On Friday night I was on my way to the going away party of a friend when I accidentally came across the Critical Mass ride. I was riding into the uptown area and the Mass was on it’s way downtown. It was a large group; someone encouraged me to join in and I was sorely tempted. However, friends leaving town have to be seen to, so I turned south feeling happy after waiting for the Mass to clear the intersection. Little did I know that Critical Mass was on its way to a police confrontation though it looked peacefully enough at that point.
Over the last couple weeks, there has been some traffic on the bicyclelane mailing list about a ticket issued to a cyclist for running red lights. A cyclist getting a citation for something like this is unusual — at least I don’t hear about many incidents. Cyclists are generally not treated poorly, if not exactly being treated well, and get along reasonably well with motorists in cohabitation of the city’s streets.
Critical Mass is completely different. It’s a group of cyclists, riding on the roadways as if they were automobiles. Yes, they are taking up space but it’s their space. They have a right to be on the streets using the common thoroughfares as much as any other vehicle. It’s an exercise of social responsibility on the part of motorists who need to share the common space. Critical Mass isn’t blocking traffic; they are traffic.
Along come the police
Critical Mass and the police forces of various cities have a long history of confrontations. Typically, these confrontations become very physical in nature, and they cost the citizens of the cities, counties, and states large sums of money defending police actions. San Francisco, Los Angles, New York, Chicago, and Minneapolis have all had extensive problems with local police forces in the past; and it seems that Minneapolis may be in for another stretch of trouble.
On Friday, June 30th, the Minneapolis Police arrested at least two people who were participating in Critical Mass. One of the arrests involved enough force
to damage a backpack worn by the person as he was being apprehended.
Another was apparently grabbed by his bag, and perhaps two received citations for asking questions of the arresting officers. Now one event does not a pattern make, so perhaps this will turn out to be an isolated incident. History tells us this is not the case, police involvement with Critical Mass tends to involve multiple events of progressing hostility and some startling civil rights violations.
Oddly enough, there’s a cycling event just about to happen in our fair city. The Bicycle Film Festival kicks off on Thursday night with the best cycling film ever made. A Sunday in Hell
shows at 7:30 on Thursday , July 6th. It is followed by MASH at 9:30, and a full slate of other films through the weekend. More information can be found at the Bicycle Film Festival web site. One wonders how Minneapolis’ finest
are going to take to cyclists being a featured group in the theater district for a few days in a row.
Examples of Police Involvement with CM
The following are excerpts taken from articles about particular events with police involvement in Critical Mass.
New York, 2004-2006
There’s to much material about New York Police battering, pummeling and abusing the citizens of the city to make any reasonable choice of what to put here. Needless to say, it’s been going on for years and doesn’t seem like it’s going away any time soon.
I had been riding near the front when I saw patrol cars blocking Fifth Avenue ahead. I turned around only to see the cops spreading a giant orange net on Broadway, behind me. I was trapped in the middle of the block when a fellow cyclist grabbed my arm and walked me and my bike into the sausage place.
Safe for the time being, I envisioned my family at the synagogue, re-enacting Queen Esther’s rescue of the Jews from the evil Haman of Persia. Life’s little ironies: Haman built a 50-cubit gallows to hang the Jews, and this Jew narrowly escaped a 50-foot net the NYPD had strung to snare another embattled minority — New York cyclists.
Portland, April 2006
So far, the police have remained unapologetic about their actions at the recent demonstrations. Police spokesman Sgt. Brian Schmautz said officers only used pepper spray to disperse the crowd and defend themselves. “But I haven’t seen the reports yet,” he said, referring to the mandatory statement officers who use a form of non-lethal force must file. “Our perspective is that officers weren’t the aggressors in either situation.”
Milwaukee, April 2006
Milwaukee police and members of the bicycle activist group Critical Mass on Saturday gave different versions of the events that led to the arrests of six and ticketing of 21 riders during the group’s monthly trek on the city’s east side Friday evening.
Riders called it overkill and harassment, saying they purposely stayed on the county’s Oak Leaf bike path to avoid confrontation with officers. But police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz described the group as known traffic scofflaws who “came barreling down the path, forcing other cyclists and pedestrians” out of their way.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Bicyclists’ arrests set off dispute
I’m not sure that I appreciated the extend of police hostility with Critical Mass until I actually attempted to find references. The google query on critical mass police violence
returns more then 10 million pages. It’s not a small problem and it’s not going away overnight. I can only hope that the officials in control of the police force, or more specifically those in control of the officials who control the police force, can find a way to make a reasonable decision about Critical Mass and cyclists in general. We are not criminals, we are not against you, and we shouldn’t be punished as if we were.
