19 arrested in Minneapolis

[kabbie_cache]

Channel 9 FOX, just said that 19 people had been arrested in Minneapolis during a critical mass. They also said pepper spray was used. The 19, 17 adults and 2 juviniles, are going to be charged with rioting.

[timmy]

I rode in one of those a few years ago in Minneapolis. I just don't understand what good comes out of taking over the streets on bicycles and p**sing off as many motorists as you can?

[ebrandel]

I just don't understand what good comes out of taking over the streets on bicycles and p**sing off as many motorists as you can?
Free pepper spray?

[jitterjepp]

According to eye witnesses the cops ran into a guy on a bike with a cop car and he took out another rider when he went down.

I had a very good friend die from being hit by a police car. Did the guy have a gun in his hand or something to justify that? As far as the way eyewitnesses are telling it the people on the bikes weren't doing anything wrong and the cops were macing and beating them. They also said they didn't see a riot going on.


http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2007/08/mpls_police_adm.php

[ppgc]

They have some video over at wcco.com You can see a cop punch a cyclist in handcuffs. Somebody better get fired over that one. I agree that CM probably isn't the best way to get drivers to respect you but jesus, police brutality seems a little extreme.

Flickr pictures too: http://flickr.com/photos/diversey/sets/72157601796064051/

MBL post:
http://mplsbikelove.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3965

[Nicole]

They have some video over at wcco.com You can see a cop punch a cyclist in handcuffs. Somebody better get fired over that one. I agree that CM probably isn't the best way to get drivers to respect you but jesus, police brutality seems a little extreme.

Flickr pictures too: http://flickr.com/photos/diversey/sets/72157601796064051/

MBL post:
http://mplsbikelove.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3965


Unbelievable!!!:shocked:...well not really unfortunately. I have worked around the MPD in a few prior jobs and alot of them are just plain a$$holes! Take a look at these pics people-they brought in an army of cops-I think that is probably every MPD on duty tonight...I thought they were understaffed as it is? Question? Who was responding to the real crime and injustice going on while they were beating bikers? Do they forget that somewhere their are children being sold drugs, peoples homes being broke into-maybe while they are home, an innocent woman being beaten, registered sex-offenders not being accounted for...Not to be a downer, but come on, when are we gonna get it right?!! :banghead: My other thought looking through those pics...did the cops on the bikes get beaten too?
And they wonder why people hate them?!

Thanks for the links. And thanks to whoever started the thread-I basically never turn on my TV and don't surf the web too much, so may not have heard about this for a bit.

[jitterjepp]

They have some video over at wcco.com You can see a cop punch a cyclist in handcuffs. Somebody better get fired over that one. I agree that CM probably isn't the best way to get drivers to respect you but jesus, police brutality seems a little extreme.
I worked at a residential treatment center and we had guys that came from the department of corrections that got a bit crazy sometimes. Somehow we managed to restrain everyone of them without punching them, macing them or hurting them in anyway. It's not that hard. We didn't even have any weapons.
Whats going to happen with the cops I see in my neighborhood every single day breaking the three foot law for no reason at all? Are they going to be maced, handcuffed and then beaten? Are we all going to have the exact same rule of law and brutality?

[ebrandel]

According to eye witnesses the cops ran into a guy on a bike with a cop car and he took out another rider when he went down.
I read the same citypages story, but come on, I really doubt this is what happened:
According to witnesses, an unmarked maroon police car sped ahead of the others and smashed purposefully into a cyclist, spilling him onto the road who, in turn, took down another cyclist.It's strange in that whole flickr set there wasn't a single picture of macing or tasering, which according to the comments on the city pages story police were basically doing to anyone within a 4 block radius of the scene.

And from the WCCO video... where's all the macing and tasering? And where's the video of the guy getting punched while in handcuffs? I didn't see it in the WCCO video, but that was a pretty small video.

[Cars-R-Coffins]

They were rideing bikes. this was not a riot. I really hate cops now.

