🚀 go-pugleaf

Leor Jacobi <c60b-3kx@web-3h.berkeley.edu> wrote:
LJ>Well, 6 days after the incident, 1/29, I finally retrieved my bicycle.
LJ>It is, as expected, in need of repair.

Ask the sweet and innocent folks at the Berkeley P.D. about the
administrative procedure for filing a claim against the Department
(and/or the city) for damages to your bicycle.  If they give you the
run-around, pose your questions in writing (get the name, rank and
badge number of an information officer if possible so you can address
your letter) and send a copy of it to the mayor, to your council-
person and to the city administrator.  If you are still having trouble
getting an answer, check with a reference librarian at the city
library.  You will be surprised at how fast the people in YOUR
government start to respond when they recognize that you are aware of
how the system works and that they are on the defensive.

The trick is to document _everything_.  Write a confirming letter
after every phone call that restates what was said in the conversation
and encourages the other party to immediately send a letter to clarify
anything you appear to have misunderstood or that they do not agree
with.  This is generally an effective means of dealing with any paper-
pushing institution--its like fighting fire with fire.

I have filed claims against several cities that have been neglegent in
their maintenance of the roads (e.g., pouring gravel across the
intersection of two bike lanes) that have resulted in damages and
injuries.  Once you get the forms filled out, they tend to treat you
like a human being, and in my case, they have always paid.  (I never
padded my claims and I always included copies of the bills along with
photographic evidence of the damages and the cause of the accidents.)
You don't usually need to go to court to resolve such matters--its
cheaper for them to pay up when they know they are wrong.  Also, they
tend to fix the problem (although fixing the P.D. may not be quick and
easy) once it has cost them money.

Good luck and thanks for sharing your tale.

Todd Ourston
Citizen Bicyclist
---
 . SLMR 2.1a . todd.ourston@ggcs.org