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college-girl199328 · 2 years ago

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It's springtime in Metro Vancouver when thickets of selfie sticks and tourists sprout beneath canopies of the region's famous cherry blossoms; Sussex Avenue in Burnaby, east of Vancouver, a group of five fashionably dressed women set up an iPhone on a tripod under the blooms.

One accessorizes with a green scarf, then pauses to give instructions to her friends, adjusting their angles just so; for the perfect shot. They're too busy to talk as they strike a series of poses, hands on hips.

Such scenes are familiar to Linda Poole, founder and creative director of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs from April 1 to 23 and recalls the sight of tourists getting out of a tour bus at Queen Elizabeth Park, one of Vancouver's most popular locations for blossom viewing.

"And they are dancing under the blossoms, singing, modelling and posing. It's cute. I see that all the time," said Poole; Cherry blossoms have become a domestic and international tourist draw, with Chinese tour companies offering flower viewing packages for thousands of dollars, competing with more traditional locations such as Tokyo and Kyoto in Japan.

Edward Xie, manager of Richmond, B.C., travel agency First Express Travel, said his company advertises Vancouver flower viewing in international markets said guides pick up travellers from China and the U.S. at the airport and drive them around the city's best cherry blossom locations.

An eight-day, seven-night trip from China to Vancouver and Victoria promoted by First Express is dubbed the "two cities flower viewing" tour and costs 33,603 yuan, or $6,580, into a colourful world to enjoy flowers, watch whales and roam freely outdoors. Experience the romance brought by pink cherry blossoms and feel the vibe of April on Canada's West Coast," reads the advertisement.

Vancouver's blossoms have become renowned in East Asia, where the city's trees are through the Kitsilano neighbourhood in Mandarin. Like the English-language tours, it's fully booked that in the 1930s, the mayors of the Japanese cities of Yokohama and Kobe gave 500 cherry trees to the Vancouver Park Board to honour Japanese Canadians who served in the First World War.

Charlene Liu, president and CEO of Panasia Holidays, a Calgary-based tourism company, said cherry blossom viewing is among Chinese-speaking domestic tourists, many of them from Edmonton and Calgary, like a perfect combination to gaze upon the cherry blossoms while exploring the local culinary scene since Vancouver is also famous for food," said Liu in an interview conducted in Mandarin.

Cities like Kyoto and Washington, D.C., might have said many blossom tourists to Vancouver also have family in the city photos under the cherry trees is a universal thing loves it," said Xie.

It's not just tourists drawn to the blossoms that drift like pink snow when caught by a breeze resident Emmanuel S.T. Yu, enjoying a stroll under Burnaby's cherry blossoms with his wife Connie, said the flowers reminded him it was "a blessing" to live in B.C.

"It's my family's annual tradition to walk around to see the cherry blossom trees doing this for 11 years straight. We never get tired of it," said Yu in Mandarin flowers always easily cheer us up, reminding us how lucky we are to live here."

Jordan Liu, B.C.-based director of the tour guide training program with the Canadian Inbound Tourism Association of Asia Pacific, said there were more than 2,700 cherry blossom locations across Metro Vancouver has some favourites — Graveley Street on Vancouver's Eastside, West 22nd Avenue in Arbutus Ridge, Nelson Street in the downtown core, Yukon Street and outside Vancouver City Hall.

On West 22nd Avenue, Sophie Chan said she travelled on multiple buses to get to the neighbourhood from her home in Surrey. The slight rise and fall of the street make it possible to see a corridor of blooming trees stretching into the distance, a favourite location on Instagram said the secret to a good cherry blossom photo is patience — you need to wait for the right moment, with the right light, and the right wind to bring the petals fluttering down.

Retired mechanical engineer Kenneth Kwan, 84, was standing outside his home on Sussex Avenue in Burnaby, wearing a straw hat as he greeted people taking photos of the blossoms said the flowers made him feel alive after an illness confined him to hospital for more than six weeks last year.

"My friends from San Francisco will soon come to Vancouver to visit me. I will show them around the city, including the cherry blossoms in my neighbourhood," said Kwan laughter is the best."

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vancouvertrueborns · 3 years ago

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Graveley Street near Lillooet looks like it has been buried under giant pink pom-poms in this still from Patrick Weir’s, In Full Bloom (2020).

The ground pic is from a post-blossom afternoon in 2017.

Consult the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival map for other bloom blast streets.

#Graveley Street #Patrick Weir #In Full Bloom #cherry blossoms #Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival

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lattaeyongs · 4 years ago

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[4:28 PM] Your heart is racing as you look at the rough, graveley street beneath you. But snugly holding your waist as you stand on his skateboard is skater!Yukhei, who has a warm and reassuring look on his face. "Don't be scared baby," he says in that soft, deep voice of his. "I'll catch you if you fall."

#nct #yukhei #wong yukhei #wong xuxi #nct fluff #nct scenarios #wayv fluff #wayv scenarios #yukhei fluff #yukhei scenarios #yukhei imagines #nct imagines #wayv imagines #nct au #skater au

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mwplanet · 3 years ago

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The Kyle Rittenhouse Trial

Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse acquitted on all charges.

Photo via the Guardian

By Shauri Taylor

On November 19, 2021, 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse of Antioch, Illinois, was acquitted on all charges over the shootings of three men in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The shootings occurred on August 25, 2020, after nights of unrest following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man. Rittenhouse was found not guilty by the jury after pleading self-defence.

Rittenhouse was arrested and charged with five felonies and one misdemeanor after the shooting, killing Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and injuring Gaige Grosskreutz. Two of the five felonies included two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, which carries a life sentence. Rittenhouse was given a misdemeanor charge for possessing a weapon as a minor. On January 5, 2021, Kyle Rittenhouse pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The trial began on November 2, 2021 at the Kenosha County Circuit Court and ran until November 19. The prosecution argued that Rittenhouse provoked the violence, leading to him shooting the three people. However, the defence argued that he acted in self-defence to escape the mob chasing him. While 18 jurors listened to the trial, ultimately, Rittenhouse randomly selected 12 to decide the verdict. After the jurors deliberated for about 27 hours throughout the span of three and a half days, they pronounced Rittenhouse not guilty on all five counts. The judge dismissed the misdemeanour weapons charge near the end of the trial.

