You are hereRepost: Truth of the critical mass arrest, by Talib
Repost: Truth of the critical mass arrest, by Talib
Talib sent me the following recount of his arrest at last Friday's Critical Mass ride. Read on for his story:
I was arrested at 10th and Congress on Friday night for "blocking an intersection. Though we're all aware CM arrests are not uncommon, the methods used in my arrest were explicitly illegal, and are likely an indicator of the police putting more emphasis on arresting free spirited cyclists. In my case, I was riding up Congress, about 20 feet before the 10th St intersection when Officer Kidd darted out from behind an SUV on the other side of traffic. He stopped about 5 feet right in front of me (15 feet before the intersection of 10th St), and yelled 'Stop!’ I ride fixed, and even with brakes was not able to stop in the time he expected without running directly into him, so I braked and went to my left (his right) to stop for him and avoid strait up hitting a bicycle officer during critical mass. Just as I had begun to miss his back tire, he shoved me off my bike into oncoming traffic on Congress, grabbed me, dragged me off my bike causing a pretty deep cut in my leg that drew a lot of blood all night, and put me in cuffs. It was very apparent that the police had been anticipating make an arrest at Critical Mass by the 3-4 cop cars already parked at the intersection and 6 officers surrounding the vicinity. I immediately asked "Why am I even being arrested?" and he said "Blocking traffic", "I was riding just down congress" "You were blocking traffic in an intersection". Now, I was still 10-15 feet in front of the beginning of the intersection. I was not at all in the intersection 'Blocking a public thoroughfare' as the write up said. I felt more confused than anything at first since I was convinced in full that I had not been in the intersection, nor had attempted to block traffic at all the entire night since word the police were cracking down on that type of activity. I was clearly pushed across the street onto the sidewalk more than 10 feet from the intersection. Now, I know for a fact that there were several witnesses on the sidewalk, and on bikes who witnessed this happening. After spending the night in jail, the judge read the police report that said I had been in the middle of the intersection with my hand towards traffic and in a surprised tone, uttered that my bail would be $2000. This was a very VERY blatantly false as many observed as I had NOT been in the intersection.
I’m seeking to warn my friends and family that frequent the Austin rides that though we do live in a great city, the cops are actively trying to deter the beauty of mass cycling through methods that are illegal. As in my case, it was not hard for them to nab any cyclist riding with critical mass and accuse them of a crime to set an example and strike fear in those adamant about cycling's social importance in today’s society. While being processed I met another rider who was arrested at the same time named Richie. He told me a girl had fallen at the intersection of 6th and Congress, and as he was trying to help her up, the cops rushed them and arrested him for blocking the intersection. They charged us with a crime so severe that many of the nurses and officers who booked us in at the Jail were surprised that it was even a reprehensible offense for people riding bikes with their friends. Please guys, be careful. im not as active on these rides as many of ya'll are, and do not cork. The cops in Austin are typically nicer than others cops, but they still are cops and have the ability to abuse their powers in full if they want to. Obey the laws as much as you can, but be mindful that they can and will falsify statements to get their point across.
I was taken to jail, booked, given jail clothes, and in a permanent housing tank with folks accused of criminal trespassing, DWi's, theft of livestock, aggravated robbery, drug sales, and other miscellaneous crime. It was hard for me to take jail seriously since I was convinced I had been framed. Many of my friends who came to my aide as I was being arrested immediately began gathering money for my bail before I was even placed in the police car, and saved my bike from police impound which I appreciated so greatly. From the beginning ya'll made an effort to help me out, and I would like to thank everyone with a handshake and a beer. Jail isn't so fun (the food wasn't bad though), and none of us want to see our friends end up there. We all want keep our rides friendly, strong, and hassle free, but APD is very clearly trying jam their billy-clubs in our spokes.
