Doctor sentenced to 5 years in prison for assaulting bicyclists in Brentwood

A doctor convicted of assaulting two bicyclists by slamming on his car brakes after a confrontation on a narrow Brentwood road was sentenced today to five years in prison.

Christopher Thompson, wearing dark blue jail scrubs, wept as he apologized to the injured cyclists shortly before he was sentenced.

"I would like to apologize deeply, profoundly from the bottom of my heart," he told them, his right hand cuffed to a court chair.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Scott T. Millington called the case a "wake-up call" to motorists and cyclists and urged local government to provide riders with more bike lanes. He said he believed that Thompson had shown a lack of remorse during the case and that the victims were particularly vulnerable while riding their bicycles.

The case against Thompson, 60, has drawn close scrutiny from bicycle riders around the country, many of whom viewed the outcome as a test of the justice system's commitment to protecting cyclists.

Millington said he did not take into account more than 270 e-mails and letters from cyclists that were filed with the court urging a tough sentence.

The July 4, 2008, crash also highlighted simmering tensions between cyclists and residents along Mandeville Canyon Road, the winding five-mile residential street where the crash took place.

One cyclist was flung face-first into the rear window of Thompson's red Infiniti, breaking his front teeth and nose and cutting his face. The other cyclist slammed into the sidewalk and suffered a separated shoulder.

At his sentencing hearing at the county's airport branch court, Thompson cited the Bible in urging cyclists and residents of Mandeville Canyon to try to resolve their differences peacefully.

"If my incident shows anything it's that confrontation leads to an escalation of hostilities," Thompson said.

Thompson, a former emergency room physician who described the crash as a terrible accident, testified during his trial last year that he and other Mandeville Canyon residents were upset that some cyclists rode dangerously and acted disrespectfully toward residents and motorists along the street, a popular route for bike riders.

On the day of the crash, Thompson said he was driving down the road on his way to work when several cyclists swore at him and flipped him off as he called on them to ride single file. He said he stopped his car to take a photo to identify the riders and never intended to hurt anyone.

But the cyclists said the doctor was acting aggressively from the start. They said he honked loudly from behind them and passed by dangerously close as they moved to ride single file before he pulled in front and braked hard.

A police officer told jurors that shortly after the crash that Thompson said he slammed on his brakes in front of the riders to "teach them a lesson."

Prosecutors said Thompson had a history of run-ins with bike riders, including a similar episode four months before the crash when two cyclists told police that the doctor tried to run them off the road and braked suddenly in front of them. Neither of the riders was injured.

Jurors convicted Thompson in November of mayhem; assault with a deadly weapon, his car; battery with serious injury; and reckless driving causing injury.

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-- Jack Leonard at the L.A. County airport courthouse

Photo: Christopher Thompson weeps as a judge sentences him to five years in prison for assaulting two bicyclists by slamming on his car brakes after a confrontation on a narrow Brentwood road. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Dave]

After injuring the bicyclists, I wonder if Dr. Thompson
offered his services as a physician. My guess is the
bicyclists would have declined his offer.

[Cheddman]

He got the sentence because:

1) The prosecutor showed a pattern of violent behavior - 3 separate incidents, all involving decent cyclists, all alike.

2) By his own admission, he wanted to "teach them a lesson" and was then recorded acting callously towards the injured when they needed medical attention.

3) His attorney made him look like a cold-hearted, arrogant monster. Non-stop delays, lying, badgering witnesses, rudeness to the court, etc. It was the worst show by a defense attorney ever seen. If the Dr. felt any remorse at all, his attorney didn't let him show it and negated any sympathy.

[David]

What kind of doctor intentionally hurts people?

[Iolanthe]

That sounds about right for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He could easily have killed those guys. Motorists need to learn that bikes get to use the roads too, and homeowners in wealthy areas need to get the message that, although you may own the property, you do *not* own the street.

[Iolanthe]

No, Leslie, there are *NOT* "enough places for bicyclists to ride off the roads."