[ppgc]

And from the WCCO video... where's all the macing and tasering? And where's the video of the guy getting punched while in handcuffs? I didn't see it in the WCCO video, but that was a pretty small video.

There are 2 videos on the site, one is like 3 mins(here (http://www.wcco.com/video/?id=30775@wcco.dayport.com)) and you can see some macing at about 18 seconds and a punch in that one about 5 seconds in, he is right behind the cop car with the two cops draging him, it is a small video so you need to look close.

http://www.peteryan.com/multimedia/cophit.jpg

[jitterjepp]

I read the same citypages story, but come on, I really doubt this is what happened:
It's strange in that whole flickr set there wasn't a single picture of macing or tasering, which according to the comments on the city pages story police were basically doing to anyone within a 4 block radius of the scene.

And from the WCCO video... where's all the macing and tasering? And where's the video of the guy getting punched while in handcuffs? I didn't see it in the WCCO video, but that was a pretty small video.It was also people who weren't part of critical mass that said that from what I understand. I guess I'll take the account of those who witnessed it over what you think happened.

Police brutality? Come on... No that never happens.. never....

Still we do have to wait for the whole story to unfold... Its bits and pieces for now. I looked at the city pages thing again and I didn't see anything that said it was going on in a four block radius. Again, the witness account is always better I guess.

[ebrandel]

I looked at the city pages thing again and I didn't see anything that said it was going on in a four block radius.
Well, I was using a bit of hyperbole, but was referring to this comment:
Then began the masing & tasering. The police were not just targeting specific individuals; they were simply spraying into the crowd, which by this point included bystanders.Just from the video and pics I'm not seeing any evidence of the widespread beatdown that people are saying happened. *shrug*

That second video really did make it pretty clear that the cop smacked him though. That's BS.

[michelin_man]

I saw the critical mass ride today as they were passing over the 10th ave bridge. I was on biking over the bridge gawking at I-35 with the other hundreds of people when they passed (I was quite impressed, I bet there were 100 riders). THe star trib article saw called it a 'protest' but it was probably the happiest, most peaceful 'protest' I have ever seen. The only interaction the riders had were a couple of shouts of"Happy Friday" and "Join Us (since I was on my bike); which I almost did.

All I can say is those cops make me so mad. I place all the blame on them for turning this thing ugly. They provoked the situation- They clearly pulled someone off their bike. Then reacted by sending in 48 cops and macing the whole f-ing place!! And then punch someone already handcuffed in the face.

I hope some heads roll for this. F*&CK THOSE COPS!!

[ebrandel]

Star Trib's article:
http://www.startribune.com/crime/story/1396202.html

[Trevize1138]

Star Trib's article:
http://www.startribune.com/crime/story/1396202.html

The ride was also linked with weekend protests of next year's Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities.

And everyone here's acting so surprised about why 19 people were chosen to be made an example of.

[Danimal]

My opinion not that anyone asked... This gave all bikers a good name in the public eye didn't it.??? F-ing stupid if you ask me. I'm all for doing something rowdy and all that but it really screws with the cyclist image, especially when we are trying to get trails build around the metro area.

[Trevize1138]

My opinion not that anyone asked... This gave all bikers a good name in the public eye didn't it.??? F-ing stupid if you ask me. I'm all for doing something rowdy and all that but it really screws with the cyclist image, especially when we are trying to get trails build around the metro area.

Critical Mass is not MORC.

In terms of the goals of a protest it sounds like it was a success. 19 arrests. News coverage. You can expect much more than 200 people at next month's CM.

[AndrewMay]

I'm interested to hear the whole story. There must have been some sort of provoking act to warrant a police car to smash into a cyclist. You can DEFINITELY see the punch on the WCCO video. Seems a little extreme to me...

[soupboy]

F'ing cops. I despise them. Once again, you have cops unnecessarily and intentionally escalating a (non) problem. Smells a wee bit of the the biker/airport incident.

Who trains these guys? They should be focused on de-escalating a given situation, not throwing gas on it. How many more cops would have shown up to an "officer down" call?

