yes
Q: Was I holding the sign?
A: Yes.
Q: How far away was the sign from the camera?
A: Around ten feet.
Q: Are you sure?
A: Yes, maybe a bit more.
Q: How long do you think my arm is?

I was found guilty.

The officer testified and stood by his story that I simultaneously held the sign and took the picture and that I was behind both, that there wasn't a delayed exposure. He was certain I was alone.

The fact of the matter is I had a buddy holding a sign probably ten yards away but I came to court alone.

It turns out in that court (and for all I know, maybe elsewhere in that jurisdiction or elsewhere in NJ), the prosecution retains the right to change the charge up to 30 days after the issuance of a citation...presumably, or, at least in my case, without bestirrig themselves to tell the defendant until, as it were, showtime.

At least that's how it was around fourteen years ago. Maybe things have changed.

Then again, maybe not."

With no wish to excuse inexcusable behavior, I was recently reminded that our experience with authority often comes down to the acts of individuals, even when mandated by higher-ups.

While I was riding out to Piermont last weekend, a park police cruiser passed me on 9W -- swinging far to the left to avoid crowding me. Much more than your average bear.

The good ones don't redeem the bad, but they speak for themselves.

---------------------

Also, on a recent visit to River Road, I told three (non-club) cyclists, who were leaning their bikes against the stairway, that the police would rather they used the rack. Their response? They could care less.

Maybe the letter in the last club Bulletin could be posted on the station doorway. At any rate, I am grateful that the NYCC has stated that it cares about how its members are perceived.

Richard Rosenthal and I were planning on attending the Police Court hearing with Hannah on March 20th. I had not yet met Hannah, and became a bit concerned when my last email was unanswered. I received this email today.

In a message dated 2/18/2007 11:14:44 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes:
Those of us who knew Hannah were thrilled with your kind offer and Hannah had intended to take you up on it. Thank you for your willingness to help her. She was so upset and angry about what happened at the police station and, as far as any of us can remember, it was her last ride.

Hannah passed on last weekend after her 18 month struggle with ovarian cancer. She was an amazing individual and we will miss her always.

Thank you again.

Richard Rosenthal and I were planning on attending the Police Court hearing with Hannah on March 20th. I had not yet met Hannah, and became a bit concerned when my last email was unanswered. I received this email today.

In a message dated 2/18/2007 11:14:44 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes:
Those of us who knew Hannah were thrilled with your kind offer and Hannah had intended to take you up on it. Thank you for your willingness to help her. She was so upset and angry about what happened at the police station and, as far as any of us can remember, it was her last ride.

Hannah passed on last weekend after her 18 month struggle with ovarian cancer. She was an amazing individual and we will miss her always.

Thank you again.

nm

I agree this is so wrong. Sadly, an unhappy way to have your last bike ride. I do not know her, but it hits close to home.

I think the police at Alpine (and this officer in particular) should be made clearly aware of what transpired... either in writing, by having a group show up for the March 20 hearing, or maybe by placing some kind of temporary memorial to her at the flagpole. Or some other way.

My condolences to Hannah's friends and family.

I had planned to write to the Court, attaching a copy of Hannah's original post, advice the Court of her death, and ask that my letter not only be read into the record (as if Police Courts have records) but also be posted in the Police Barracks. Hopefully this will lead to a more sympathetic approach to cyclists by the Park Police.
I know Richard Rosenthal has his own strong feelings on this.
I did not know (nor ever met) Hannah, but I was drawn into this, by her compelling story. As to a memorial, I would suggest something as mundane as additional bike rakes more convenient to the bathrooms.
Does the NYCC want to take an official position on this?

In addition to the message I posted with Hannah as the subject line 2/13, I tried several times to reply to this thread to let you all know about Hannah's passing, but it has been a tough week and I just couldn't do it.

So thank you so much David for posting the message and letting folks know. And thank you SO MUCH to all of you who were going to help her out in March and who have thought about how she could be remembered.

