Take Action: Support Justice for Mathieu Lefevre

A letter by Erika Lefevre, as read November 30, 2011, at the Transportation Alternatives rally in Manhattan, NY Click to view the original police report Click to download original .pdf including the police report Thank you to all of you who have come to express your support. I never expected to be standing in this same spot today where I stood over a month ago, asking the NYPD to please release the information it has about the death of Mathieu. In that month, we have made many, many requests to the NYPD for information, including Freedom of Information requests. But we've gotten almost nothing. We have received an NYPD accident report. But the small amount of information in the report seems to contradict earlier statements by the police. The report also raises more questions than it answers. Back in October, the press quoted police sources as saying that Mathieu went through a red light. There is nothing in the report about this, and the NYPD detective investigating the case told me there is no evidence at all about the light. Also in October, the press quoted police sources as saying that Mathieu was riding next to the truck when it struck him, in the driver's blind spot. But the report clearly shows that the truck was behind Mathieu and rear-ended him. So here are my questions: Why did unnamed NYPD sources originally tell the press that Mathieu went through a red light, when there is no evidence of that? Why did the NYPD originally say Mathieu was riding next to the truck when it struck him, and then issue a report showing Mathieu was rear-ended? How can the truck driver have rear-ended Mathieu and not known he had done so? Why did the NYPD rush to accept the driver's story that he didn't know he killed someone, when the investigation is still ongoing? Why haven't we been given access to the coroners' report, the videotapes that the NYPD says they have, and the other evidence of what actually happpened? How much longer will this take? Six months? A year? We appreciate that the NYPD has a difficult job in trying to investigate this crash and determine what happened. We want the NYPD to take the time it needs to conduct an unbiased, thorough, professional investigation. But the NYPD has caused us great pain with their mishandling and withholding of information, and their rush to clear the driver of any wrongdoing. Today, I am asking the NYPD to stop leaking misinformation to the press about crash victims. That only hurts victims and their families, and makes the NYPD appear unprofessional and biased. The NYPD must also stop stonewalling our Freedom of Information requests, and let us have the videotape and other evidence they told us they have. Six weeks after Mathieu's death, we have a right to know what happened. By getting accurate information out in a timely way, people will be able to make sense of these terrible crashes, and it will help make the streets safer for everyone. My son is dead; he cannot speak for himself. Nothing I can do will bring him back. But one thing I can do is to speak out about how this case has been handled by the NYPD, about how changes would affect the lives of other future victims, cyclists and pedestrians. Lives can be saved if the laws are enforced, thus making the streets safer for everyone. Every life is precious. Erika Lefevre, 30 November 2011 Back to Main Page

Mathieu Lefèvre 13 March 1981 - 18 October 2011 www.mathieulefevre.com