WTF do you need to mace/spray people who aren't posing a physical threat to anyone? Were they offended by the unique smell of tobacco, patchouli and BO? Were people saying mean things to them and giving them dirty looks? Shoot them I guess.

I wonder what other real crimes were perpetrated yesterday that that legion of cops could have been tending to? They might as well have been wearing jack boots and pointed helmets.

This doesn't give cyclists a bad name it just gives cops a worse name.

[batjerk]

This doesn't give cyclists a bad name it just gives cops a worse name.While I agree in principle that it shouldn't give cyclists a bad name and should give the shoot-first-and-maybe-we'll-get-around-to-asking-questions-later minneapolis police a worse name, I don't think it will actually happen that way. I hope I am way wrong on this, but I'm sure Tuesday will bring much discussion aimed my way about bad/unruly cyclists when my co-workers arrive. They already hate cyclists in general and this will certainly not help.:mad:

There are more than a few cyclist haters where I work and they know I ride and have to share stories (real or invented, I know not) about bad cyclists who should be riding on the left side of the road or not on the road at all.:hit:

Well, we'll find out, I guess. C'est la vie.

[soupboy]

Truer words have only been spoken by me!!!!

That said, I don't want to make this a discussion about the cancers of a car-centric culture.

This is about cops not doing their job properly. They work for citizens, yes, even those on bikes, not the other way around.

While I agree in principle that it shouldn't give cyclists a bad name and should give the shoot-first-and-maybe-we'll-get-around-to-asking-questions-later minneapolis police a worse name, I don't think it will actually happen that way. I hope I am way wrong on this, but I'm sure Tuesday will bring much discussion aimed my way about bad/unruly cyclists when my co-workers arrive. They already hate cyclists in general and this will certainly not help.:mad:

There are more than a few cyclist haters where I work and they know I ride and have to share stories (real or invented, I know not) about bad cyclists who should be riding on the left side of the road or not on the road at all.:hit:

Well, we'll find out, I guess. C'est la vie.

[stoneage]

The original idea of Critical Mess rides was honorable, but I saw the first ones in Minneapolis years ago. They evolved quickly into wannabe excuses to piss off anyone they could, not just drivers. When the 'hard times' and 'posenngers' started showing up is when the trouble started. Some cyclists who just happened to be riding by got arrested. Bad cops are everywhere looking for a reason to smack somebody; don't give them a reason. Stay away from critical mess rides and cops.

[batjerk]

Bad cops are everywhere looking for a reason to smack somebody; don't give them a reason. Stay away from critical mess rides and cops.Sounds like a good idea.

Cops not doing their jobs properly is endemic. It seems there is a certain personality type that is attracted to that type of work. That and the old cliche axiom that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

[toyota200x]

Cops have always bugged me, but this makes me dislike them even more.

[soupboy]

True and these events bring out the outliers on both sides of the aisle. That being said, the burden of proper behavior and effort to soothe vs. ignite lies on the paid public servants, not the citizens.

Somebody needs to expose the propensity for bad form on the MPD. How else to you trigger efforts to reform? Whether its abusing cyclists, minorities or their own (recall the shooting of the Asian officer) - you can't burn off the ugly warts until you expose them.

Bad cops are everywhere looking for a reason to smack somebody; don't give them a reason. Stay away from critical mess rides and cops.

[gopherhockey]

strib makes it sound like the police were just doing their jobs. No mention of any looking into excessive abuse or anything.

[stoneage]

I have always been supportive of police because of what they have to put up with on a day to day basis. The bad ones are magnified far out of proportion when something goes wrong. In a perfect world cops wouldn't have to roll drunks out of their vomit to check on vital signs, or enter a strange apartment with human waste and naked kids screaming at 3 AM to arrest a meth addict. I don't know what was said or done in the critical mass to initiate a police response, but what I have seen of these 'rides' leads me to question the riders activity.
On that note, how we the cyclists engage the driving public is only going to get more critical as bicycling grows. Yesterday I was following a rider down Glenwood who, when coming to a light, pulled up on the drivers side and literally started screaming at the top of his voice about the 3 foot clearance law. It didn't appear to me that the driver was malicious in any way, just not attentive or maybe ignorant of the law. Yelling at this person probably didn't do any good and might have turned this drivers view of cyclists in general. This worries me when I may be the next cyclist he/she happens upon. When I am knowingly assaulted I let my feelings be known and more importantly get a license number and call it in. It can be used as evidentiary background in any future case if need be.