In the United States, the trial gained wide attention and media coverage over its surrounding issues, including gun violence, vigilantism, and second amendment rights. Congress passed the second amendment on September 25, 1789, and it was ratified on December 15, 1791. It is part of the first ten amendments forming the American Bill of Rights. The second amendment states that “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

The verdict was met with mixed reactions. Jacob Blake’s uncle said that he was shocked at the verdict. In a statement, Anthony Huber’s parents said, “It sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in any town, incite violence, and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street.” When asked about the verdict, David Hancock, a spokesperson for the Rittenhouse family, told CBS News that it was expected.

“While the verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken,” said U.S. President Joe Biden, while calling for calm. Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley released a brief statement saying that “we respected the jury verdict based on three and a half days of careful deliberations” before asking the public to accept the verdict peacefully without resorting to violence.

Mark Richards, Rittenhouse’s lead defence lawyer, said that his client “has a huge sense of relief for what the jury did to him today. He wishes none of this ever happened. But as he said when he testified, he did not start this.”

With the verdict, the criminal case against Kyle Rittenhouse has officially ended. Rittenhouse will not be facing any federal charges and isn’t likely to, as federal law scarcely applies in the case of homicides. No civil lawsuits have been filed against him.

The Rittenhouse family spokesperson said, “We are all so very happy that Kyle can live his life as a free and innocent man, but in this whole situation there are no winners, there are two people who lost their lives and that’s not lost on us at all.”

#shauri taylor #world issues #kyle rittenhouse #shootings #crime

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leaveharmony · 4 years ago

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"We're asked to make two determinations," Graveley said. "One, did any office in this case commit any crimes, and two, are there any crimes that we believe were committed that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt?"

I still can’t believe this quote...I am struggling to imagine any context in which shooting an unarmed man point blank in the back seven times while his terrified children watched screaming wouldn’t be considered a crime. They haven’t even confirmed that Jacob was the reason they were called in the first place...which almost certainly means he wasn’t because otherwise they’d already be saying so to attempt to justify committing a cold blooded execution on a residential street in broad daylight

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rocketwerks · 5 years ago

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Larus & Brother Company

11 South Twenty-First Street

Built, 1900

May 2019 — looking toward 11 South Twenty-First Street

Okay, once again, something’s wrong somewhere.

[RVCJ03] — same building, identified as 7-9 South Twenty-First Street

In 1877 a partnership between Charles D. Larus and Herbert C. Larus formed the Larus & Brother Company. This small tobacco company, based in Richmond, Virginia, received national recognition with Edgeworth pipe tobacco, which then became the international hallmark of the company. By the 1930s, Larus had expanded to manufacture cigarettes, operate distribution centers outside Virginia, sponsor national radio programs, and manage local radio and television stations.

(Library of Congress) — Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Richmond (1905) — Plate 46

In 1877, Charles Dunning Larus and Herbert Clinton Larus purchased the Harris Tobacco Company at 1917 E. Franklin Street in Richmond, thus forming the partnership of Larus & Brother Company. Herbert Clinton Larus died in 1882 and his nephew, William Thomas Reed, became general manger and partner in the company. For the next ninety-two years, the Larus and Reed families operated one of the nation’s most successful small tobacco firms. Known internationally for its Edgeworth pipe tobacco, Larus was an important member of Richmond’s tobacco community until 1974, when it closed.

[RCVJ03] — Charles Dunning Larus

Larus & Brother Company originally manufactured chewing tobacco and pipe tobacco in a plug form. A year after its founding, Larus began operations at the state penitentiary and continued there until 1897, when the company moved to 7 S. Twenty-first Street. Operations continued at this location for more than three-quarters of a century as the company expanded to occupy most of the block bounded by Main, Cary, Twenty-first and Twenty-second streets. In 1900, Larus incorporated and issued stock.

(RubyLane) — Edgeworth pipe tobacco can

In 1903, Larus introduced its Edgeworth trademark. Edgeworth Sliced tobacco, the first nationally advertised pipe tobacco, came packaged in sliced form instead of the more conventional plug form. Nine years later, Edgeworth Ready-Rubbed was introduced as the first pipe tobacco ready for smoking, as it came pre-sliced and “rubbed,” or broken into smaller pieces. Edgeworth quickly became America’s best-selling pipe tobacco in its price class.

(City of Richmond Real Estate Assessor) — view from the tunnel

With the purchase of the Reed Tobacco Company in 1913, Larus began to manufacture cigarettes. Reed Tobacco continued as the cigarette manufacturing subsidiary of the company and its brands included White Rolls, introduced in 1931, and Domino, introduced in 1933.

(Virginia Museum of History & Culture) — Edgeworth pipe tobacco advertisement — because every stud knows that huffing a log on a sunny day at the beach makes you a chick magnet

Larus prospered and continued to expand, opening distributing companies in Boston (1932) and San Francisco (1934) and purchasing the Sparrow and Graveley plug tobacco plant in Martinsville, Va. in 1935. This latter venture proved unprofitable, as the plant was closed, and its operations transferred to Richmond in 1942. On November 2, 1925, WRVA radio, a wholly-owned Larus subsidiary, was licensed to operate in Richmond. (Virginia Museum of History & Culture)

[COC] — WRVA transmitting room & input equipment

Not just radio either, the Larus family expanded into the teevee market with the Richmond Television Corporation in 1953. By this time, however, the end of the road was coming. The company was dissolved just 15 years later in 1968, and all its assets were sold to other companies.

As to the mystery of the address, it wouldn’t be the first time that G. W. Englehardt got it wrong in his book for the Chamber of Commerce. This time it clearly looks like it was him and not bad information since the Sanborn map clearly shows addresses that corresponding to number 11 across the street.

