“Dear PoPville,
I was biking south on the Anacostia River Trail from Bladensburg Waterfront Park around 6:30 Friday evening when I heard a moped approach me from behind. I slowed and moved over to let him pass, but he slowed too. I sped up, he sped up. He matched my speed and stayed close behind for a good mile at least. I wasn’t sure what to do except keep going–no one passed me on the trail who I could ask for help, and there’s nowhere to pull off in that stretch.
He passed me and pulled off the trail, blocking the exit to the Aquatic Gardens, so I grabbed my pepper spray and accelerated past him, but he pulled back into the trail and caught up.
I abruptly stopped to force him to pass, which is when he got off his moped, dropped his pants, and started masturbating while looking right at me. I again sped away on my bike and called the cops as I went, yelling a description of him and our location at the top of my lungs so he would hear. He got back on his moped and started chasing me again, then stopped and waited about 200 feet behind me. When I heard him stop I did too, so I could actually hear the dispatcher and keep an eye on him. I flagged down a cyclist who waited with me (thank you, man in blue shirt!). After a few minutes, the guy casually drove past us while I was still speaking with 911 and drove south on the trail.
After a few minutes I continued south toward home, pepper spray in hand. When I got to Kenilworth track I saw him waiting at the intersection of the trail and the street. So confident the police wouldn’t come that he apparently wasn’t afraid of getting caught. I called 911 again with his exact location, then watched as he drove off into the neighborhood. I waited, but the police never showed. I flagged down a cop two minutes later, but she said she was busy with something else and drove off.
I filed a police report and they said they’d go look for him, but that was two hours after it happened and I’m sure he was long gone. Apparently the dispatcher didn’t flag it as a priority at the time, even though this man had *actively pursued me* for an extended period of time and then *committed a sex crime.*
For awareness: he was driving a white moped, maybe 5’10ish, mid 20s, a little overweight, medium brown skin, wearing a black sweatshirt with the words IMPRESS in white on the right chest, black pants, and a face mask. He was so casual and brazen, it was terrifying.
As I rehash it in my head, I’m fairly certain he had more planned–when he first passed me, it was to block the one exit point on that part of the trail (the path to the aquatic gardens). He got off his moped and started masturbating only after I stopped, like he thought he had me trapped. He stopped jerking off to pursue me again when I tried to get away. He wasn’t just interested in getting himself off. I’m on the trail daily and have never had a serious incident (with a man or a turkey), but this has me really shaken.
Stay safe out there, ladies, and please report these crimes when they happen. I think we’re conditioned to see them as nuisances that leave us feeling dirty, but they’re legit crimes and behavior that can escalate. I hate to think what would have happened if I had been running, instead of biking, or if that other cyclist hadn’t stopped. And I’m incredibly disappointed that neither call to the police elicited action.
[Update]
OP reports that the 911 dispatcher never relayed her calls to National Park Service Police, who have jurisdiction on the trail. NPS Police first learned of the incident Monday morning, when OP called to report it–after the MPD officer who filed a police report on Friday told her Sunday evening that it wasn’t his jurisdiction, and she’d have to report it herself. “