Bicyclists are allowed to use your roads. They always have been. Bicyclists on roads predate automobile drivers on roads. And to the other person that said "4 or 5 abrest (sic ... sue your high school!)" at "5 mph"? I've been driving and riding in LA for 45 years, and I've never seen that.

[libby]

I am somewhat personally bias since I know one of the cyclists and give him my full support. On the other hand, I'm not very much into prison sentences, so I find this whole incident to be a tragedy. I find it especially sad that an emergency doctor dedicated to saving lives reaches such a hateful state of mind that he acts so destructively.

Even as a cyclist, I would be one of the first to admit that cyclists in general need to reform their road etiquette. However, this incident endangered the lives of two cyclists and causing severe physical trauma and scars. There is no excuse for that level of behavior, and for the lack of responsibility or concern for the injured shown throughout this whole process.

I hope that both the motorist and cycling community takes this to heart and learns courtesy and compromise to avoid these kinds of things in the future.

[Carol Munoz]

If bicyclists are going to take up a lane of traffic, then they should be doing the speed limit of the road otherwise, keep right and stay out of traffic lanes. I see bikers taking up car lanes all the time and they are not travelling anywhere near the speed limit of 35 to 45 mph. If they can do this why can't pedestrians simply walk in the street too?

[Terrence]

99% of all comments here don't know anything about the case:

He said he did it deliberately. He did it repeatedly. He caused terrible injuries. He showed no remorse.

If it was a deadly weapon such as a gun, would the sentence be different? Of course not. Under the law, he used his car as a deadly weapon, hence the sentence.

[Dave Wyman]

The trolls are out.

Typical: "some of the cyclists can be so disrespectful. "

Which has nothing to do with the story here.

Cyclists act in a disrespectful manner, and what? They're disrespectful. When a person cuts in front of cyclists with a multi-ton vehicle and causes severe injuries, that's not disrespect - that's a felony.

Yet the trolls yammer on and on about the faults of cyclists. So we have "julie's" comment: "I have almost hit them so many times coming around corners at the speed limit and they are 4 and 5 a brest [sic] going 5 miles an hour." It's difficult to figure out who's going the speed limit, julie or the cyclists, but either way this doesn't ring true.

[Bill]

They are jealous cos he is a doctor !

[Not isolated case]

Get real--five years prison time with no history and good behavior will equal 2.5 years. Say that to the biker who was thrown through the window and had to have his body recreated or the trauma stress that he can't ride anymore (speculation here) FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE or the one who puts on a shirt and feels the tinge of pain in his shoulder that brings flashbacks of the crime where he initially hurt it (or the surgeries to fix it). Let's see--2.5 years compared to someone's remaining lifetime of pain and emotional trauma?

He is 60 years old, took an oath and violated that oath for a minute of rage that destroyed two lives FOREVER.

[XM]

I've seen cars swerve sharply right in front of me (because I supposedly cut them off) or brake abruptly while I was DRIVING. LA can be a capitol of idiot drivers, maybe just behind Seoul. They just can't let things go.

It is frustarting to drive with cyclists, though. They occupy the road in way that gives me JUST enough room to pass them by. If I'm indecisive about passing them, the cars behind me will give me honking of a lifetime.

[Robert NO longer in LA]

GREAT news....a few more 'examples' and bikers won't have to cycle in FEAR!

[Benny the Broom]

most cyclists I see...the types wearing spandex, do not obey the rules of the road. They'll move around on corners not really giving drivers an idea which way they are headed, they'll cruise through stop signs and lights without stopping. Cyclists are instigators of the road.

[Jay]

Attempted murder with a car, imho. 5 years is nothing.

[Tony]

Thankfully there was enough evidence to convict this guy since his history of violent behaviour was a recipe for disaster.

For those people who are outraged at the severity of the sentence: what if this guy fired a shotgun at two children and missed? And what if a few months later he fired at another two children and hit them both, causing serious injury? Would you support a jail term then?

Well, replace shotgun with car and children with cyclists and you have the exact same behaviour with the exact same consequences.

