Officer Mauldin confronts Jonathan.

I had hoped to get an audio interview with someone from the police force this week. I wanted to post a story that explored a bike cop’s perspective on us delivery drivers and our riding. I got close, too, but the interview got nixed at the last minute because of my priors; I’ve gotten a couple of red light tickets on my bike, both subsequently dismissed, but that was enough to cast doubt on my objectivity as a journalist. That part is unsurprising considering my less-than-objective perspective on the cops-versus-cyclists issue, but it was still disappointing. Honestly, I’m surprised to have gotten as receptive a response as I did.

The first surprise came from an officer named Mark Mauldin. First, some background: Officer Mauldin was the first Bike Patrol officer to write me a ticket, sometime in the spring of 2013, and he was there for my second, a couple months later. Altogether, we drivers racked up about half a dozen tickets in the span of two months last year. It seemed every time I saw a delivery driver pulled over on his bike, at least one of the officers there was Mauldin, and I suspected he was spearheading the delivery cyclist crackdown. I remember him saying we could try to get the tickets thrown out, but he’d keep writing them until someone reassigned him, which he said was unlikely given his long tenure with the force.

But the surprise came earlier this year, after I saw Mauldin chewing out my coworker Jonathan “Corkle” for running a light. Jonathan said he crossed with the foot traffic – he said he wasn’t being unsafe. I was shocked that Jonathan didn’t get a ticket even though he was arguing with Mauldin, who was staying remarkably cool. So I found Officer Mauldin later on, and I expressed my surprise.

Since my second ticket, I had made a point not to run red lights at all. I wonder if Officer Mauldin noticed, because our conversation that day was unusually friendly. He told me he wasn’t on Bike Patrol anymore. He talked about his motivation in addressing us. He said he was ultimately concerned about safety, about us changing our behavior. Suddenly he didn’t seem so aggressive or unreasonable. He even said that he wouldn’t pursue us for minor slip-ups, like rolling forward the moment before a light turns green.

I told Officer Mauldin about Charlotte Sandwich Stories, and I asked if he would be willing talk to further. He said he couldn’t while he was on duty, but that he’d be willing to schedule a time to sit down and chat. We traded business cards, and, for a while, that was that.

I reached out to Officer Mauldin for an interview recently, when I started reporting on bike cops versus delivery drivers. He said he didn’t have the authority to say yes to an interview and that I’d have to go through the CMPD Public Affairs office.

Eventually I did get in touch with an officer in Public Affairs, and we discussed the interview, playing phone tag during the early part of this week. The officer checked out my blog and remarked that my writing seemed balanced. She e-mailed Mark Mauldin, but she called back and left me a message on Wednesday: “We actually are going to have to pass right now on the interview…just because…you’ve gotten some citations before, and I just don’t know that they’d be very comfortable doing it,” her message said.

Her voice sounded a little apologetic, or a little nervous, and she reiterated her praise for my writing. I wasn’t surprised at the verdict, but I couldn’t help feeling deflated. The message derailed my grand plan for a comprehensive series of stories with multiple perspectives.

I do plan to follow up with Public Affairs and see if they’ll send a written statement. Here’s a sampling of the questions I had hoped to pose to Officer Mauldin or a current Bike Patrol officer:

We know you as the officers that write us tickets on our bikes, but what are Bike Patrol’s main enforcement roles?

Officer Mauldin, I remember you talking about the issues you saw with us bicycle delivery drivers on the road when I got my first ticket: hopping curbs, dodging through pedestrians, running red lights…What most bothered you about drivers’ behavior, and what did you do end up doing about it?

Bicycles are smaller, more agile and less dangerous to others than cars. Do those differences affect your approach to enforcement?

I want to hear your stories. Do you remember any specific conversations you’ve had with delivery drivers?

Do you hold us delivery drivers to a higher standard than other cyclists passing through the city?

If I could relay a message to my coworkers, what would you like to say to them about their riding?

Check back next week. I’ll post an update.