ENVIROWATCH

HOW HUMANS TREAT
THEIR SURROUNDINGS,
EACH OTHER, THEMSELVES



Busted Bike Ride
Are Bicyclists a new "Public Safety" Problem?

story and photos by Karen Johanson
Free Press Contributor

The Critical Mass bicycle ride has allowed Seattle cyclists to "take back the streets" one evening every month for six months without significant conflict. How did Critical Mass become chaos on January 31? What motivated officers of the law to use pepper spray and handcuffs on a protester acting in the time-honored tradition of passive resistance? Why were only messengers arrested? These were just a few of the problems facing me as I reflected on my first Critical Mass, a peaceful protest for cyclist visibility that ended in charges of felony assault. Conversations with others inside and outside of the cycling, messenger and political communities have elucidated these issues.

"As cyclists left the scene, several
hacked from the fumes of pepper
spray used by police to
disperse the retreating crowd."
After leaving Westlake Center, Critical Mass wound through the streets of Seattle, provoking an array of responses that included numerous cheers, at least one grumpy response, and one flirtation from motorists engulfed by a group including messengers, bicycle commuters and recreational riders. As the group ascended Madison, there was a sudden outburst from a police bullhorn. "Move to the right," the voice said. A few cycles veered to the right. Others remained in formation.
A loud continuous siren started. Moments later, a solitary squad car accelerated abruptly through the crowd. As I crested the hill, I saw one cyclist prone on the pavement in the shadow of a policeman ultimately identified as Chris Myers. The rider was limp. The policeman started pulling on the cyclist's arm, first lightly and then with increasing force. The policeman told the rider to get up, all the while pulling the cyclist's arm further behind the biker's body. Then the handcuffs went on.
Cyclists surrounding the two in a semi-circle yelled for the policeman's badge number repeatedly to no response. This went on for probably ten minutes, as multiple police cars and an ambulance arrived. Even when confronted by camera flash and a lens barrel pointed directly at his badge from a two-foot range, the policeman maintained a steely countenance.

The cyclists remained at an arm's length from Myers, many demanding to know reasons for the arrest. Other than verbal taunts, the cyclists remained at bay. As an army of police arrived at the scene, onlookers saw officers chasing and tackling some of the congregated riders.
The situation escalated. One witness, stranded in a Metro bus wedged between the crowd and arriving police cars, saw two arrests. In one instance, several police threw a rider across the hood of a squad car and rifled through his messenger bag. Another was hog-tied with plastic restraints and carried away by a group of officers. Over the course of the evening, five cyclists were arrested and charged with crimes including felony assault on a police officer [editor's note: some charges have been dropped, but most still remain at press time]. All were messengers, despite the fact that messengers comprised less than half of the Critical Mass on that evening.
As cyclists left the scene, several hacked from the fumes of pepper spray used by police to disperse the retreating crowd.
Why did police feel compelled to use force? Police policy justifies force only in the following necessary circumstances: defense of self or another individual; performance of a legal duty, e.g. providing for public safety or enforcing the law; and controlling mentally incompetent or intoxicated individuals (Section 1.145 of the Policies and Procedures manual).
Not a single individual I spoke to noted seeing cyclists strike or otherwise assault any officers. Police reports contradict the scene shown in photos at numerous junctures. Eyewitnesses included employees of the Sorrento Hotel and a Seattle University student as well as Critical Mass riders. No witnesses indicated fear for their personal or the public safety. No one in the group appeared even remotely mentally incompetent or intoxicated.
The Critical Mass riders who I met were decidedly not threats to the community. Bob Kubiniec works with programs benefiting Seattle's homeless population. Suzanne Carlson, another frequent rider in Seattle's Critical Mass events, is program director for the Free Ride Zone, a non-profit bike program where kids can learn to fix bikes and eventually earn their very own, and operates another small business. The first rider arrested by the police volunteers his time with the Free Ride Zone.
Cyclists who are unaffiliated with Critical Mass have subsequently felt the repercussions of the police conflict. Since the event, commuters and messengers alike have been stopped and ticketed for offenses as minor as riding in a crosswalk. One cyclist was stopped and asked about whether he was involved in the events of January 31, 1997. Eight riders for one messenger service were ticketed in one day.
According to several messengers, this police behavior is endemic of ongoing police animosity. Messengers related stories of being tailgated by squad cars, then ticketed for inappropriate lane changes or other charges when they tried to move out of the car's path.
Though the Seattle Police Media Relations department accommodated me with the incident report and copies of police policies and procedures, my phone call directed to Lt. Steve Paulsen of the West Precinct for clarification of the issues surrounding the incident was never returned.
The entire incident was an intense counterpoint to one messenger's comments that initiated me into my first Critical Mass ride. When asked what inspired him to "go to Mass," he replied that it was all about empowerment. Every day, he maneuvered through sometimes-hostile motorists in the course of a day of deliveries. Critical Mass was the one time that the streets felt safe. Only the coming weeks will indicate whether that sense of empowerment will return.

Karen Johanson operates Siren Photography in Seattle. You can reach her at siren@nwlink.com.

Go to Mass! Critical Mass rides meet in Seattle on the last Friday of every month in front of Westlake Center at 5:30.



Please see a reader response to this article:
"Bike Paths on Every Street" (WFP Issue 27 May/June 1997)








Mulching Growth Management
The Growth Management Act (GMA) was passed in 1990 in response to the uncontrolled development engulfing Puget Sound and other fast growing areas of the state. Although the act is full of loopholes, it forces local planners to take the environmental and social costs of breakneck growth into account, and to preserve rural portions of each county. This has made the GMA anathema to extractive and real estate industries and their Republican fellow travelers. Consequently, this year's legislative session has brought forth a barrage of efforts to weaken the act. Some of these measures would gut state-level land use planning by making the state planning review board - the only place where the act is enforced - into a purely advisory body. Others would allow counties to opt out of the act at will.
Given Republican control of both state houses, it is likely that one or more of these pieces of legislation will reach the Governor's desk. Governor Locke is on record as opposing the most extreme measures, instead favoring a proposal put forth by an advisory council appointed by ex-Governor Mike Lowry. This approach would enhance efficiency by streamlining the planning required by the law. It would also weaken protections for rural areas, while leaving the larger structure of the GMA intact.

If you wish to volunteer to help save environmental planning in Washington state, contact 1000 Friends of Washington at (206) 343-0681.




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Contents on this page were published in the March/April, 1997 edition of the Washington Free Press.
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