Reader Sean Rea witnessed a pretty brazen act of dangerous and petty driving behavior last Thursday on downtown Mission Street: Another hit-and-run on a vulnerable street user. But it wasn’t just any ordinary victim this driver knicked and fled from. It was an officer of the SF Police Department:

I was riding down Mission (due to closure of Howard that is the Dreamforce fiasco) and just before Fourth came upon a bike cop. A car came up on our left, clipped his radio and handlebar, and then sped through a yellow as the officer yelled and took chase. At the next green I took off and stuck around to give a statement.

Rea said the officer thought the driver may not face serious penalties, but Rea “took solace in the fact that the driver had to sit there on the curb in embarrassment for a half hour, at least.”

It’s hard to imagine why this driver shouldn’t face charges similar to those of assaulting a police officer. But we can add one more to the list of benefits of having police patrol by foot, bike and transit (not just cruisers). Cavalier drivers might be a little more cautious if they know they could potentially maim or kill a cop. Unfortunately, the risk of running over everyday people doesn’t seem to be enough of a deterrent.