If anyone did witness Officer Kidd push me into oncoming traffic, arrest me on congress before 10th, clearly not in the middle of the intersection as the falsified police report says, please send me your account of what happened to my email (paintersound@gmail.com). Thank all of ya'll once again, be careful and I’ll see ya'll on the next ride!
Much love,
T
From the sound of this account, there were actually TWO arrests. This incident and the level of violence that occurred greatly reminds me of a similar altercation in New York City about a year back where an officer body checked a cyclist, sending him to the ground before arresting him. That officer was relieved of duty after an investigation into his brutal treatment of the cyclist. I wonder how the Austin Police Department will deal with officer Kidd.
If anyone witnessed Talib being assaulted by the officer, please let me know and I'll pass the information on to him. When the people we pay to protect us actively attack us, we have no one left to look out for us but each other. Please come forward as a witness and help insure that true justice is served.
Update: I just received a report from an eye witness who saw the police tackle ANOTHER cyclist. What's this about?!?
Right before Talib was knocked off his bike, I saw a police officer sprint into the crowd of bikes as we were turning onto Congress. The cop chased a biker up onto the sidewalk and then tackled him while he was still on the bike. I don't know if it was that Richie guy, but it was pretty brutal. I'm willing to provide an account of what I saw, if it would help anyone. Do you know anything about this guy?
Richie turns out to be Richard Polendo, and his arrest (Case ID: 2009-2402301) was also for "OBSTRUCTION HIGHWAY/PASSAGEWAY". If anyone has any more information about this, or the name of the police officer doing the assaulting, please let me know.
There is a lot of posts about the cops; he lied, Hell Spawn come to eat CM riders, etc.. Talib posted a 2nd post to " clarify" a few points now that the officer's statement is posted and that one gave me a cavity. Somewhere between all the accounts of the two is what happened I'm sure. But I think, what a waste of energy. If CM, as an unorganized organization, wants to push bicycling as equal to a car then we need clean shoulders, bike lanes, to follow traffic laws, to get along with motorist, etc.. Antichrists ?? maybe / maybe not but is that the opinion of motorist who see a mob ride by against red lights using multiple lanes.
for fs6397:
the point is that neither of the people arrested were breaking the law. particularly with the second case, i am the girl that fell that was being helped up when i went through a GREEN light at 5th and congress- one of the people who stopped to make sure i was ok was arrested and spent 4 days in jail for obstructing traffic. that is the issue that is being made with the cops- what they did was completely illegal.
and as far as the first case goes, if you would actually read talib's account you will notice that it is says "..."and even with brakes was...". pay more attention.
-TLA
This is Richie one of the cyclist that was lifted, when tending to the wipe out. Is there a way we can keep in touch, for case purpose and chill purpose and bike purpose. Either, there all important aspects.
This is why I stopped participating in CM years ago. Whatever its intentions, the CM "message" has been utterly usurped by the law enforcement spectacle that ensues (nearly) every month. It seems to me that CM doesn't increase awareness or tolerance for cyclists; it just breeds contempt. Drivers - our friends and neighbors - are undeservedly inconvenienced for simply trying to get home after a long workweek. Riders openly flout the law and the cops all too gladly respond with whatever force they determine to be necessary -- and then we cry foul. WTF? Why do you suppose there have been no arrests or issues with the Thursday Social Rides? Could it be because we stop at intersections? Maybe?
I want to support CM, like I support the vast majority of local cycling advocacy efforts, but frankly, I find it juvenile and embarrassing. Maybe it's time to re-evaluate both the mission and the method.
Really, there's no `law enforcement spectacle that ensues (nearly) every month'. At least not in Austin. Over the last year or so, a few tickets have been written, a few arrests, but most rides end up with no police involvement whatsoever.
This month was something new, however. In the past, when people did get a ticket, they got ticketed for something they did -- usually running a red light in plain view of a cop, perhaps not having lights. And when they got arrested, they were arrested for corking -- and they were caught doing it.
