This article is part of an occasional series called 'Last Responders' that will look at how the effects of tragic events that have taken place in town play out over time.
Early in the afternoon of July 20th of this year, a large group of youths and young adults on bicycles and e-bikes made their way down Route 10 from Plainville, taking over the roadway as they went. In addition to blocking traffic and putting themselves at risk, they interacted aggressively with motorists, threatening in at least two cases to ‘pop’ or shoot them. (In the end, no firearms were deployed or found on the person of any cyclist or driver.) Their ‘ride-out’ ended on Main Street just south of CVS, where six of their number surrounded a man riding a motorcycle and beat him.
The man in question was out on an errand with his wife, who was following behind him on a motorized trike. Both were traumatized by the incident and left with lingering questions about the response. They approached the Outsider to share their story and their concerns, but requested anonymity, which was granted after they presented credible evidence of threats from persons who participated in the ride-out. They are referred to below as ‘John’ and ‘Jane.'
The Southington Outsider is not in a position to corroborate all of the details of their account. However, what they said is broadly consistent with our earlier reporting, and with an official timeline of the police response that was shared with the Outsider by the Southington Police Department, which can be read below.
The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Narrative of Events
John: I believe she got the worst of it, because she saw it all happen - someone that she loves on the ground being stabbed.
Jane: This whole thing has been extremely difficult, and it’s been particularly difficult for me because I’ve been on long-term disability for six years.
John: We were at the doctor's office on Queen Street. She was on her trike, I was on my motorcycle. We were going to get corn at Carmody’s. We came around the corner and there were four cars in front of us. One turned into Derynoski, one turned into Walgreens, just to get away from the group. One car stops right in the middle of the road. I go around the car.
Jane: At this point I’m still stuck like an eighth of an mile behind him.
John: There was a kid on the yellow line, all masked up. There was a kid in the center doing a wheelie.
I went up to the kid doing the wheelie and said, “Why don’t you get the f- out of the road and let people get by? This is ridiculous.”
At this point they started circling around me saying ‘F- you old man, mind your own business, why don’t you get the f- out of here?”
I started revving my engine for them to get out of the way. I got up to the 500 block on Route 10. There was a landscaping truck in the middle of the road, so I couldn’t go anywhere. Now I’m looking back for her. There’s six cars between us now, and she has pulled over calling 9-1-1.
The kid rolls up, puts his hand in his backpack, and says “I’m going to pop you, old man.” At that point I can’t go anywhere. They’re saying "push him over, push him over!" I shut my bike off, I get off my bike. They say “grab his keys!” but there’s no keys, it’s a switch start. They say, “grab his phone!” and they grab my phone. I spun around to grab the kid who grabbed my phone, and he drops it.
Next thing I know six of them are on top of me, stabbing me with a screwdriver, beating me with an air pump. I fell on the ground, they start stomping on me. I’ve got four broken ribs, a bruised kidney. By that point she’s rolling up, screaming “get the f- off him!”
At that time people started coming to offer help. One gentleman jumped out of his car and showed his badge.
Jane: We still don't know who he was.
John: The adult who was stabbing me and another person were still on me. A neighbor started to intervene, saying to the kids “haven’t you done enough damage?” My wife was being taken care of by his wife and a woman in the front car. I was just all rage.
The cop showed up, pulled out his gun, and told the guy to get on the ground.
I asked the officer after all this happened, “Did I do anything wrong besides ask them to get the f- out of the road?” He said, “You could have asked him a little nicer.” A little nicer.
My motorcycle is registered, I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I was the fourth person assaulted that day.
Two Earlier Confrontations
John: Another gentleman was assaulted that day. It started in Norton Park in Plainville. They had an officer who had to escort them out of Plainville. As soon as they got out of Strawberry Fields [industrial park] there, they were all lined right up. We were told that Plainville notified Southington that 45 to 75 rowdy juveniles were coming into their town.
Another gentleman we've talked to was driving down the street. They kicked his mirror and spit in his car. When he went to pull over, the only reason they didn’t pull him out of the car is that he has a large dog.
It started before 1pm. He called the cops. They didn’t send anyone. He was still on 9-1-1 when he saw a cop pull in front of him. He told 9-1-1 to tell the officer that he was going to approach the vehicle. He told the officer what happened.
They continued down Route 10. All sorts of people were complaining. They stopped at the 7-11. The kids were swarming there. There was another gentleman named Jose. He told them to get the f- out of the road when they circled up on him coming out of Walmart. They threatened him: “We’re going to pop you.” He called the cops, but they didn’t respond. We were victims three and four.
Victim Services Hard to Come By
Jane: After the attack, I had called around to find out what happens when you’ve been assaulted. What do you do? I called a few different lawyers, and finally I called Martocchio and Oliveira. Martocchio got on the phone. He asked me a million questions. I told him the whole story. He said let me do some research and call you back.
He called me the next day and told me, very polite but firmly, I would have no case against the town because of governmental immunity. And I hung up. I was stunned. I wasn’t calling to sue the town, I was looking for help.
Who helps us now? I called the Town Manager’s office, but nobody answered. So I call the Town Attorney’s office. There’s got to be services available through them, I thought. I call the number, and what do I hear? “Martocchio and Oliveira, how can I help you?” I never knew [Martocchio and the Town Attorney] were the same person.
