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"Pointless" prosecution of London cyclist who allegedly strayed off cycle path dropped at eleventh hour (+ video)

CPS belatedly agrees with cycle campaign groups that pursuing case against Kristian Gregory "not in the public interest"...

The case against a cyclist due to appear in court yesterday on a charge of cycling on the footway was dropped at the last minute after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided prosecuting him was “not in the public interest.”

Kristian Gregory had been stopped by a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) in July 2014 as part of the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Safeway campaign which has seen 10,000 £50 fines handed to cyclists in the capital.

The PCSO alleged that Mr Gregory, who has since been elected to the national council of cyclists’ charity CTC to represent its members in the capital had strayed over a white line on a shared use path on the New Kent Road in the London Borough of Southwark.

Footage posted to YouTube by the cyclist showed that he had to swerve to avoid a telephone box on the side of the path designated for cyclists shortly before he was stopped by the PCSO.

The Cyclists’ Defence Fund (CDF) which helped Mr Gregory contest the fine joined CTC, Sustrans, the London Cycling Campaign and RoadPeace in writing to the CPS insisting that prosecuting him was "pointless' and not in the public interest.

They said the alleged offence was trivial and that poor signage at the location in question meant that from a legal point of view, there was uncertainty about whether cycling was allowed there.

Councillor Mark Williams, Southwark's cabinet member for regeneration, planning and transport, said at the time it had asked police “to review enforcement action on this stretch as cyclists are forced to cross the pavement to get safely across the New Kent Road” and that their action in this instance appeared “overzealous.”

Mr Gregory, who pleaded not guilty at an initial hearing in December to the offence of cycling on the footway, had been due to appear at Bexley Magistrates’ Court yesterday, until the CPS's eleventh hour decision to drop the prosecution.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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12 comments

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Jakub B | 9 years ago
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Hi Guys, please don't get me wrong since it's my first comment here. I'm a cyclist, I cycle to work a lot (in a cyclists friendly city of Leeds  3 ) and ride recreationally, I'm also pro segregated and generally safe paths for cyclists, but did you even bother to watch this video before commenting? Mr Gregory was clearly wrong in this situation.

1. At the very beggining of this video there is "segregated path" sign clearly visible, NOT "shared use path". You can find a difference between them here: http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/using-cycle-lanes-and-other-cycling-facilitie...
Why Mr Gregory was sure it was a "shared use path"? I have no idea and it really makes me question his competences to cycle on public roads. I also have no idea why Road.cc supports his version:

Quote:

The PCSO alleged that Mr Gregory, who has since been elected to the national council of cyclists’ charity CTC to represent its members in the capital had strayed over a white line on a shared use path on the New Kent Road in the London Borough of Southwark.

2. Phone booth - sure, it's really a stupid idea, just like this whole cyclepath next to the wall, but that's what we were given and we have to live with it. This is the only area that can be assumed as a shared one, but it's only like 3-6 feet around booth. Cycle path reappears right after and Mr Gregory has no problem with finding it. Anyway phone booth, regardless of what Mr Gregory says is not really important in this situation.

3. 0:30 sec. Now, this moment is really important, as this is when Mr Gregory is crossing the white line that clearly divides pedestrian and cycling paths. I'm not sure if overtaking the cyclist in front of him was the main reason or he just wanted to cut his way to the crossing, regardless of the reasons, this is the moment when Mr Gregory broke the law. And this is why he was stopped by police guy. There is also this huge sign clearly visible in 0:38 sec. that indicates that cyclists are allowed on footpath, but only right in front of the crossing.
That's why I don't understand Mr Gregory's confusion, there are two signs that clearly tell cyclists how to behave, both of them clearly visible on this video. Did he just overlook them or decided to ignore? By the way, in 1:13 sec. you can see a guy in a hat on folding bike that wasn't confused by the signage.

Sure, you can say that his offence was trivial, but remember it was time of Operation Safeway campaign and officers were propably told to notice this kind of offences.

The bottom line is that there was an offence despite of what Mr Gregory claims and agreeing with with him just because he's a fellow cyclist is in my opinion just wrong. What really bothers me here is, that Mr Gregory seems to be a kind of person who can't admit his own errors, even in such an obvious situation as this one. And this kind of person is choosen to be some kind of cyclist's representative, it makes you wonder who else found their place in this organisation (CTC).

And one last thing:
"I'm gonna speak to aaa... friend of mine in council." - Really ???!!!!
No wonder many people don't like us.

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Fifth Gear replied to Jakub B | 9 years ago
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The point is that police are wasting time harassing cyclists who have not endangered anyone while at the same time refusing to prosecute motorists despite clear video evidence of dangerous driving.

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Cyclist in Exile | 9 years ago
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It is clear from the video that the 'officer' (and never has the use of inverted commas been more appropriate) saw Mr Gregory cycle towards him from what could be considered the wrong side of the signage in his movement towards the road crossing. I am more shocked that there are three 'officers' standing around with that much time on their hands.

Maybe with little actual police work / authority the 'officer' decided to give his day a little bit of meaning.

We all need to feel we have a purpose in life.  3

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Cyclic | 9 years ago
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Take your hands out of your pockets, speak plain, clear English and know the law. You are a public servant and your manner and appearance is a disgrace. A little more early morning drill required. I don't know why he just didn't ride off, what would the fake PC do?

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OldRidgeback | 9 years ago
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The story needs a better headline. There's on option:

PCSO's pointless posited prosecution proved purposeless

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Some Fella | 9 years ago
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Dicks

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spen | 9 years ago
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Pity this hasn't gone ahead as it may have clarified the situation and stopped it happening again. Wouldn't have been surprised to hear that the council hadn't done an order to regularize the path though

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darrenleroy | 9 years ago
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The way that idiot PCSO keeps saying 'yeah' at the end of each sentence makes me want to smash his stupid, ignorant face in. Happy weekend everyone!

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qwerky | 9 years ago
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I find it incredulous that the CPS will pursue something like this when we're all told they don't have the time and resources to pursue cases of dangerous driving.

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zanf replied to qwerky | 9 years ago
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qwerky wrote:

I find it incredulous that the CPS will pursue something like this when we're all told they don't have the time and resources to pursue cases of dangerous driving.

If there wasnt such a swell of support in helping this guy to fight it, I bet they would have pursued it.

Easy soft target that re-enforces prejudices and makes it look like the CPS isnt soft on renegade cyclists.

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jacknorell replied to qwerky | 9 years ago
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qwerky wrote:

I find it incredulous that the CPS will pursue something like this when we're all told they don't have the time and resources to pursue cases of dangerous driving.

They pursued it because the questioned the authorities by challenging the plastic bobby.

Closing ranks, regardless of impact.

Clearly someone at CPS got tired of the minions behaving like army grunts under attack, and put a stop to it.

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mrmo | 9 years ago
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and how much money has the CPS wasted?

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