It was big news on the police report today that a team of officers on patrol had acted quickly to recover a stolen bike. Generally, that’s not big news, but it was bigged-up by police as a sure sign of what the partnership between police and community can produce. But what you get isn’t always what you see, and there’s another side to that story. The man involved is known on the streets as Papi Poti and here’s what he had to do to recover his bike.
Papi Poti,
“I saw this young man just walk up to my bike. For a minute I thought he was moving the bike out of the way so that a vehicle can park because I put in the way because I wanted it where I could see. I was watching him just walk up to my bike, take it off the stand, and walking slow with it. That is when I realized this is a play. He didn’t ask anything, he just looked back into my face as to say, ‘well your bike, hell no,’ and he took off. I did the same thing and took off behind because that is my bike, this is my car. This is how I mind my family. I need my bike for my job. So I ran behind him but he kept riding and I saw that he stood up on the pedal to make more speed and as he hit the curve my chain fell off the bike. Then I saw well this is a chance to catch up with him. I started closing the gap, running. He didn’t leave the bike. He continued running with the bike without pedaling condition. He is running with my bike.
The police vehicle came up and asked me what happened. I told the police there goes the guy with my bike, he just stole my bike from in front of Brodies and he is going with it running. I could say this much, they did a good job. They flew past me and went behind the guy and I was behind them. The officer immediately came to me and told me don’t do him anything, go in the vehicle and sit down. I sat down and asked if they could take me back quickly to the drug store so I could get my medicine for my child.”
Alfonso Noble,
Were you going to beat the guy?
Papi Poti,
“If the police weren’t there it would have been a disaster. I think God was watching the scene because my intention, honestly speaking from my heart, was that I have lost five bikes and reported everyone to the authority, to the law enforcement and to the Magistrate-I think I would have tried my best to kill him. The bike means a whole lot to me, this is my car. This is what I go to work with everyday and I have to have a bike to go to work and to do my job. So this is a part of me, a part of maintaining my family. I am very happy that I got back my bike but I am going to be more happier to know that he committed that crime and he must do the time. He must go to jail and spend time for what he has done or it could make people decide to take law and matters into their own hands because if nothing is done to him, if he does not spend time for that then we will have to look at things like this. This is the time, you do what has been done to you..”