[MikeMoneymaker]

I was riding with the mass up until a couple vans pulled up with riot police or something? it was pretty nuts

[kabbie_cache]

From WCCO



19 Arrested In Minneapolis Bicycle Protest

Jason DeRusha (http://wcco.com/bios/local_bio_161103707.html)
Reporting


(WCCO) Minneapolis Police arrested 17 adults and 2 juveniles during a monthly bicycle protest Friday night.

Hundreds of bicycles filled the streets of downtown Minneapolis starting at 6:30 p.m., as part of the Minnesota Critical Mass movement. According to a website maintained by the group, Critical Mass "is, more than anything else, a reclamation of space, a demonstration to show that the city belongs to people and not machines."

The group rides in Minneapolis on the last Friday of every month, according to Minneapolis Police Deputy Chief Rob Allen. Police have been monitoring the rides, and at times, escorting the bicyclists to protect them from the traffic the bicyclists are attempting to block.

The trouble started Friday night with one bicyclist.

"Somebody was driving straight at cars," said Deputy Chief Allen.

Police tried to arrest that bicyclist on Hennepin Avenue, but were unsuccessful. In a videotape of the incident provided by a friend of one of the bicyclists, the crowd grew vocal and restless as officers tried to make the arrest. "What's the charge? What's the charge?" the group chanted.

According to Police, the bicyclist escaped back into the mass of riders. Officers made another attempt at an arrest on LaSalle Street, not far from Loring Park, at 7:15 p.m. Friday.

"There were individuals physically trying to pull officers off the individual under arrest," said Deputy Chief Allen. That's when the officers called for backup, and at least 50 squad cars responded to the scene.

On the videotape provided to WCCO-TV, an officer is seen spraying pepper spray at some of the bicyclists. According to Allen, that was warranted, because the bicyclists were being aggressive and refusing to back away from the arrest scene.

"They were set upon by a large group who started fighting with the officers," he said.

But Matt Houston, a bicyclist from Florida, paints a different picture. "I got pepper sprayed in the face, in my eyes, I couldn't see anything," said Houston. He maintains the police were provoking the riders.

The "officer was basically trying to intimidate everybody there," according to Houston. "This just really exemplifies why I don't respect police officers, because they don't respect members of the general populace."

Allen said most of the people arrested will be charged with third degree riot. According to Minnesota statute, that's defined as "when three or more persons assembled disturb the public peace by an intentional act or threat of unlawful force or violence to person or property." The maximum penalty is one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Deputy Chief Allen said, his department has never had a problem with Critical Mass riders in the past, and he hopes the actions of a small portion of the group doesn't tarnish the positive message the group is trying to spread.




From KARE 11
Watch the video
Bike Rally Arrest

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=250 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle>http://www.kare11.com/assetpool/images/07831224237_bike_arrests_hd.jpg


http://www.kare11.com/images/video-icon.gif
(http://www.kare11.com/video/player.aspx?aid=53133&bw=)



</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
A pro-bike group called Critical Mass had a meeting with police that ended with about 19 people being arrested.

According to Minneapolis police Lt. Przynski, the group was riding into downtown, when a few members of the group attacked police officers.

She said the encounter took place near LaSalle and Grand.

She said officers responded with a call for back up. She said about 19 people were arrested.

She said there were minor injuries, but nothing serious.




Two differant stories from what happened last night.

[stoneage]

Cops have always bugged me, but this makes me dislike them even more.

The trouble started Friday night with one bicyclist.
"Somebody was driving straight at cars," said Deputy Chief Allen.