But this month, two people were arrested for obstructing traffic -- and they weren't corking. According to all reports I've heard, Talib was just riding along (not even in an intersection) and Richard stopped to help somebody who fell when the police singled them out. (I did not see either case, so I don't know for sure.)
If the police are claiming that simply riding as a part of a large group is OBSTRUCTING TRAFFIC and therefore illegal, well, they'll probably be coming after the Thursday ride next. (And perhaps the guy simply riding to work in the right lane the next day.) And if they're just picking people at random, people who aren't even breaking the law -- then by all mean, it's time to cry foul. I guess we don't know what they're doing yet.
And don't go preaching about how law-abiding the Thursday ride is. Sure, the ride leaders may now be stopping at red lights, but they weren't always. And when the light turns red in the middle of the pack, the pack usually keeps going (not always, but usually.) I've not noticed a whole lot of stopping at stop signs by anybody. And I've even seen a little corking being done (not sure why, but it's been done.) And just like Critical Mass (and most other large rides) `No more than two abreast' is flaunted.
In their defense, the leaders have been pretty serious about getting people to stick to one lane, and they usually do stop at red lights (the leaders do -- the followers may not.) They're doing a better job than the Critical Mass about obeying the law, but plenty of laws are being broken there too. I imagine that they're trying to break it up into smaller groups to avoid some of these issues, but laws will still be broken. They want to distance the ride from Critical Mass -- but most of Critical Mass's issues come from it's large size rather than `being made up of anarchists'.)
(Also in their favor is that the ride is later in the day, on a day with less traffic, and shorter. And they don't have a reputation of being anarchists (they have a reputation of being hipsters instead!) So it's not surprising that they've had fewer brushes with the law.)
Also, Critical Mass (at least in Austin) has changed considerably in just the last year or so. It's more friendly, less confrontational. It may not be the ride you remember.
You're right - it's been awhile since I've ridden CM. However, to say in its defense that "over the last year or so, a few tickets have been written, a few arrests [made]" is damning by faint praise.
You offer that the Thursday ride is probably less eventful because it's "later in the day, on a day with less traffic, and shorter. And they don't have a reputation of being anarchists." Perhaps these are ideas that the CM organizers should look into.
I don't condone or excuse the way the police acted. I don't consider the Thursday ride to be perfect; I only brought it up because of the recent entry here celebrating its clean police record: http://www.atxbs.com/?q=node/2128.
I'm not "preaching," and I'm not "holier" than anyone. My one and only point is that CM is overdue for a re-evaluation of its mission and its methods. I'm sorry if you don't agree or if that offends you. Clearly, APD needs to re-evaluate its methods as well.
My comment about `a few tickets, a few arrests' wasn't praising Critical Mass. I was disagreeing with your assertion about the law enforcement spectacle. For the most part, law enforcement has left the ride alone.
Hell, the CCRCC club's B-ride got more tickets in one day than Austin's CM has gotten in one day in a long time.
CM is supposed to be visible, `in your face'. That's good, and that's bad -- but it's reality. And with no real leadership, making changes is difficult. The way people behave during the ride changes over time as people come and go, as people learn from each other -- that you can change, but the starting time and place -- that's harder to change.
It would be easier to just start a new ride. And I imagine that's sort of where the Thursday ride came from -- I haven't talked to them about it, but I imagine Brooks and Keith and others were looking at CM, the Full Moon rides and other rides and trying to take a bit from each, come up with something better. And perhaps they succeeded -- but the original rides are certainly still there.
CM isn't going away. In the last 18 months that I've been aware of it, it's grown considerably in Austin. (It's shrunk somewhat over the summer, but perhaps that's just due to the students being gone? It could also be because of the Thursday ride, however.)
If the police crack down on it, it's not clear what effect that will have. In the early 90s, that made it grow in size. In 2009, things might be different. Or more of the same.
