I enjoy cycling, and this summer I have been hitting the trails a lot, trying to justify the expense of a new bike I acquired. So I paid particular attention to an indecent exposure case late last month that happened along one of Lincoln’s trails on one of my most frequent routes.
On July 27 At about 6:20 PM, a cyclist rounded the gentle bend on the Rock Island Trail where it passes under Sheridan Blvd., and got a frightening surprise. The suspect, a skinny white male in his late teens or 20’s, had his shorts pulled down and was masturbating in full public view for the edification of passers by. Quite a bit of work has been done on this case by Officer Wendy Ground, who was dispatched to the call She has checked out past offenders, done a photo lineup with the victim, reviewied video from a nearby convenience store, and along with other officers conducted some more patrol and surveillance on the trail. I think we’ve exhausted the possibilities unless something more surfaces, but I’m still keeping my eye peeled. I am sure our other LPD trail users are doing likewise.
The case made me think about other similar crimes that have occurred on or near recreational trails in Lincoln, and we had an informal conversation about this one morning at our staff meeting. We had a well known local offender in the early 1990’s that committed several indecent exposures on our trails and in our parks. In 2000, Officer Rob Brenner broke a case open in which another offender had committed 13 indecent exposures along or adjacent to several Lincoln trails. In 1999 a recently-released sex offender molested an 8 year old boy next to another section of the Rock Island Trail. In 2007, a 15 year old suspect sexually attacked a runner on the MoPac trail in east Lincoln. Also in 2007, two 14 and 15 year old suspects attacked and stabbed a runner on another section of the MoPac in what looked like a gang initiation. Finally, back in 1988, an unknown male suspect attacked a female cyclist on the Billy Wolff trail shortly after 1:00 AM. The cyclist was an off duty police officer, headed home after her shift—armed, and unhappy about being delayed on her commute. Bet that guy needed an underwear change.
That’s quite a list, but when you consider the hundreds of miles of trails in Lincoln, and the tens of thousands of users, it puts this in perspective. We could do the same thing if we all started thinking about violent crimes along 48th Street, for example.
I’ve blogged about trail safety before, and the advice is still sound. Lincoln’s trails are quite safe, but anytime you have a place where people gather, crime will inevitably follow. There have been 27 Incident Reports on recreational trails in Lincoln so far this year. By comparison, there have been 130 in alleys, 677 in bars and restaurants, 1066 at schools, 1972 on streets, and 11529 in residences, to name just a few other location types.
In cemeteries, however, there has been only one Lincoln Police Department Incident Report so far in 2010.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
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16 comments:
It's too bad the flasher didn't get a full-on blast from an OC "party can".
Chief,
This topic, and the mentioned 1988 off-duty incident, is a convenient segue into a pertinent question:
Is concealed handgun carry (with CHP, of course) legal on the trails system legal for those of us who are mere civilians? I'm under the impression that city ordinance prohibited carry, either concealed or open, under any circumstances, throughout the city parks system.
So, you're saying these perverts would be better off exposing themselves and masturbating in cemeteries because it is less likely they would be reported? Makes sense, I guess, as not many of the residents still have cell phones with them.
6:53-
Yes, municipal code prohibts possessing or discharging firearms in parks, with exceptions for Parks employees and law enforcement. Many (maybe most) of the trails, however, are not parks.
I'd imagine that the most frequent trails-system victimization is having your swag LFA-ed out of your vehicle in the trail-head parking lots, if one is so foolish as to leave such loot visible through the windows (or leave their doors unlocked), while they go for a ride or run. Like predators, the lowly scavengers are always out there, so don't make yourself or your property soft targets.
Parks would have to be posted. Current city statute does not apply to permit holders.
Please provide the whole story.
LB 817 LB 817
1 18-1703 Cities and villages shall not have the power
2 to regulate the ownership, possession, or transportation of a
3 concealed handgun, as such ownership, possession, or transportation
4 is authorized under the Concealed Handgun Permit Act, except as
5 expressly provided by state law, and shall not have the power
6 to require registration of a concealed handgun owned, possessed,
7 or transported by a permitholder under the act. Any existing
8 city or village ordinance, permit, or regulation regulating the
9 ownership, possession, or transportation of a concealed handgun,
10 as such ownership, possession, or transportation is authorized
11 under the act, except as expressly provided under state law, and
12 any existing city or village ordinance, permit, or regulation
13 requiring the registration of a concealed handgun owned, possessed,
14 or transported by a permitholder under the act, is declared to be
15 null and void as against any permitholder possessing a valid permit
16 under the act.
11:43-
No need to get your dander up. State law, as you note, exempts CHP holders from such local ordinances governing the carrying of concealed handguns, unless the place/circumstance is already covered in State Statute--such as a school athletic event in a park, a political rally in a park, a professional or semiprofessional athletic event in a park, a park facility that is posted, etc..
Three cheers for AG Bruning and the rest of us who support law-abiding citizens' rights!
8:44 & 9:53-
Alright, you had your hour of power, now I must let my remaining scintilla of maturity and judgement overcome my sense of humor, and redact your comments. Well done, though.
Chief,
How difficult would it be to put an officer on the trails as part of their beat?
Could there be a grant opportunity for that circumstance?
Just a thought!
Chief,
Your responses are very misleading! 6:53 clearly stated "with CHP, of course" and you replied with misleading info. A CHP holder is legal to carry anywhere that state law doesn't prohibit! A political rally is also legal as long as it's not an active election that's occuring.
1:16-
We do some of that, now, but I sure wish we could do more. It's a matter of resources. Sending an officer out on a bike for the afternoon, for example, puts him or her out of the queue for calls for service, for the most part, and we are covering huge geographic areas with small numbers of officers as it is.
1:22-
Fine, I've posted your clarification, I've made my own correction, and now I've posted your second clarification. Is there something more you want from me? By the way, I believe you are wrong about political rallies. They are prohibited places for conealed carry according to N.R.S. 69-2441 without regard to an active election. The only place where the limitation on concealed carry is conditioned on a bona fide election is a polling place.
Chief-Looks to me like about 99% of offenses occur somewhere besides the trails. In fact, looks like I need my CHP at home most frequently.
Most of the indecent exposers, sexual predators, etc. that I've been in contact with would be a waste of a good bullet, and could be easily handled with a fist, a nightstick, a pepper-spray, or by merely yelling "BOO".
Jeez, I forgot, you guys have Tasers. That could be awesome as well.
All used only in self-defense, of course.
256
Love the exceptions in some of these laws.....
EXCEPT Parks Employees and Law Enforcement................. Because of course they are the only ones professional enough to protect themselves. The rest of us are not I guess.
I make my own Pepper Spray from the little orange peppers that are hotter than Hades. After filtering through cheese cloth I pour very carefully into a small container with a tight fitting flip top lid. I have never used it on another person but it has instantly stopped a few large dogs. The effective range is only four or five feet. As far as I know it is legal to carry anywhere. On a trip a while back to the federal courthouse the Marshall asked what it was and I told him dog spray. He let me keep it.
Gun Nut
Chief:
Just to clarify, I didn't mean to infer that you didn't support the rights of law-abiding citizens. Your stance on gun ownership and carrying has always seemed to me to focus on keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and misfits rather than the public in general. I have no problem with that.
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