Bobby the Bike Thief has been ripping off people's bikes outside of Pop's and along 24th in general for years without SFPD doing a thing about it.  And it's not like there was any question he was guilty.  He'd been caught in the act multiple times.  His picture and (former) address had been well circulated on bike forums and mailing lists.  It had even gotten to the point that gangs of cyclists were going to his house to steal their parts back and were calling for some serious mob justice.  Then around a year ago, he packed up his bags and moved out of the neighborhood.

But he came back at some months back and started jacking people's bikes again.  And this time, SFPD did the dirty work; so says a creditable neighbor who'd like to stay anonymous (for obvious reasons):

So… around 1:45 or so Sunday morning (Sat night) Bobby the Bike Thief was involved in some sort of altercation with cops outside his home that left him in a coma. A citizen filed a complaint against the SFPD and The Police Commission is looking for witnesses to come forward that saw the incident.

As much as I dislike Bobby and think he's a piece of shit, I can't help but feel that no one should be so severely beaten by the police that they end up in a coma.  So I guess I'm just encouraging anyone that did see what actually happened to set the story straight. I'd also hate to have Bobby capitalize on this and sue the city for millions of dollars.

While I dislike violence and despise police violence, this guy ripped off so many of my friend's bikes and some of my bike parts—and nothing comes between me and my bikes—it's hard for me to feel any sympathy for the dude.  But mob justice is no justice at all, and people should be presumed innocent until the courts find them guilty.  So should you feel to aid the pursuit of 'justice', the Police Commission's number is 415-241-7711.