Her family and friends are planning a ride to the Runcible on or near her birthday, May 22, and it would be wonderful if others want to join us. I will make sure to post a message about it when we have details and should also know enough in April to be able to put something in the May club bulletin.

I am overwhelmed by your generous and kind thoughts and will pass them on to her family. River Road was a very special place for Hannah, and if the club wanted to do something, like putting another rack at the police station and having it dedicated to Hannah, I think Hannah would love the irony. Is this something we could pursue?

Thank you again for your support.

"It seems to me dedicating a bike rack at the Alpine PIPC police station to Hannah would be a grievous, a really terrible mistake. Here's why.

That would undercut precisely what brought her into dubious conflict with officer Roberson and it would, at least symbolically, vindicate his conduct/misconduct towards her.

Keep in mind the issue: she had the temerity to lean her bike against the flag pole to hurry into the women's room after struggling up that challenging hill all alone on a cold December day while suffering from ovarian cancer and being within two months of dying from it.

(I suggest in struggling up that hill all alone, riven with cancer, and in the waning hours of her life, Hannah showed more guts and more courage than Roberson likely ever has.)

Had she wanted to take the time to put her bike in the bike rack that is there, she would have.

Roberson cited her for disobeying a ""lawfull"" (sic: his misspelling) order. Her bike was not blocking the entrance to the building; it was not an obstruction. While it may be courtesy, custom, and respectful to not lean the bike where she did, it's my understanding that it was not against the law therefore Robeson's barked command did not constitute a lawful order.

By erecting a bike rack in her name, that can only give Roberson, whom she (and someone else) described as a bully, reason to feel vindicated.

Please re-read her note about his conduct: his waiting until she reached the door of the building to bark his order, his lowering his window but an inch or so to do so, then hastily rolling it back up so he could avoid hearing her explanation. Then his citing her for disobeying a ""lawfull"" order that was not a lawful order.

Yes, if the PIPC would permit us to install another bike rack, by all means, let us do it. (I seem to recall, but may be in error, a previous effort to install another rack was rebuffed when it was claimed there wasn't enough space.)

But please honor Hannah; do not dishonor her by offering officer Roberson the satisfaction, justification, and vindication of dedicating a bike rack to her.

Wouldn't it be a far, far better and more poignant memorial to Hannah to plant a perenniel flower in the bed at the foot of the flag pole? We should do it without calling attention to the symbol and remembrance we wish it to represent lest it be rejected for just that reason. No, we would offer it supposedly as simply our gesture at beautification of the area...but, in reality, it would be cyclists' private symbol and remembrance of Hannah Wittich
"

Hi all,

I wrote Jim Hall, who I understand is in charge of many things at the Alpine station, about this matter and this discussion. He had a reply below that I thought worth sharing with the club via this board (with his permission):
**************
thank you for the note. I am sorry to hear she passed away. We had actually requested the prosecutor dismiss the case and the officer had been reprimanded for his demeanor. It is also my understanding, based upon a
witness, the officer did not know of her condition, but only because he didn't pause long enough to hear it. No excuse. Jim
**************
David

She WAS very angry and DID want to do something to protest, but now the 'bad cop' has been reprimanded, the ticket is gone or going away (both of which I find incredible and impressive), and Hannah has moved on. Hannah's sisters will be checking this thread soon and will be able to weigh in, too.

Another thought we've had is a bench at the Runcible, as Hannah loved to sit in the sun on the side of the 'spoon'.

So please do keep these ideas (and info) going and with your help, we'll be able to do something that means much to all of us.

"From Hannah's sister, Kato:

While I am not certain I found all the posts about Hannah's sad incident with the parkway police, I want to speak to those I was able to read.

First, I am Hannah's sister, Kato and I thank you all who have written passionately about this subject, because it was very upsetting and very important to Hannah.