Let's wait and see what provoked the incident, before blaming anyone. All the CM rides to this point have been relatively incident free, and I don't know what happened to incite the response. The police have actually escorted the group in the past, and let them ride enmasse through red lights and intersections to alleviate traffic problems. If, in fact, one individuals' childish behavior set off the string of events, I have no sympathy for him or anyone who perceived a negative response from officials. I've learned one thing in my life; don't talk back to police officers, and certainly don't touch one in the line of duty. You will definitely get a response you won't appreciate.

[soupboy]

Still don't see the logic that makes it ok for a cop to sucker punch a guy who has his hands zip-tied behind his back or to randomly mace a crowd of onlookers who are merely saying negative things.

I've talked back to cops before where I thought they were in the wrong. It's your right and I'd argue your obligation when they're stepping over the line. Again, they work for us not the other way around.

It's going to come down to a bunch of he said/she said anyway. I'm not a gambler, but I'd bet my bikes the cops were the ones that escalated matters unnecessarily.

Take a bunch of frustrated blockheads, give them guns and a "badge" and this is what you get - a "legal" gang.

The trouble started Friday night with one bicyclist.
"Somebody was driving straight at cars," said Deputy Chief Allen.

Let's wait and see what provoked the incident, before blaming anyone. All the CM rides to this point have been relatively incident free, and I don't know what happened to incite the response. The police have actually escorted the group in the past, and let them ride enmasse through red lights and intersections to alleviate traffic problems. If, in fact, one individuals' childish behavior set off the string of events, I have no sympathy for him or anyone who perceived a negative response from officials. I've learned one thing in my life; don't talk back to police officers, and certainly don't touch one in the line of duty. You will definitely get a response you won't appreciate.

[stoneage]

the cops were the ones that escalated matters unnecessarily.
That very well may be, or like the one guy steering his bike directly at cars, it may have been one cop who lost control. I don't know, or may never know the facts on this, but like I said, it takes a nitwit to mouth off or touch a cop.
Critical Mass started on the coast as a way to give legitimacy to bike transportation. The ones I've seen here are an excuse to show off or act out individual frustrations, whatever they may be. IF they want to make a statement, return to the ideal of CM and claim your rightful space on the road, but give up posing that it has become. Start obeying the traffic laws if you want to be traffic, paraphrasing their war cry, "We are traffic." Prove it!!! Otherwise, get up on the sidewalk.

[soupboy]

I concur but think the focus of the discussion should not be who is living up to the original intent/methods of CM but the wayward behavior of the cops.

To a degree, people seem to be making an argument to condemn the cyclists that is akin to blaming a rape victim for being too "suggestive" in their attire or their actions.

Critical Mass started on the coast as a way to give legitimacy to bike transportation. The ones I've seen here are an excuse to show off or act out individual frustrations, whatever they may be. IF they want to make a statement, return to the ideal of CM and claim your rightful space on the road, but give up posing that it has become. Start obeying the traffic laws if you want to be traffic, paraphrasing their war cry, "We are traffic." Prove it!!! Otherwise, get up on the sidewalk.

[Danimal]

One question... were any laws being broken by the cyclists? Traffic laws perhaps? I'm not condoning the cops actions by beating someone down for riding a bike but come on people, 150 cyclists blocking traffic all over downtown. I have better things to do with my time, like spend it with my woman.

:) Just fanning the fire people. I think things like CM in Minneapolis is stupid. It is designed for places like NYC, Washington DC, Chicago, even Denver. Minneapolis is the most bike friendly city I have ever lived in, and I have been around. I don't see a need to piss off the city that has given us bike lanes through downtown, bike parks, trails and transportation for us cyclists.

To me it was nothing but a bunch of people who had nothing better to do with their time but to sit around afterward with their home brews bragging about how they "took part" in this so called "awesome" event.

Sorry but I get pissed hearing people gripe about our police officers, yeah one screwed up, he should be punished, I also believe that there weren't any bikers that attacked anyone. Come on... why would they? I think that is something the press made up in order for the story to sound more interesting or to allow the cops to justify the knot-head from hitting that one biker. Whatever.

