" Carry your pepper spray while walking on this path. "

" Gee, I wonder if maybe this might change some of our ideas about how innocent and quaint those sweet little "encampments" are along the river. "

" and people act like homeless people arent violent "

" Oh no, we don't have a homeless problem! And even if we did, lets treat them with love and kindness. "

" It sure is a good thing Napa is doing everything it can to build a "homeless friendly" reputation. Way to go Napa. "

" there you go...crime is now spreading out into areas that were once considered safe. I for one am wondering what the city council is going to do to keep us safe? Word is the council is looking to cut the number of police, or at least to freeze hiring. Glad our new city manager got a nice raise while the rest of the city is cutting people. "

" There are places to legally bicycle. Others are not. The morons who use 128 are on their own. "

" who did not know these trails were not going to be safe??????? "

" CALLING THE ACLU!!! CALLING ALL ACLU Lawyers!!! Oh my, I bet the ACLU would love to defend this 28 year old homeless person as a result of his civil rights being violated. The dog bit him and all he was doing was trying to make a buck. Someone, quick, get a law suit going the ACLU loves to pulls this nonsense nationwide. I do hope Mayor Techel enjoys watching Napa turn into a toilet bowl. The crime in Napa is exploding folks yet we will get the same rocket scientists who love to post "Oh there is crime in all cities". Man holds babies hostage, speeds off with one in lap. Grocery stores, Toy Stores are robbed, broad daylight car jackings.. Be proud Napa and thank your dandy city council and the wineries for their continued support. Oh wait, many are too damn busy running red lights and speeding through our neighborhoods to think about how pitiful this city is becoming. And yes wise and all knowing people out there, everyday citizens try to do something about it, while our city council sits on their collective duffs and formulates Trolley failures and Farmworker housing cost overruns. I guess we will have to be vigilantes on our own bike path. Or shall we just allow ourselves to be robbed, car jacked and stabbed all in the name of "Equal Rights". Let's just watch how this plays out now that the poor man has been bitten. And someone get some steak for that brave K9 and thank your fine Napa Police force for showing up in a matter of minutes to find this clown! Yes I said Clown, or is that disparaging all circus and carnival workers?? ACLU where are you???? "

" Anthony uses this article as an excuse to take an irrelevant cheapshot at the ACLU. Anthony ought to learn that the ACLU defends the Constitution, not the homeless. Napa has been importing a lot of poverty in recent years, as many businesses are addicted to cheap labor. As poverty rates rise, so do crime rates. I use the bike trails of Napa on a regular basis. I hope that Napans continue to strongly support crime fighting and crime prevention organizations and activites until poverty and crime rates dramatically fall. "

" I'm glad we left this "Wonderful World Class Town" years ago! Napa isn't any different than Vallejo, Fairfield or Richmond! If you want servants then you get servant problems! I don't worry about these problems until I have to come back for business. "

" YES, I agree with everyone above. My wife & I walk OUR 2 MONTH OLD on this path. A few weeks back, 3 homeless men came from the bushes on bikes and rode past us twice, and all I could think of was, what a great target we were. WHY DO I HAVE TO FEEL LIKE THIS? Beautiful path, clear out the issue, and the hiding places. FIX IT JILL! Sincerely, 3rd & 4th GENERATION NAPAN. "

" I ride the river trail three times a week with my girlfriend. I would like to know why the police allow all those campsites for the homeless down there. Come on napa pd lets get down there and shut this bull@#%$ down before people get hurt not afterwards.... "

