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Background: The intersection in Scottsdale, Ariz. where Richard Davidson allegedly tried to hit a child on an e-bike (Google Maps). Inset: Richard Davidson (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office).
An Arizona man was arrested and charged with five felonies after police said he allegedly tried to hit a child riding an e-bike with his vehicle.
Richard Davidson, 52, was caught on surveillance cameras during the alleged incident on Dec. 27, when he was driving with his son through an intersection in Scottsdale. According to court documents obtained by KPHO, a local CBS affiliate, Davidson was allegedly seen on camera getting out of his Toyota RAV4 and “removing and throwing an e-bike from the road before chasing down a juvenile victim.”
Scottsdale police officers responded to reports of a collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian as 911 calls came in about a man getting out of an SUV and then “beat[ing] up a kid on an e-bike.” Witnesses also reported that the man, who turned out to be Davidson, fled the scene in his vehicle. Police followed the vehicle, pulled it over, and began questioning Davidson.
According to the court records, Davidson told police officers that he was frustrated by the way the kids were riding their e-bikes through traffic, so he said he “took care of it.” Police said that Davidson did so by allegedly chasing the kids down with his SUV, then got out of the car and ran one of them down on foot until they fell off the e-bike they were riding. Davidson then allegedly took the child’s phone. After that confrontation, Davidson allegedly chased down a second child, “grab[bed] the juvenile off of a moving e-bike,” and “force[d]” that child to the ground, at which point he took that child’s phone as well.
Video surveillance also reportedly showed that Davidson’s vehicle swerved to the right “attempting to hit the juvenile before driving away,” referring to one of the children Davidson confronted.
Local news outlet Arizona Republic reported that one of the children was trying to call the police when Davidson took his phone away.
Davidson reportedly told police that he took the phones so he could call the children’s parents. KPHO reported that he initially refused to hand the phones over to police. He reportedly told police that he had called about children riding e-bikes on the roads before, but the “fourth time’s the charm.” The reports stated that Davidson told police he moved away from Scottsdale because of the children on e-bikes.
According to court documents, Davidson expressed no remorse about his actions, and he was arrested on two felony charges of robbery, two felony charges of aggravated assault on a minor, and one charge of leaving the scene of an accident with injury or death. He was booked into Maricopa County Jail on $35,000 bond.