(Larus & Brother Company is part of the Atlas RVA! Project)

Print Sources

[COC] A Century of Commerce. James K. Sanford. 1967.

[RVCJ03] Richmond, Virginia: The City on the James: The Book of Its Chamber of Commerce and Principal Business Interests. G. W. Engelhardt. 1903.

#mustseerva #rvahistory #rva #twentyfirststreet #cityatomic #atlasrva #rvatobacco

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illustratedvancouver · 6 years ago

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I’ve always wanted to cover the legacy of Fraser Wilson with more depth, and I’ve never been able to crack the case. I recently learned of The Fraser Wilson Collection at heritageburnaby.ca. Fraser Wilson was one of the founding members of the Burnaby Historical Society, and his role establishing the society was covered in the media last fall when the society disbanded:

Created in 1957, the Burnaby Historical Society was the brainchild of Barry Mather, a columnist for the Vancouver Sun and Province newspapers. In the summer of '57 he phoned his friend Fraser Wilson, a Sun cartoonist, to suggest they form a Burnaby historical society.

There’s precious little about Fraser Wilson on the Interwebs, so here’s the best overview we’ve got from the Fraser Wilson chapter in the book Pioneer Tales of Burnaby which can be read online here:

Although Fraser Wilson was born and raised in the Grandview district of Vancouver and was not to move to Burnaby until he had reached adulthood, his kin was connected to the municipality in what surely must have been its most critical years. The municipality was not even a municipality, in fact, when various relatives of his arrived in 1891 to help build the rail line which was to become the B.C. Electric Railway Co.'s Central Park interurban. It was this interurban, the super-efficient transportation system with the folksy touch, which hastened incorporation of Burnaby as a municipality on Sept. 24, 1892. The original single line, opened in late 1891, was double tracked 20 years later for even greater capacity. The BCER, which inherited the line from the bankrupt Westminster & Vancouver Tramway Co., did indeed encourage and abet the development of the rural municipality by offering so-called settlers' tickets for years. They cost $3.50 for 50 rides and entitled the rider to transfer onto the street car system. The BCER did not feature this special for wholly altruistic reasons, granted, but more to help fill the company coffers. A well-populated municipality was insurance for a healthy bottom line, especially after a second interurban was built along the south side of Burnaby Lake. Greater ridership, in turn, would utilize more electricity produced by the company's new hydro-electric projects at Buntzen Lake and Stave Falls. Fraser Wilson's grand-uncle, Roderick Sample, was the road foreman during construction of the Central Park interurban and was named its first roadmaster in 1897. The BCER later promoted him to track inspector. He cut an impressive figure what with his six-foot-plus height and magnificent white beard. Mr. Sample also built a 15-room boarding house beside the Westminster & Vancouver Tramway Co.'s steam power house and car barn on Griffiths near Kingsway. The company had decided at the last minute to use electricity over horses to mobilize the interurban trams. The boarding house was run single handedly at first by Mr. Sample's wife, Minnie, who soon summoned her widowed sister, Catherine McRae, from Everett, Wash. So Mrs. McRae arrived in Burnaby with her daughter, Alexandra, who was called Allie; she would become Mr. Wilson's mother. The boarding house was the centre of both social and business activity for the Westminster & Vancouver Tramway Co. and its successor, the BCER. Gandy dancers, many of them Chinese, would eat their lunch on the veranda on rainy days. Adney James Wilson, called Ab, started with the BCER as a machinist in 1898. An ingenious man who had a number of inventions to his credit, he became BCER inspector of rolling stock in 1916. He established the company's original medical insurance plan. Ab Wilson married Allie McRae, the newly-weds moving into a house at 1648 Graveley Street in east Vancouver. Here their son, Fraser, was born and raised; his interest in the BCER, avid to this day, was understandably instilled in him at an early age. The Wilson family connection with the BCER goes even further. The grandly named Eli Egriphan Sampson Joseph Jeffrey Maneer, his cousin Eli, was a gifted sign writer who designed the gold leaf script used on all BCER street cars, trams and freight rolling stock. Cousin Eli, who talked with a decided stutter, also applied the numbers and logos by hand. Fraser Wilson and other children in the family delighted in chanting Cousin Eli's name over and over; he can do so without hesitation today. Mr. Wilson learned the skills of sign writing from Cousin Eli and continues in the business as an octogenarian. Some years ago, Mr. Wilson painted a portrait of Robert Burnaby and donated it to Burnaby; it still hangs in a place of honor at Municipal Hall. As a postscript to his story, Mr. Wilson points out that many historians, those from the B.C. Electric Co. included, have misspelled his grand-uncle's name as Semple. He thinks the error can be traced to Roderick Sample's signature in which the 'a' can easily be mistaken for an 'e'.

