Angry cyclist who screamed at driver that he has ‘more rights’ fined after calling cops
An angry cyclist was filmed raging at a driver in the Salt Lake City area, chastising him for getting too close as he called the cops – only to later be fined himself.
The driver of the car, 22-year-old Pierce Kempton, filmed the hostile interaction with the driver, 73-year-old Gary Peacock, on his phone.
A portion of their exchange, which was filmed near a skate park in Park City, Utah late last month, was also caught on Kempton’s dashboard cam.
Peacock can be heard asking Kempton if he saw him on the road. The cyclist is seen opening Kempton’s door on the driver’s side, demanding he get out of the vehicle.
Peacock repeatedly tells Kempton: "You’re not leaving!" as he calls the police.
Kempton tried to leave to go skate, but Peacock prevents him from leaving, standing in front of the driver’s side.
With a calm demeanor, Kempton says: "Bro’s got his f---ing hands on me."
He asks Peacock why he’s being so "cranky" and says he "doesn’t want to be aggressive" with him.
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Peacock gets a dispatcher on the phone, saying he has a "very aggressive teenager" who supposedly almost hit him as Kempton stand by.
Peacock demands that police be sent to ticket Kempton, saying he is willing to testify in court.
At one point, Peacock angrily tells Kempton: "I’m riding a bike, I have more rights than you."
An officer eventually arrives on scene and separates the two parties.
Local outlet KPCW reports that Peacock was fined $160 for disorderly conduct infraction. Kempton was reportedly fined $130 for passing too closely – which he plans to fight in court in November.
Per Utah law, drivers are prohibited from endangering "vulnerable" users of a highway, which includes bicyclists.
Peacock admitted to losing his temper and expressed regret for his action. He told KPCW that he had blown up at Kempton because he had had so many other incidents with drivers.
"This guy, unfortunately, was the subject of my wrath, because all these other incidents," Peacock said.
Kempton told the station he felt like Peacock "could have settled that just by telling me with his words."
"I don’t think he needed to get the law involved," Kempton said.