Both sides were wrong, CM shouldn't have happened in Minneapolis, and the coppers shouldn't have over reacted. End result... ALL bikers get a bad image. Was it worth it?

[gus man]

Critical Mass is not MORC.

In terms of the goals of a protest it sounds like it was a success. 19 arrests. News coverage. You can expect much more than 200 people at next month's CM.

But unforntunately it does bleed over to what poeple thinks of when they see or hear mountainbikers. Allthough from the pics I wouldn't call any of them mountain bikers.

[kabbie_cache]

<TABLE class=Story cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width=419 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=articleName>Arrests at bike protest sparks call for police review </TD></TR><TR><TD class=articleName></TD></TR><TR><TD class=articleIntro>Minneapolis police say a bike protest turned dangerous Friday forcing them to use pepper spray and arrest 19 riders. But now, a city council member is calling for a full investigation after claims of police brutality. "We shouldn't have to fear police when we're trying to voice our opinions," said protestor Paul Kristapovich. He says he fears the police after being arrested Friday night on suspicion of rioting.
"The police officer grabbed my arm and I pushed it away because I didn't do anything wrong...And I got dragged away and the police officer tried to take my tape recorder and he ripped the handle off and it fell to the ground," said Kristapovich, who works for Minneapolis City Council Member Cam Gordon.
Gordon told us "I haven't even considered terminating him," because "I don't know that he necessarily did anything wrong." Instead, he wants a formal review of police actions to "...make sure we have a full accounting."
On Friday, police said they were in danger. "They were physically - individuals were physically trying to pull officers off the individual who was under arrest," said Dep. Chief Rob Allen. Police say officers were in danger and under threat from a hostile crowd after police tried to arrest a bike rider who, they say, drove straight at cars, trying to provoke a confrontation.
The group Communities United Against Police Brutality wants all charges dropped and is working to get legal help for all 19 arrested. "Have an independent investigator come in and investigate, what I consider to be, a wholesale violation of people's civil rights," said representative Michelle Gross.
Minneapolis Council Member Don Samuels, who chairs the city's public safety committee, thinks any police investigation should run its course before the department is required to give a public report.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Thought every one might want to see this.

[kabbie_cache]

WCCO) A clash between police and protesters that turned ugly could be just the beginning of what to expect for next year's Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

Every month, a group called Critical Mass fills the streets of downtown Minneapolis to support riding bikes over cars. This past Friday night, police arrested 19 people when they say the normally peaceful bike ride got out of hand.

An advocate who visited the 19 people in jail said almost all of them were local, regular Critical Mass riders. She said about half were involved with the RNC Welcoming Committee, an anarchist group preparing for the Convention. The bike ride was the kickoff to a weekend of scheduled strategy sessions for the group. Last week, they announced they did not plan any violence or confrontation for the weekend.

But on Friday night around 7 p.m. police said one of the bikers deliberately rode into cars. When police tried to arrest him some of the riders chanted, "Let him go!" Police said some riders also shoved, pushed and tried to pull officers away from the man.

All weekend long, bloggers have written about the incident. Some witnesses wrote the police "instigate[d] and start[ed] their very own riot" by revving their engines, blaring their sirens and spraying mace or using tazers on people without warning.

The RNC Welcoming Committee wrote in a statement released Monday, "We believe that the police aggression experienced Friday was a premeditated attempt to intimidate anti-RNC organizers." They called the event a "police practice run for next year's RNC."

Minneapolis police said their presence was the same as any other Critical Mass ride. They said they generally escort the riders and haven't had any major problems before Friday night. Deputy Chief Rob Allen said numerous squads responded after his officers put out a help call.

"Most of the people involved in this riot are generally a peaceful group and I think the vast majority of people involved in this did not participate in fighting with officers," Deputy Chief Rob Allen said, "The whole group should not be tainted."