"I was born in Vancouver in 1905, growing up in the Grandview area right next to Burnaby. But it wasn't until 1944 that I actually moved there. Many members of our family, though, including my father Adney Wilson, were connected in some way with the interurban which ran through Burnaby. Dad became a working machinist for the B.C. Electric Railway in 1898, and was promoted to rolling stock inspector in 1916. He started the Medical Attendance Association, which was like an insurance plan. Father was also an inventor but never marketed his inventions. He did hold the patent, however, for a device which elevated a platform for a truck or wagon, inventing it before the First World War. He also invented a draftsman's rotating table and a roller coaster which used man power rather than machine power. My mother, Alexandra McRae Wilson, was one of the first switchboard operators for the B.C. Telephone Co. Around 1891 when the Central Park interurban was being built, my great-aunt Minnie Sample and grand-uncle Roderick Sample - their name has incorrectly been spelled Semple by some - built a 15-room boarding house beside the B.C. Electric Company's power house and car barn on Griffiths Avenue close to Kingsway. Roderick Sample was the interurban's first roadmaster in 1897, and later became track inspector for the BCER. The boarding house was used by the personnel of the B.C. Electric Railway, and was often the site of various meetings. It lasted only as long as the construction of the Central Park line did, closing in 1902. When the boarding house became too much for Aunt Minnie to handle all by herself, she sent for her widowed sister, Mrs. McRae, who came to Canada from Everett, Wash. with her daughter. The daughter, Alexandra, was to become my mother. Many of the gandy dancers, or railroad construction workers, were Chinese who had worked on the Canadian Pacific Railway. Aunt Minnie had them eat lunch on the veranda of the boarding house when the weather was poor. She and my grandmother would put out towels, soap and bowls of water so the workers could wash up. One particular morning, Grandmother was leaning against the door when the Chinese workers were filing onto the front porch. Just for some conversation, she said to one of them: 'Heap lainy day today, eh, John?' The young man replied: 'Yes, ma'am, it sure is an inclement morning.' Well, she never spoke pidgin English to them again. Out of the 50 or 60 Chinese men, the one she had spoken to had been born in Victoria. His name was Cumyow, and he was working there only so he could earn his tuition fees at Victoria College. He later became a lawyer in Vancouver. I would often visit my dad in the car barns. What could well have become my last visit there was the time I climbed into the cab of an electrical locomotive and touched the controls, causing the engine to move backwards. In a few moments the coupler broke, so through the barn door I went, a motorman for the B.C. Electric Railway for all of two minutes. It was a thrilling moment for me whenever I could ride at the front of a street car with my dad. My parents were quite keen on lacrosse games, so we often rode through Burnaby on our way to a game in New Westminster. We'd sit on benches on a flat car which was pulled by the tram to Queens Park. Sometimes, we'd visit a family by the name of Cleghorn; they lived on Jubilee Avenue in Burnaby, just north of Jubilee Station. At that time, Burnaby was a small group of stores and houses on Kingsway, with another such grouping on East Hastings. The population was perhaps 500 or 600 until the 1920s, concentrated mainly in the corners but not at the centre. Burnaby had a ward system with the administration over in Edmonds. My cousin, who taught me the trade of sign writing, was a very interesting man. Cousin Eli had a decided stutter, and on Sunday afternoons, his visit with us would begin with 'h-h-h-hello' and end with 'g-g-g-got to go'. During his visit, he would light up his pipe and nod his head at the comments made by my father. His name was about the only thing he could say without a stutter or stammer. That was some feat in itself, because his full name was Eli Egriphan Nimrod Sampson Joseph Jeffrey Maneer. Eli himself not only liked telling people what his full name was, but got some pleasure out of us chanting it over and over again. Cousin Eli enjoyed hearing it, and we enjoyed saying it. Eli Maneer was a fine craftsman, and had developed the familiar and distinctive script used in the B.C. Electric insignia. He numbered and applied the BCER signs on all the street cars by hand in gold leaf. The growth of Burnaby, even the relatively little I've seen, has truly been staggering. From such a small farming community to a flourishing residential area - the progress has been magnificent."

If you ever come across more info about Fraser Wilson, or find more original signed artwork by the cartoonist, please let me know!

#Fraser Wilson #cartoon

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if-you-fan-a-fire · 4 years ago

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“WOMAN FOILS SAFE-CRACKERS,” The Province (Vancouver). June 7, 1930. Page 18. --- Robbers, Breaking Strongbox Near House, Awaken Resident. ---- CARRIED FROM STORE --- Through the presence of mind of Mrs. D. W. Stewart, 1462 Graveley street, the store of P. Burns & Co. Ltd 1306 East Twelfth, was saved the loss of $200 in cash, although thieves had succeeded in carrying a heavy safe from the premises Friday night.

Awakened shortly before midnight by the sound of hammering in the bush of a vacant lot which adjoins her home, Mrs. Stewart telephoned police. Officers and detectives searched the lot and found a safe containing $200, reported stolen from the store of P, Burns. The outer wall of he safe had been broken through. ESCAPE ON MOTORCYCLE. Using a motorcycle to make their escape, two youths held up Miss P, Inouyl, 2016 East Third, in a confectionery store at 2177 Powell street and obtained $25 In cash at 11:30 o'clock Friday night.

Miss Inouyl, according to her report to police, was alone in the store when the youths entered and ordered soft drinks. After they had been served, one of them, she said, pulled a revolver from his pocket and ordered her to throw up her hands. The other ran sacked the cash register.

I. Krlahumari, proprietor of the store, was returning as the youths backed out of the place. He told detectives the boys escaped on a motorcycle.

SAFE IS LOOTED. Overlooking $138 In the cash register, thieves broke Into the Honey Dew shop at 563 Granville street and looted an unlocked safe of $45 on Thursday night, according to a belated police report.

Seymour School, Glen drive and Keefer street, was broken into Thursday night and considerable damage done to the interior of the building although nothing was reported missing. Entrance was gained through a window and police found that a Union Jack in one of the rooms had been torn to shreds. Walls of other rooms had been damaged.

The Nippon Tennis Club's premises In the 2400 block Franklin street were entered Thursday night and six tennis racquets, crockery and clothing stolen.

#vancouver #break and enter #burglary #burglars #stolen safe #stealing a safe #safecracking #safecrackers #armed robbers #general store #getaway vehicle #crime wave #great depression in canada #crime and punishment in canada #history of crime and punishment in canada

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dipulb3 · 4 years ago

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Investigative report offers up-close look at Jacob Blake shooting in Wisconsin

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/investigative-report-offers-up-close-look-at-jacob-blake-shooting-in-wisconsin/

Investigative report offers up-close look at Jacob Blake shooting in Wisconsin

Laquisha Booker had made such calls before, according to an investigative report by Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley, who on Tuesday outlined a review of more than 40 hours of video and hundreds of documents in an effort to determine what happened the day of the shooting.

Booker’s emergency call at 5:10 p.m. on August 23 concluded with Rusten Sheskey, a White Kenosha Police officer, shooting Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was left paralyzed from the waist down.

The district attorney said he hoped the Blake shooting leads to a “complicated conversation” that permits “all points of views and allows for all the parties — even those that feel so disenfranchised — to have a voice.”