I wrote letters to both the local newspaper and to the chief of the Parkway Police because it really mattered to her that someone stand up for her. It delighted her that I actually got a response from the police chief saying that the officer had been reprimanded -- but she was very bothered that they did not tell us that the ticket was being rescinded -- only that it was up for review.

And it is utterly untrue that the officer did not hear Hannah explain that she had cancer, as Jim Hall says in his note:

**************
""thank you for the note. I am sorry to hear she passed away. We had actually requested the prosecutor dismiss the case and the officer had been reprimanded for his demeanor. It is also my understanding, based upon a
witness, the officer did not know of her condition, but only because he didn't pause long enough to hear it. No excuse. Jim""
**************
This would have upset Hannah a lot -- to know that someone important at the station thought the ticket had been dismissed, which it had not - and that people also thought that the officer did not know that Hannah had cancer.

The officer got out of his car in order to give her a ticket and Hannah explained to his face that she had cancer and rectal bleeding and that she had been unable to follow his "" order"" because she urgently had to get to the bathroom. His response was --"" if you have cancer and rectal bleeding then you shouldn't be out riding your bike.""

It was that sentence that was most devastating to Hannah -- to be told that because of the effects of the terrible disease she was fighting - she did not have the right to be doing the one thing that gave her pleasure and made her feel that she was still fully alive. He was telling her that instead of being an immensely courageous and vital woman, she was just a burden to others and should go away and hide and not impose her disease on them.

I hope someone will forward this to Jim because he needs to know that this was not simple rudeness, but full scale inexcusable abuse. That was Hannah's last bike ride, and I intend to write the officer myself directly to tell him that he must live for the rest of his life knowing the terrible thing he did, to make a dying woman feel like she did not have the right to be alive as long as she could be.

All that said, I gotta say that I think that Hannah would get a huge chuckle from the idea of a bike rack in her name at the police station. It just ought to be closer to the bathrooms! Hannah had a great and very ironic sense of humor, and the fact that that officer would have to see a bike rack with her name on it every day when he went to work would tickle her funny bone.

I also think a bench at the Runcible spoon would make her very happy.

I think however you guys want to express your caring for Hannah would be just fine by her, and I look forward to meeting a lot of you on her birthday - May 22 - when we hope to do a ride to Nyack in her name.

Take care,

Kato

ps. A huge thank you to those of you who were planning to fight the ticket on her behalf."

Hannah's sister Kato asked that I post this for her. In response to a letter she wrote to Chief Parr, he wrote back a remarkably candid and kind letter.

Dear All,

I just wanted to let you all know that I have written again to Patrolman Roberson and to Parkway Chief of Police, John Parr. I just got back a very kind and thoughtful letter from the Chief of Police, assuring me that my letter to the patrolman has been delivered and that he himself was embarrassed by the patrolman's behavior and is deeply sorry both for the loss of my sister and that she was harmed by the officer.

It was an extremely caring and honest letter and I feel satisfied that he truly is sorry it happened and that everything possible has been done to try to avoid anything like this incident happening in the future.

I think Hannah would have felt satisfied by the Chiefs admission that he was appalled by the officer's behavior.

Thank you all for caring!

Take care,
Katarina

"Let us keep in mind Roberson wrote Hannah a ticket for ""failure to obey a lawfull (sic) order."" He did not specify what that order was. All it could have been for was her not removing her bike from leaning against the flag pole.

Insofar as I know, nowhere did it exist in written and published law, code, or regulation that it was unlawful to lean a bike against the flag pole.

The PIPC head, police chief, and head of patrol seem to feel badly only about Roberson's rotten deportment...but nowhere is it suggested they are disturbed (or far worse) for his writing Hannah a phony ticket. If they were men of honor, that should disturb them a helluva lot more. Nowhere is it suggested Roberson was fired, suspended, or even officially reprimanded for conduct in violation of his sworn duty--conduct that, itself, may be, and should be illegal.

"