We turned to victim services at the court in Waterbury. Again, nothing. It’s a closet where they give you a fidget spinner and a box of tissues. They printed out 40 pages of Psychology Today and gave it to me.
What the victim’s advocate said to me was, "It’s called the criminal justice system, it’s not called the victim’s justice system." At that point I realized she was right. The state pays the judge, the advocate, the prosecutor, the corrections system. Meanwhile we’re drowning in debt from bills.
The 13-year old was from Cheshire, the 20-year old was from Waterbury. But there were six of them. To only get two?
The thing that got us was they put the 20-year old on a $500,000 cash bond. They lowered that to $50,000. We did not get a phone call from the prosecutor that they lowered the bail. We’ve been told nothing and we have nothing to do with it.
Identifying the Root Issues
Jane: The town isn’t looking at it the right way. This isn’t about an ordinance. I know for me personally, when I finally got out of the house [after a period of disability], we got an electric bike and I was able to go out on the rail trail for a while. They need to separate the issue of adults who truly utilize these as a tool, because they helped me. They need to deal with these kids separately.
John: It's not just e-bikes. There were scooters, there were bicycles, and there were e-bikes.
The whole reason this happened is because they wanted Tiktok views. Apparently my assault has over a million views. It was covered in California on biker sites.
Jane: They posted my picture on Tiktok on my bike saying I’m easy to find.
John: I’ve been married twice, I’ve been divorced, I’m a recovering addict. The one thing I’ve taught my kids is to have respect. These kids, they have respect for nothing, nothing at all. It makes me sad that these kids have no repercussions for anything.
And if I could change one thing, I would have had the police do a better job. Because this didn’t have to happen. The first call, it was incumbent on the police department to intervene.
[End of Interview]
The Southington Police Department Dispatch Record
The Southington Police Department declined to speak on the record about the events in question. However, they shared a copy of the dispatch log for July 20 detailing where and when the Department received various reports and took various actions. It is included here as another detailed piece of testimony to what happened that day.
1:09pm. Phone call received by Southington Police Department [SPD] Dispatch from caller reporting a group of juveniles on E-Bikes operating erratically in the area of 750 Queen Street. Caller reported they were traveling towards Plainville.
1:10pm. A CAD [report] was created by Dispatch for the above call for service. First responding officers reported the group was observed traveling westbound onto Townline Road and northbound onto South Washington Street in Plainville.
1:12: A responding officer reports they received a walk-up complaint of a group of bicycles and E-Bikes traveling northbound into Plainville on Route 10. Dispatch was advised to contact Plainville. A dispatcher was still on the telephone with the original caller gathering details when this Officer provided this report.
1:12: SPD Dispatch received another 9-1-1 call reporting the group of juveniles on bikes deliberately holding up traffic in Plainville. Caller reported the group is now in Plainville as she was following.
1:12: Plainville PD was attempted to be contacted three times by Southington Police Department Dispatch but there appeared to be an issue with the Plainville PD phone lines.
1:14: Southington PD contacted Plainville PD over the police radio hotline and advised Plainville PD of the group of cyclists heading into their town.
1:29: Southington PD Dispatch receives a 9-1-1 call reporting that there were juveniles on E-Bikes blocking the roadway and creating hazards. Caller reported the kids struck his mirror. Caller reported he was unsure where he was, but believed the juveniles were now on Queen Street and were possibly going onto the bicycle trail.
1:31: Another call is received that the group is traveling southbound on Queen Street passing BJ’s/Spring Street. The Queen Street officer radioed that they were aware and last saw them near Aircraft.
1:33: SPD Dispatch advises Queen Street Officer that the caller from 1329 hours is flashing his high beams in an attempt to speak with him. The officer meets with the complainant and investigates.
1:36: Another call was received about the group traveling southbound on Queen Street by Smashburger, but the caller was unaware where the group went.
1:47: Call is received by SPD Dispatch of the group traveling on Route 10.
1:50: Another call is received regarding the group traveling southbound on Queen Street. Caller reported the group “pump faked” having a fake firearm but did not see any weapons. Caller reported one of the riders reported to having a firearm, but reported the group continued to travel.
1:53: Dispatch sends an Officer to check the area of Stop & Shop on North Main for the group of bicyclists.
1:54: Another officer is dispatched to Dunkin Donuts to meet with the complainant from the 1:50 call regarding the group of bicyclists. (Three officers are now checking area and meeting with various callers.)
1:58: 9-1-1 call received that the group of bicyclists were now traveling towards Gasman and Plantsville Center being disruptive.
1:59: Another 9-1-1 call reporting that a motorcyclist and the group were fighting.
1:59: All available patrol units were dispatched to Main Street on the reported fight involving the group of bicyclists and a motorcycle operator. It was reported that a potential firearm was involved.
2:00: Sergeant DiBattista requested drone deployment.
2:01: Officers advise over the radio that they are beginning to arrive on scene (4 officers arrive to the area at approximately the same time).
2:02: Other Officers en route are reporting seeing a group going south from Factory Square, and were now seen by Railroad Ave.
2:04: Officer advises he is already out with the victim on Main Street. Officers stopped and detained a suspect that was located away from the scene. They were arrested after an investigation was conducted.