But criminal charges against Sheskey would be hard to prove, according to Graveley. It would be difficult to convince a jury the officer did not “reasonably believe that the shooting at Jacob Blake was necessary to prevent being stabbed … or necessary to prevent someone else from being in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm.”

“This case is really all about self-defense and can it be proven that it does not exist,” he said.

That Sheskey and two other officers were on a domestic disturbance call was “urgently important,” Graveley wrote in the report.

“They knew they were responding to a domestic disturbance and they knew the man who was the subject of the call, Jacob Blake, had a warrant for his arrest from a prior incident where he was charged with domestic violence offenses and a sexual assault. Every decision the officers made during this incident, in response to this call, must be interpreted in light of those facts.”

Blake’s attorneys maintain their client did not pose a threat to police and the decision to not charge the officer fueled the community’s longstanding distrust of the justice system.

Mother of Blake’s children said she feared he would crash her vehicle

Graveley’s investigative report and comments he made Tuesday provided the most detailed account of events leading up to the shooting.

On the 911 call, Booker told a dispatcher that Blake had taken the keys to an SUV she had rented. She feared he would crash it.

Blake, she told the dispatcher, was “not supposed to be here. Today is his son’s birthday, so I allowed him to spend a couple hours with him, but he’s not giving me the keys to this rental. And that’s all I’m asking for.”

“Is Jacob there right now?” the dispatcher asked.

“Yes and he is trying to kiss his kids, so he can hurry up and leave. He was here talking all types of crazy and now he’s walking off now. Now he’s getting ready to leave.”

She provided the plate number and repeated that Blake was kissing his children.

“He’s is pulling off right now,” she said.

Officer says Blake ripped off Taser wires

The primary officers who responded to the call were Sheskey and Brittany Meronek, who arrived in a marked Kenosha Police Department SUV. Another officer, Vincent Arenas, was the backup. The police department did not provide its officers with body cameras at the time of the shooting.

On a computer screen in their squad cars, the officers learned the complainant said Blake was not supposed to be at the home and had taken the keys to her rented Dodge SUV. They also learned Blake had a felony warrant for domestic violence, disorderly conduct and a felony sexual assault.

Sheskey told investigators that, as he approached a man on the street, a woman screamed: “It’s him! It’s him! He has my keys! It’s my car! It’s registered to me!”

“I’m taking the kid and I am taking the car,” the officer recalled the man saying.

“Let’s talk about this,” the officer told the man, according to the investigative report.

Sheskey said he saw the man place a child in the back seat. He told investigators he was confident the man was Blake. Sheskey said he grabbed the man’s arm to arrest him and mentioned the warrant.

Blake reached for his “waistline area” at one point, according to Sheskey, who said he believed the man was going for a weapon. Sheskey discharged his Taser but Blake broke the wires with his hand.

Sheskey said he then placed the Taser’s metal ends in the area of Blake’s neck and back — a technique known as “drive stun” intended to cause pain but not incapacitate — but the suspect again slipped away. When Sheskey tried to take Blake down, both men fell to the ground. They got back up and Blake moved to the front of the SUV.

“Stop resisting!” Sheskey said he told Blake numerous times. He said he also made numerous other verbal commands.

“He has a knife! Knife! Knife!” the officer — who had not seen the weapon at that point — said he heard someone say. Sheskey said he pulled out his gun.

‘I ain’t going to pull no knife on no damn cop’

Blake told investigators from his hospital bed that he put his children in the back of the SUV after an argument with their mother. Booker had rented the SUV for him to use while his car was in a repair shop. He said he had a knife and believed the blade was still enclosed, but dropped it to the ground when he was first grabbed by Sheskey.

“Why would I pull a knife on a cop?” said Blake, who spoke with investigators days after the shooting and then again in September. “What am I? A knife thrower? I ain’t going to pull no knife on no damn cop.”

He added, “That’s just stupid. I just didn’t want to…I just grabbed it, man, honestly.”

Blake told investigators that he later picked up the knife after dropping it during the tussle with the officer.

Blake said he wanted to “drop” the knife in the car and did not intend to use it. He was thinking: “Get in the truck or they are going to kill you,” according to his statement. He said he opened the driver’s side door to put the knife in the center console when he felt his shirt being pulled.

Blake said “he did not point the knife at anyone; he did not swing the knife at anyone; he did not make any forward motion towards anyone with the knife; and he did not raise the knife towards anyone,” according to the report. “Jacob Blake stated that he did not hold the knife in a way which could be interpreted as being pointed towards anyone, especially the officer.”

He believed he was trying to get rid of the knife when he was shot, according to Blake’s statement.

Sheskey says he ‘feared Blake was going to stab him’

Sheskey told investigators he first saw the knife as Blake moved across the front of the SUV. He ordered him to drop it. Blake then headed for the driver’s side door.

“I don’t know what he is going to do,” Sheskey recalled thinking to himself at the time, according to his account to investigators.

“Is he going to hurt the kid? Is he going to take off in the vehicle? Will we have to pursue the vehicle with a child inside of the car? Is he going to hold the child hostage? Are his actions going to put others at risk?”

As Blake tried to get in the SUV, Sheskey said he grabbed and pulled the man’s shirt. Sheskey told investigators that Blake then “turned his torso right to left” toward the officer. The knife was now in Blake’s right hand, moving toward the officer’s torso, Sheskey told investigators. The officer said he fired his weapon and did not stop until he saw Blake drop the knife in the SUV’s floorboard.

Sheskey said he “feared Jacob Blake was going to stab him with the knife, but knew that he could not retreat because the child was in the car and could be harmed, taken hostage, or abducted by Jacob Blake,” according to the investigative report.

“Step it up. Shots fired. Shots fired,” Meronek yelled into her radio. Officers laid Blake on the ground and provided medical assistance, she said.

Witness captures part of confrontation on cell phone video

In a second-floor apartment across the street, a witness, identified in the investigative report as RW, captured part of the encounter on cell phone video. The witness told investigators that officers had Blake in a headlock and were punching him at one point. He said Blake did not go down when one officer Tased him.

