Friday Motorcycle Chain Links – News From the World of Motorcycling
Motorcycle vs. Hearse Crash Leave Rider Critically Injured
A motorcyclist escorting a funeral procession is in critical condition after a crash involving a hearse outside a Montgomery, Ohio cemetery today.
The rider and the hearse collided outside Gate of Heaven Cemetery around 11:30 a.m. The motorcyclist was alert and talking to paramedics but was rushed from the scene on Montgomery Road near I-275 to Bethesda North Hospital and officials now say the rider is in critical condition.
Catwoman on Seriously Intimidating Motorcycle
The Dark Knight Rises, Warner Bros. latest Batman movie, features the next incarnation of the series’s villain, Catwoman, riding a motorcycle with a tire you can’t buy at your local speed shop.
Star Anne Hathaway in costume and riding a giant motorcycle is a pretty awesome sight. Decked out in the requisite black leather, Hathaway is sure to create a stir among fans of the series – for better or worse.
The movie opens July 20 in a theater near you.
Tank Crushes Motorcycle Rider in Syria
At least 11 people are said to be dead, killed by security forces in Syria, as tens of thousands of protesters across the country agitated for the downfall of the regime today. Violent mass demonstrations following first Friday prayers of Ramadan saw police use live bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowds.
Human rights organizations are saying 200 people have been killed in Hama since Sunday.
“People are being slaughtered like sheep while walking in the street,” one resident said. “I saw with my own eyes one young boy on a motorcycle carrying vegetables run over by a tank.”
Hama has been under military siege as the President Hafez Assad tries to crush dissent during the five-month uprising.
1,000 Riders Join Forces for Chicago Commemorative Ride
More than 1,000 motorcycles paraded down Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois this morning as part of an annual ride commemorating Chicago police officers killed in the line of duty.
The Area Four Ride to Remember, now its seventh year, saw policeman from from Cook, Lake and McHenry counties ride side-by-side with motorcycle club memberes from the Blue Knights, Iron Justice, Brothers of Soul, Blood Brothers, American Knights, Patriots, Blue Steel and Wild Pigs.
Gene Offett, of the Chicago Police motorcycle unit, called the annual ride “a beautiful thing.”
“We’ve got to show that we never forget,” Offett said. “We consider ourselves one big family.”
Scottish Cops Target Bikers
An operation meant to target motorcycle offenses in Aberdeen, Scotland has the coppers crowing.
Operation Trinity, an operation by the Grampian police, went on for seven weeks and ended in the arrest of 55 individuals. According to officials, the police solved the theft of five motorcycles and returned to their owners. Twenty of those hauled in during the operation had their motorcycles seized for either being in breach of “anti-social behavior legislation” or because they did not have valid insurance.
No Ticket Quotas? Not According to Thee LA Motorcycle Cops
Ten motorcycle officers in Los Angeles say their supervisors retaliated against them because they put up a fuss over traffic ticket quotas. The Los Angeles Times says a suit filed in Superior Court last week by West Traffic Bureau officers claims LAPD supervisors denied them overtime and gave them poor performance reviews as a result of their revolt over the quotas.
Police officials have long denied there are traffic ticket quotas, and they had to as such quotas are illegal under California state law.
Back in April of this year, a jury awarded $2 million to a pair of Los Angeles West Traffic motorcycle officers who said their LAPD supervisors had punished them for complaining about traffic ticket quotas.
The suit claims supervisors rank motorcycle officers against each other based on the number of tickets they write and the number of cars they impound.