A little more. I cant wait to hear how this plays out. I wonder if we will ever get to see the dash cams from the cop cars.

[berrywise]

Seems to me that quite a few things factored into the outcome.

http://s4xton.com/1593/minneapolis-critical-mass/

I haven't attended a critical mass in quite some time and from what I have read it seems there are a lot of people out there because they truly believe in what CM stands for but there are also a fair amount of knuckleheads out there who are using it as a way to just try and get back at motorists.

[Lezgo Cycling]

also a fair amount of knuckleheads out there who are using it as a way to just try and get back at motorists.

I used to ride mass but this is why I stopped, becasue for a while it was more knuckleheads than massers

[MisterClaw]

I used to ride mass but this is why I stopped, becasue for a while it was more knuckleheads than massers

An advocate who visited the 19 people in jail said almost all of them were local, regular Critical Mass riders. She said about half were involved with the RNC Welcoming Committee, an anarchist group preparing for the Convention. The bike ride was the kickoff to a weekend of scheduled strategy sessions for the group. Last week, they announced they did not plan any violence or confrontation for the weekend.

http://wcco.com/crime/local_story_246193005.html

knuckleheads indeed.

[MisterClaw]

To a degree, people seem to be making an argument to condemn the cyclists that is akin to blaming a rape victim for being too "suggestive" in their attire or their actions.

Do not trivialize sexual assault by comparing sexual assault victims to
bikers who break traffic law after traffic law and try to stop oncoming traffic, endangering themselves and everyone else around them.

[jitterjepp]

Seems to me that quite a few things factored into the outcome.

http://s4xton.com/1593/minneapolis-critical-mass/

I haven't attended a critical mass in quite some time and from what I have read it seems there are a lot of people out there because they truly believe in what CM stands for but there are also a fair amount of knuckleheads out there who are using it as a way to just try and get back at motorists.Same here.. I used to go on the rides but some of the stuff I saw I didn't want to be a part of and I also know of my own tendency to get out of hand in a mob. I would totally go all the time if it wasn't going to always turn into an anarchy ride. I don't like that I heard what sounded like a cop running into a cyclist but after talking to a few people this weekend I believe that the person was riding into or at traffic and while the police could have handled the situation better if the guy is really about cyclists rights and promoting them he shouldn't be riding at traffic and when the cops grab a guy unless you're planning on getting in the back of the cop car with him you don't got trying to stop them and if you're on your way to the back of the cop car because you broke the law you don't resist. You get into the back and take your legal lumps and walk away. You don't go creating physical lumps as well. Riding into traffic doesn't display a great amount of thought or self control and when the cops grab that person he or she probably wont suddenly find it either.

I really think there are some folks that just get caught up into the mob rules effect on these rides and there are some who go just for that feeling.
I stay away because I could be that guy with no rhyme or reason to anything I did and personal experience with the dismissal of self control has shown me its not very easy to grab it at the moment in that situation. Once the brake man on a train leaves his post the train is going to wreck and the longer it goes on the greater momentum you gather and the harder it is to stop and the greater the crash and consequences and more scars you will have when the dust clears.

[tedsti]

This is somewhat of a hypothetical question since I do not know if the police were justified in their original pursuit of the guy there were hitting. At what point does the crowd have the right to pull the police off of someone being beat down for no reason? The police claim they used mace since bystanders (bikers) were pulling officers off of the person being arrested. The bystanders claim the person was being unnecessarily beaten. Could you stand around and watch someone you knew did nothing wrong get hit/tazed/maced by the police?

[stoneage]

Could you stand around and watch someone you knew did nothing wrong get hit/tazed/maced by the police?
The only analogy I can think of is when a construction worker is overcome by bad air in a confined space, and people keep going into the bad air to try and save him. More dead people. Fruitless AND stupid. If you had a weapon would you pull it on the cop? I think not!! Stay back and document the abuse, if there is some, but never, ever grab a cop.

[stoneage]

It looks like there's going to be an investigation to see if some cops overreacted. Both sides will probably end up with black eyes, figuratively.