" This is really not new just now, I,ve been here since 91 and have seen A1 market robbed, also saw it busted as a drug outlet saw banks robbed (thats plural, murders by spouse and stranger, remember the drug tug? Homeless man shot in head during struggle with police, swat raid house across from what is now skate park arrest escaped convict drive bys stabbing near napa high kills man and who can forget napa police officer busted hiring a prostitute in stockton while on county paid trip. All old hat and if you are aware of your surroundings and prepared you can do a little to protect yourself. My cell phone has napa police dispatch on memory, as 911 on a cell phone is a joke, Im very aware of body language and whats going on with hands when approached by a stranger if you have a bike keep it between you and them if possible dont walk in secluded areas alone without mace or some form of self defense preferably with distance capability and be aware be aware be aware! This will be an excuse for harsh crackdown on homeless encampments but the reality is we are as responsible for our own safety as the athorities and will always be at risk to some extent in or out of our homes and to think we need to be less vigilant here than elsewhere is foolish "

" You summed it up Napa DAD! "

" This incident is like a horror movie. At least in San Fran they have the "Bushman" on Fisherman's Wharf who jumps out the bushes and scares tourists. Napa's Homeless problem has been overlooked for years and years. It is not surprising that this attack happened near the river! "

" I walk on this trail everyday on my lunch hour and have not only been creeped out by some scary looking guys, possibly homeless, possibly not, but also witnessed people in areas off the trail having sex. Kids and mothers are on this trail for gods sake! Someone needs to do some cleaning up of encampments or whatever to make it safe for everyone, and I don't give a darn about these people’s rights or why they're homeless! Being poor does not give you the right to commit a crime. "

" Who doesn't think we should be able to safely walk on a path that our tax dollars pay for? "

" policemen on bicycles patrolling bike trails. "

" I have worried for some time about this bike path. From the beginning I have stated that I have many concerns. My biggest concern is now in full bloom. My second concern? What happens when the flood walls go up and people are hidden from plain view? "

" there are napa police officers who ride off road motor cycles capable of patrolling these paths regularly and they are all sized to allow a patrol car to navigate them but the chances of them being on site as an incident occurs is not realistic though a dedicated call box on the more isolated stretch of trail might help with apprehension os a suspect after an attack or in any emergency. Write to city council instead of here and try to effect change "

" No the ACLU defends NON US Citizens and applies US CONSTITUTIONAL rights to those people, that my friend is a cheap shot to all of us. "

" another poor homeless person just trying to make a living. "

" and put em on a bus to San Francisco. It's a lot warmer in the winter there, anyway. And the Bushman can teach them to be peaceful. "

" Once again, police officer talks to Register, and the man is convicted in the press (and in the reflexive "throw-away the key "mentality" of public opinion) before he ever sees court. As Americans, can you TRY to withhold your judgment and condemnation until the slightest measure of constitutional due process is accorded the accused? You can always assemble the lynch mob after you have the facts. Isn't it surprising that thes who fly the flag on the bumpers of their pickup trucks are the first to rip up the constitution when it comes time for mob justice? Why is it necessary for the Register to feed the frenzy with half-stories and accusations?!? This isn't a case for the ACLU; it's a case for whoever enforces the standards of competent and responsible journalism. "

" So this is the fault of the ACLU? The people camping along the river shouldn't be there. They are most likely mentally ill and need treatment and suitable shelter. They probably ought to be in the State Hospital. Rather than blame the ACLU, recall that it was Ronald Reagan who made the decision that the mentally ill cannot be kept in care facilities... turing our hospital into a corrections facility. "

" Hey, DGby, I'm with you. I left this social cesspool and will not return. I now live in a small city/large town that actually serves the locals; the downtown is thriving with business after business and cafes, hardware stores, Rexall Drug stores and others that actually serve those who live here. It is great! No "World Class City" BS, no S. border invasion, no catering to "homeless," *(otherwise known as vagrants, drug addicts, criminals, lazy butts, etc.). No, America still exists, just not on the left coast. The inmates are running the asylum in Napa and demanding big pay to ruin what was once a thriving, locally oriented, colorful town. Now, it's just another cookie cutter wanna be joke w/runaway crime, apologetic weak spined "leaders" and no real plan for real life; just a desire to be on the map as a destination Disneyland type vacation spot while completely ignoring or abetting the dark/ugly side which is ever increasing. "