In the video, Blake walked around the front of the SUV with a knife in his hand. The officers had their guns drawn. A male voice is heard yelling, “Drop the knife!” as Blake approached the door.

Moments later, seven shots are heard after Sheskey grabbed Blake’s shirt.

Attorney for Blake’s family disputes that he posed a threat

Blake had four entrance wounds to the back, and three to his left side.

“They didn’t have to shoot me like that,” he said. “I was just trying to leave and he had options to shoot my tires and even punch me, Tase me again, hit me with the night stick. I work armed security and I have gotten into it with cats that are bigger than me and my first thing is, I grab my Taser first and then my baton.”

Asked by an investigator why he didn’t surrender, Blake said, “Because he instantly grabbed my hand and he was trying to put me in handcuffs and I am just like not in front of my kids, not on my kid’s birthday.”

Graveley said Blake had been named in five reports of domestic disturbances involving Booker dating to 2012. Four disputes involved vehicles. The warrant for Blake was issued last summer on criminal trespass, domestic abuse, third-degree sexual assault and other charges in a case involving the mother of his children.

On May 3, Booker told police that Blake had broken into her home, sexually assaulted her and stolen her car keys and her vehicle and her debit card. Prosecutors were unable to locate her before trial in November, according to the investigative report.

Blake pleaded guilty to two counts of disorderly conduct and domestic abuse while the third-degree sexual assault charge was dismissed, according to Kenosha County court records. A judge ordered Blake’s sentence withheld and he was placed on probation for two years.

Blake told investigators after the shooting that Booker “made up the whole thing” about the sex assault.

Investigators have not been able to speak with Booker since the day of the shooting, according to the investigative report.

The officers involved in the August call remain on administrative leave, police said.

An attorney for Blake’s family disputed that he posed a threat that day.

“There was no point in the video that is articulable for an officer to say that he was under harm at that particular point. I think that’s completely bogus and I think that is just a rationalization to try to show what is really, essentially, an intentional act,” attorney B’Ivory LaMarr told reporters shortly after Graveley’s announcement on Tuesday.

“It’s not against the law to have a knife, people have knives for a variety of different reasons. Jacob Blake is privy to having a knife,” the attorney added.

Blake family attorney Ben Crump, along with LaMarr and co-counsel Patrick A. Salvi II, expressed disappointment in Graveley’s decision.

“We feel this decision failed not only Jacob and his family, but the community that protested and demanded justice,” the attorneys said in a statement.

“Officer Sheskey’s actions sparked outrage and advocacy throughout the country, but the District Attorney’s decision not to charge the officer who shot Jacob in the back multiple times, leaving him paralyzed, further destroys trust in our justice system. This sends the wrong message to police officers throughout the country.”

Federal authorities are conducting a civil rights investigation related to the shooting.

Police union lawyer says officers ‘did an outstanding job’

Pete Deates, president of the Kenosha Professional Police Association, said in a statement: “The facts from this incident are finally known. The officers attempted to take Mr. Blake into custody by giving him verbal commands, physically struggling with him AND deploying their Tasers.

“Mr. Blake was also armed. At any time during his interaction with the officers, Mr. Blake could have and should have complied with their lawful orders. If he had, nobody, including the entire Kenosha community would have had to endure the pain and suffering that ensued.”

Police association attorney Brendan Matthews, who represented Sheskey, said the officers “did an outstanding job under challenging circumstances.”

“Officer Sheskey was presented with a difficult and dangerous situation and he acted appropriately and in accordance with his training,” his statement added.

“The video remains difficult to view but that does not change what actually occurred. False and misleading narratives to the contrary need to stop. Kenosha can and will move forward from this. That process begins now.”

Graveley said he spoke briefly with Blake before announcing his decision.

“This was a tragedy first and foremost for Jacob Blake, who still suffers from grievous injuries. These are life lasting injuries,” he said.

The prosecutor recalled telling Blake he has thought often about the lasting impact that witnessing the shooting will have on the man’s children.

“This is a tragedy for those who love Jacob Blake,” he said.

“He is a father, a son and a nephew. And I want to acknowledge and say that I really feel like the Blake family and Mr. Blake himself have tried to be real, truly positive forces in … asking the community to have peaceful but real dialogue about change that I think is necessary in this community outlined by the issues exposed in this case.”

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epfcmoberlyfieldhouse · 5 years ago

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Screening: The Sound We See: Covid Quarantine Friday, May 1 at the EPFC North Window Cine, Salsbury Drive between Grant and Graveley, Vancouver 8 pm – 10 pm (30 minute film will play four times over the 2-hour period) Celebrate International Workers Day with us as we premiere the newest addition to The Sound We See project at the EPFC North Window Cine on Friday, May 1st at 8 pm. Filmed by Echo Park Film Center Co-op members past and present all over the world, this collaborative exquisite corpse film captures life in quarantine. The film will have a concurrent "live" premiere at 8 pm May 1 on Youtube for those of you who would prefer to tune in from home: https://youtu.be/JE9fp1WkyRs Viewable from the street between 8 and 10 pm, the event is free and all-ages. Top window, Salsbury Drive between Grant Street and Graveley Street, Vancouver, BC. Free event! Everyone welcome!

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cloudscapecomics · 5 years ago

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Cloudzine 2019 – Commercial Drive

Cloudscape is back with another Cloudzine this weekend, this time on Commercial Drive! Come hang out with us Sunday, July 7th, 12pm – 7pm between Grant and Graveley. Hope to see you there!

After an amazing Car Free Day at Main Street in June, Cloudscape is back this weekend for Car Free Day, Commercial Drive!