[Maverick]

This irks me to no end. When I put on my bike shorts, I deserve respect. I am not a second class citizen. Bicycles are vehicles as well and observe the same rules of the road as any other vehicle. What if it were children that were on that road? They do not have the same life experiences as a seasoned doctor/driver and would not have been able to react at all.
This man deserves all of this and more, he is a menace to cociety and my free will to be able to enjoy the great outdoors in a relatively safe environment.
When I take my bike to the gym (I have to be there in 26 minutes) I would expect that I could do so in a relatively safe manner.

[Jeremy S]

You people who think this sentence was too heavy, and are equating what the Doctor did do an armed robbery need to get a grip.

This was attempted murder, this was not a robbery. If you want to play in the game of analogies, this is like pulling the trigger and spraying an innocent civilian with a shotgun while committing a robbery.

That is why the sentence is deserved. I do not relish in the destruction of the Doctor's life, but justice was served. These two riders could nearly have been killed by the Doctor's actions.

[Maria]

We have a lot of righteous cyclists here in Portola Valley, California and also a lot of frustrated drivers because of them. If there is a confrontation, it's a lose-lose situation no matter which way you see it. But the cyclists can ultimately lose their lives and every other year someone does die here. Cyclists and cars need a clear boundary between both types of lanes, and only the cities can help in this situation. Otherwise, the cities need to disallow bikers on tight roads.

On the other hand, as a tame female I've had confrontations with road-raged males, who obviously need anger management help.

I am not a judge, but anger management plus civil penalties would seem more of a just outcome in this case than imprisonment for someone with a reputable history.

[Megan]

This case was and still remains to be completely warped by the media. Shocking? Not in the slightest. And of course multitudes of lemmings automatically take what the Media says for fact. I also find it interesting how there is no mention of the specialist that said it was physically impossible that the injuries sustain by the bikers, were caused by defendent slamming on his brakes. The Doctor did NOT slam on his brakes to injure the bikers.There are two sides to every story. These bikers lied to the jury and they lied in court. The real monsters fo this case were the ones riding two wheels. It makes me sick to think they are the ones sleeping in their beds tonight, and an innocent man is in prison. Shame on the LA Times for distorting this case. When did reporting the news mean taking sides and destroying lives?

[Angry Voter]

First, do no harm?

I've lost count of the number of times I've seen some dummy in an overpriced metal box drift across lanes while yammering on their cell phone and then break and swerve at the last second always blaming the other person. Or the screeching turn with no turn signals. Then you have the yelling over parking spaces. Something about cars makes people retarded.

Think you own the road because you have an expensive car? Maybe the judge felt the need to "teach them a lesson" too.

[Seen It All!]

I feel that justice needed to be served here. But as a driver who is always very cautious when I see cyclists I feel that there needs to be more enforcement of the "rules of the road" for cyclists.

In the past several months I have had several close calls with cyclists. One made a left turn, againist a red light (I had the green light) right in front of me. Another one zoomed passed me on the right just as I was getting ready to make a right turn. I had my turn signal on and had had it on for at least 50 feet before the intersection. In both cases the only reason I didn't hit the cyclists was because I have seen cyclists do many stupid things lately and so I just assume that they will continue to do so and am extra cautious when I see them on the road.

Several days ago I was almost hit by a cyclist who had a girl sitting on his handle bars. I was walking on the sidewalk at the time. He came barreling down the middle of the sidewalk. My understanding is that you are not supposed to ride your bike on the sidewalk. If I hadn't jumped out of the way, I would have been hit.

[Baffled Observer]

A 16 year old driver on Orcas Island in Washington State was just sentenced to a only 15-36 WEEKS in juvenile detention for killing one bicyclist and maiming another. He was going 120 miles per hour on a two-lane, winding road. You can read about the case in the San Juan Islander, an online newspaper.

[Bill]

So the bicylists flipped him off and he hit the brakes and he gets five years?!? Not fair.

[Ryan]

Comments like the one below ought to remind us why judges decide cases and ignoramuses comment on news stories.