MPD solicits sex from, assaults DC activist
At about 2AM on the 4th of January, an MPD decoy targetting customers of sex workers first solicited sex themselves from an area activist, then resorted to potentially deadly force when their sting operation blew up into a chase. This was the 5th in a month-long series of harassment incidents by area police depts and their allies against the core crew of the activist in question.
The undercover cop in question stood in the street nearly blocking traffic, brazenly asked the passing activist if he was "looking for a date" and went so far as to ask for money unprompted. On acceptance of the offer, the decoy's comrades pounced, setting off a multi car vs bicycle chase in which cops in cars attempted and failed to ram down the targetted activist on his bike. It is not known if this cop always solicits sex first, or adjusted her approach to target a known enemy of the Metropolitan Police Department and it's condo-loving masters.
Police could not drive on the sidewalk to ram down the bicycle rider, but they were able to make crossing any intersection comparable to a game of Frogger. That is a 1980's video game where a frog tries to cross a busy road without being flattened and killed. While they eventually were able to corner their target, they were either unable to get prosecutors to go forward with charges or perhaps did not want to explain to a judge why they now brazenly solicit sex themselves in their sex worker and sex work customer stings, much less why deadly force is considered an acceptable tactic to enforce the results of these stings.
On too of all else, police frustrated about being unable to destroy the activist's custom-built bicycle with their crusiers stripped the bike while it was locked to a post during the (no-papered) court case! There are no other suspects in the thefts of both custom-built wheels, the entire front fork and handlebar assembly, and even the (economically worthless) headlight generator and a heavy chain lock for which the key was not included. Never has the owner of that bicycle lost parts in that neighborhood before, and stripped bicycles are not a common sight there.
The failed vehicular assault with police cruisers is a use of deadly force similar to gunshots that miss. Thus we have at least two and as many as five criminal violations by the DC Police Department: The first is they violated their own laws targetting sex workers and their customers by openly soliciting sex and mentioning money first. Second is the vehicular assault in violation of motor vehicle laws, and finally the deadly nature of this attempted ramming is assault with a deadly weapon(motor vehicle), hell if the roles were reversed and a motorist fleeing the same sting tried to ram down a cop on a bicycle at speed, attempted murder would probably be included in the list of charges. Finally we have theft in the first degree (grand theft), as the cost of replacing all the stolen bicycle parts is expected to exceed $1,000.
The vandalized bicycle will of course be rebuilt(with build errors from last time corrected), and cameras broadcasting remotely to a phone will be posted in trees to detect any further vandalism or theft by police officers when it is parked in some areas. Police should expect to soon see more of that bike, somewhat like their own but lighter and faster at protests in and around DC very soon. An entire complete backup bike will be used until that time: defense in depth.
As for police sting operations of ANY kind, body camera-wearing Copwatch activists on both foot and bicycles could prove to be a powerful defense and deterrent.
A criminal complaint against MPD for "sexual solicitation" and for assault with a motor vehicle would go nowhere, given that it took Black Lives Matter two years of street blockades to get murderous, racist MPD officer Brian Trainer fired for ending a motorcycle chase by rolling down his car window and shooting Terrence Sterling off his motorcycle. That 2016 killing by MPD was a drive-by shooting with no accountablity behind job loss and protesters both in the streets and at the Mayor's house. Attempted murder after all is a lesser charge than completed murder.