From the Car Free Day website:

Our festival stretches across 15 blocks featuring amazing local artisans, musicians, community activities, delicious food, tons of entertainment and activities for all ages. As the place that Car Free Day began, Commercial Drive stays true…

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#Car Free Day #Cloudzine #Commercial Drive

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runawaymonkey · 6 years ago

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2019.04.01 Mon Down Lillooet & Graveley Street . . . #rise #lux #cherryblossoms #sakura #spring #櫻花 #桜 #runawaymonkey #iphone8plus #iphoneonly #igersvancouver #igerscanada #statigram #webstigram #websta_me https://www.instagram.com/p/BvvbShyB6s0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=xt33itukp8hc

#rise #lux #cherryblossoms #sakura #spring #櫻花 #桜 #runawaymonkey #iphone8plus #iphoneonly #igersvancouver #igerscanada #statigram #webstigram #websta_me

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womenofcolor15 · 4 years ago

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17-Year-Old Kenosha Shooter, Kyle Rittenhouse, Reportedly Called Friend To Say ‘I Just Killed Somebody’ Before Shooting Two Others + Paralyzed Jacob Blake No Longer Handcuffed To Hospital Bed

Kyle Rittenhouse – the 17-year-old arrested in connection of a Kenosha shooting that killed two protesters and injured another – reportedly called his friend after shooting his first victim and told the person “I just killed somebody.” Get the latest inside….

The Kenosha riots are still going down following the shooting of 29-year-old man Jacob Blake – who is now paralyzed from the waist down. People have been hitting the streets demanding justice for Jacob who was shot by a white police officer while three of his children watched in terror.

Unfortunately, things turned deadly Tuesday night (August 25th) when a vigilante took matters into his own hands as if he was law enforcement. While media sources are harping on the fact he "wanted to become a police officer", that only proves the point of so many who have been saying the police often act like a white supremacist gang. If the police appealed to this teen who thought it was A-OK to be driven across state lines by his mother to kill people who were protesting because he thought they shouldn't be protesting, that says PLENTY.

17-year-old Kyle Ritenhouse was arrested and has been accused of shooting three protesters. Two of the protesters died from their injuries while another survived being shot in the arm. During the social unrest, the teen (from Antioch, Illinois) fired at least nine rounds from an AR-15 .223 rifle equipped with a 30-round magazine, according to the criminal complaint.

After the first homicide, it’s reported Kyle called a friend and said “I just killed somebody” before shooting two others.

The teen has been charged with five felonies, which include first-degree intentional homicide with use of a dangerous weapon; first-degree reckless homicide with use of a dangerous weapon; first-degree recklessly endangering safety with use of a dangerous weapon; attempted first-degree intentional homicide with use of a dangerous weapon; first-degree recklessly endangering safety with use of a dangerous weapon. He’s also facing a misdemeanor charge of possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18. Wisconsin is an open-carry state, but children under age 18 are not allowed to carry weapons openly in public.

After the multiple shootings, Kyle walked right past police while toting his AR-15. It was as if they didn’t see him walking down the street with a big a** gun attached to his body and or heard people yelling, “He shot him!”

Kyle was later arrested 30 miles away in Antioch, Illinois.

Today, an Illinois judge agreed to postpone a decision on whether Kyle would be extradited to Wisconsin until at least September 25th. The video hearing only lasted a few minutes and Kyle did not appear.

The shootings were caught on video. WARNING! The videos below are GRAPHIC:

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Pray for folks on the streets in Kenosha tonight. #KenoshaProtests #KenoshaRiot

In this video from @BGOnTheScene, protesters chase down a suspected shooter, but he manages to get some shots off. This is graphic. pic.twitter.com/hneaxaB7xV

— Nick Knudsen (@DemWrite) August 26, 2020

Kyle’s attorney, John Pierce, said his client was acting in self-defense when he opened fire.

"This was classic self-defense and we are going to prove it. We will obtain justice for Kyle no matter how hard the fight takes or how long it takes,” attorney John Pierce said.

Here’s a breakdown of details in the criminal complaint against the suspected shooter:

As Rittenhouse runs through the parking lot, one of the victims, 38-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum can be seen following him. According to the complaint, the video shows Rosenbaum throwing a plastic bag at Rittenhouse before a loud bang is heard. Rosenbaum can then be heard yelling an expletive at Rittenhouse as he continues to approach the shooter. A witness told police that Rosenbaum reached for the gun before the shooting. Rittenhouse then shoots four times and Rosenbaum can be seen falling to the ground.

Rosenbaum was shot three times and grazed by two other bullets. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

After the first shooting, Rittenhouse can be seen on camera making a phone call, the complaint claims. As he ran away, Rittenhouse can be heard saying “I just killed somebody.”

Another video reportedly showed Rittenhouse running away from the scene after he shot Rosenbaum, officials said.

People in the area can be heard yelling “Beat him up!” “Hey, he shot him!” “Get him! Get that dude!” and more.

While running away, Rittenhouse tripped and fell to the ground. One man was seen on video approaching Rittenhouse, and Rittenhouse appears to fire two rounds at the man, both of which missed.

One of the other victims killed, 26-year-old Anthony Huber, can then be seen hitting Rittenhouse’s left shoulder with a skateboard before trying to pull the gun away from him, the complaint said. Rittenhouse then fired one round, which struck Huber. Huber died from the gunshot wound.

The third shooting victim, 26-year-old Gaige Grosskreutz, approached Rittenhouse shortly after. Rittenhouse, who had moved to a seated position, pointed his gun at Grosskreutz, who appeared to be armed with a handgun. Grosskreutz froze, stepped back and put his hands up before moving toward Rittenhouse. Rittenhouse is then seen firing one round, hitting Grosskreutz in the arm.

According to the complaint, the video then shows Rittenhouse walking away with his gun pointed toward people in the roadway.

Before the shootings, Kyle spoke with a reporter on the scene and lied, telling him he was a “trained medic” during a taped interview.

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Authorities did a social media dive on Kyle and discovered he once hosted a fundraiser on Facebook to help “humanize police officers.” It’s also reported he loaded videos of himself attending a Trump rally.

