14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this year, an overzealous cop in the city of Cologne in Germany decided to fine a one-armed cyclist on the grounds that the man's bicycle was fitted with just one handbrake.
Apparently, legislation currently in place in Germany says that all bicycles in this country must be fitted with two handlebar brakes so as to make sure that they are safe to use in public.
From this standpoint, the cop was right to fine Bogdan Ionescu. Still, given the fact that, as mentioned, this man is missing one of his arms, asking that his bike is equipped with two handlebar brakes hardly makes any sense.
Information shared with the public says that it was this past March 25 that Bogdan Ionescu had his run-in with the overzealous cop. At that time, the man was riding his bicycle on the streets of Cologne.
In an interview with the press, the one-armed cyclist explained that he was just minding his own business when the cop approached him and told him that his bicycle's makeup did not abide by existing rules and regulations.
“Your bike is unsafe, you have no brake on the right of your handlebar,” Bogdan Ionescu claims the cop told him before deciding to teach him a lesson by hitting him with a $34 (approximately €25).
According to Huffington Post, the cop, whose identity has not yet been revealed, saw fit to fine this man despite the fact that, although the right handlebar brake was missing, his bike did have a left handlebar brake and a back pedal brake.
“I know. But I have one on the left and I have a back pedal brake so that I can stop the back wheel,” the one-armed cycling remembers telling the cop who was bothering him, but to no avail.
The cyclist got terribly upset over this incident and addressed the city of Cologne's police department. At first, he was told that, although he was entitled to having just one handlebar brake, he would only be refunded $7 (€5) on the grounds that, on March 25, his bike had a faulty light.
When it was revealed that this was not true and that Bogdan Ionescu's bike was perfectly safe to be used in the city, the police department was left with no choice but refund the fine in its entirety.
Word has it that, following this incident, the police department's chief, Wolfgang Albers, personally apologized to Bogdan Ionescu. “We only hope something like this never happens again,” Wolfgang Albert said on behalf of the entire police department.