If Kyle is convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, he’s facing a mandatory life sentence.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin Department of Justice revealed the reason why Jacob Blake was handcuffed to his hospital bed. You’ll recall, Jacob’s father revealed his son – who is now paralyzed as a result of the shooting – was shackled to his hospital bed. He has not been charged with a crime as of right now.

Kenosha police said they handcuffed him to the bed because of a warrant against him for charges before he was shot by a police officer. According to The NY Times, Jacob was charged with third-degree sexual assault, criminal trespass, and disorderly conduct back in July. A former friend accused him of breaking into her home while she was sleep and assaulting her. He allegedly took her car and debit car after the assault.

On Sunday (the day Jacob was shot), the “police were called to the woman’s home again after she reported that a man was at her home and was not allowed to be there." Apparently, the police were arresting Jacob when the shooting occurred, which resulted in the father-of-six getting shot seven times in the back as he tried to get into his car. He was unarmed, and reportedly told cops he had a knife in his car (like many people do, and it is legal depending on the length of said knife).

Earlier reports stated witnesses made claims that Jacob was trying to break up a verbal argument between two women before he was shot.

Patrick Cafferty – Jacob’s lawyer – declined to give a statement about the criminal charges, but he did reveal his client will be pleading NOT guilty. He also said that Jacob would no longer be shackled to his bed after reaching an agreement with the Kenosha district attorney, Michael D. Graveley, who agreed to vacate the arrest warrant.

Photo: CNN via Kyle's TikTok/Ben Crump's IG

[Read More ...] source http://theybf.com/2020/08/28/kenosha-shooting-suspect-kyle-rittenhouse-reportedly-calls-friend-to-say-%E2%80%98i-just-killed-s

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olivereliott · 5 years ago

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Quiet Riot: A Zero FX flat tracker built by a clay sculptor

Truly great motorcycle design requires a human touch. That’s why, in a world of digital design and 3D rendering, traditional crafts are still very relevant. Especially the art of clay modeling—which is what Nick Graveley does.

The Munich-based Brit has spent the last 16 years offering his craft to major car and motorcycle OEMs, and the last seven of those have been bike work only.

One of his clients is the electric motorcycle powerhouse Zero Motorcycles. Two years ago, Nick (who works as ‘ClayMoto’) was working with them on their latest SR/F model, when the idea for this project was conceived.

“At the time, the flat tracker movement was just gaining traction,” he tells us, “and the Zero FX seemed like an ideal base on which to build one. It’s a relatively lightweight bike in Zero’s all-electric range that was crying out for a new style.”

“It also has boatloads of torque, and the prospect of tuning the ‘engine braking’ by means of altering the level of regenerative braking through the motor seemed like nice features for a flat tracker.”

Nothing really happened with the idea, until Nick found himself back at Zero’s Californian HQ a year later for another project. They green lit Nick’s concept, and handed him a 2017 Zero FX with a 6.5 kWh battery pack to build it on.

For those that love numbers, the FX makes 46 hp and 106 Nm, and has a range of between 60 km and 130 km, depending on how hard you thrash it. Perfect numbers for Nick’s ‘Quiet Riot’ project.

Despite the fact that Zero undoubtedly has every angle of the FX rendered digitally already, Nick headed straight for his usual process: sketches, followed by full-scale clay modeling.

“The best motorcycle designs are a blend of emotion and engineering,” he explains, “and whilst CAD is a wonderful platform for developing engineering, the interface is not there yet to allow for great sculpted design surfaces—the kind which are crafted by a skilled human hand.”

“I’m excited to see where the prospect of modeling in a VR environment might lead us, but as it stands the best, state-of-the-art technology for design surface development is clay.”

The actual clay model took Nick 80 hours to complete—even though he technically only modeled half of the bike. “I typically use a mirror on the centerline to save me having to model both sides,” he says. “It’s much faster, and allows me to see immediately how the clay looks in symmetry, so I can develop the form accordingly.”

Once the model was finished it was scanned, and rebuilt digitally in Alias AutoStudio—the industry standard for 3D modeling. Nick used Alias to remove any imperfections from the surfaces, and then used the renders to create a full size ABS plastic prototype to test fitment. With everything golden, he gave the go ahead for molds to be made, to produce the final kit in carbon fiber.

Nick couldn’t afford to have the molds and carbon fiber forms made in Europe, so he farmed them out to a firm in China.

“When I excitedly received the parts four months later my heart sank,” he says. “Although the carbon work was actually pretty nice, my finely tuned surfaces were all over the place with bumps and dents. Clearly corners had been cut in making the main body piece mold.”

Nick ultimately had to make a jig to straighten out the part and resurface it by hand, before sending it back to China for a new mold to be made. All told, it took 10 months before he got the final parts back. “It was so worth it and the final parts are really good now,” he tells us, “weighing in at just 2.4 kg (5.3 lbs) for the complete set.”

The FX needed more than just new bodywork to turn it into a pukka flat tracker though. So Nick shortened the suspension at both ends, then added a pair of 19” Sun rims with Shinko flat track tires.

The OEM belt drive was swapped for a chain and sprocket kit. And since there’s no clutch, Nick ditched the foot brake in favor of a handlebar-mounted lever, “for better rear brake modulation while riding on circuit.”

Up front, he set up a custom number board with LED projectors, relocated the speedo to keep the look sano, and added flat track bars and grips from Renthal. There’s an aluminum bash plate lower down, along with a pair of protective side panels.

The license plate bracket mounted off the swing arm is a practical addition. It holds the plate and all the rear lights to keep the bike street legal, but it can be removed in minutes when it’s time to take to the track.

Nick had some help along the way, with Zero staffers Jamie, Eddie and Josh all pitching in. Jamie laced the wheels, Eddie drew up the CAD drawings for the aluminum bits, and Josh fabricated that rear hangar. Chris Adam laid down the sporty livery, leaving enough carbon fiber in view to get the message across.

‘Quiet Riot’ is a great reminder of the importance of traditional craft, even when designing forward thinking machinery. And it’s a hella sharp looking flat tracker, too.

ClayMoto | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Andrei Matyukhin

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