In any event, while the starting time and place are difficult to change, the actual ride is more flexible. It's lead by whomever is in front, so if you want to make a change, get up front and lead people somewhere/somehow else. The way to change it is to join it, and do what you think everybody should do (even if you're not in the front.) With some charisma and some luck, things can be changed.
I concur with pretty much everything you've written here. With no real leadership other than the whims of whomever is at the front of the pack, and with the participation of such a vast array of people with so many disparate agendas and methods of achieving them, CM is a difficult herd of cats to corral. Perhaps it's too optimistic of me to advocate for a change in the "in your face" attitude and the anarchistic reputation CM has cultivated as a result. It is what it is.
At the heart of the matter, I question the wisdom of one aggressive group (CM) baiting, whether intentionally or otherwise, another aggressive group (cops), when the former has so much more to lose than the latter, and the latter has so much more organizational and legal leverage than the former. That's why I quit attending in the first place. If I were to rejoin CM, as you suggest, I'd be tacitly condoning the very behavior I decry, and only providing another target for the anti-bike faction, both uniformed and civilian. To me, that's counter-productive to the greater cause.
Your point, however, is well taken.
your fixie has to have operable brakes or fez can right you a ticket for it.
Look man. How can someone raise bicycle safety and awareness, by running every red light and stop sign, and taking it upon themselves to direct traffic? If you don't like the run in's you're having with cops, stop doing what you're doing. Period.
Cops get paid for what they are willing to do for you, which includes going after the 1 percent of the population that no one wants to deal with. And they do. They also have the task of enforcing laws that folks (good folks too) break. Fact is, drivers are becoming so enraged with the CM rides that they are threatening to drive right through it, or get out and take the law into their own hands. For breaking the law, and for your protection, you go to jail. And if you choose not to stop for a cop telling you to stop, you either deserve what you get, or you need to put brakes that actually work on your fixie.
I ride with you guys and I stop at the lights, always. I see the altercations and feel that your rants are immature. Cops do what they love; write tickets and take folks to jail. Surprise. Get this: At rush hour, Mistric writes tickets to cars and trucks running the lights, no seat belts, expired tags and stuff. I've even seen him write a guy for not yielding to oncoming traffic (...which was a bicycle). Maybe when the all the motorists call about 300 cyclists holding up traffic, you might become a target for just a few. Ya think?
On safety and awareness, you have my support, but on the way you go about it...you've got to be kidding me.
Sec. 42.03. OBSTRUCTING HIGHWAY OR OTHER PASSAGEWAY. (a) A person commits an offense if, without legal privilege or authority, he intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly:
(1) obstructs a highway, street, sidewalk, railway, waterway, elevator, aisle, hallway, entrance, or exit to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access, or any other place used for the passage of persons, vehicles, or conveyances, regardless of the means of creating the obstruction and whether the obstruction arises from his acts alone or from his acts and the acts of others; or
(2) disobeys a reasonable request or order to move issued by a person the actor knows to be or is informed is a peace officer, a fireman, or a person with authority to control the use of the premises:
(A) to prevent obstruction of a highway or any of those areas mentioned in Subdivision (1); or
(B) to maintain public safety by dispersing those gathered in dangerous proximity to a fire, riot, or other hazard.
(b) For purposes of this section, "obstruct" means to render impassable or to render passage unreasonably inconvenient or hazardous.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
in these sections, "or" means: if either of the definitions or situations fit the circumstances. if you render the street impassable, it fits.
as proven by the dozens of cyclists passing through the intersection!
I'd like to make a citizen's arrest of all the cars that obstruct my traffic when I'm trying to get home from work.
Jesus Christ.
I witnessed the chase but not the tackle through 5th/Congress intersection from the south curb on 5th.
The police will reason in court that the entire mass of cyclists was obstructing traffic on Congress. It obviously doesn't take corking to obstruct traffic.
... they will lose. I don't think the police or the DA are foolish enough to try that. But we'll see. If Talib decides to fight this (and the charges aren't dropped or lowered greatly), hopefully a good lawyer can be found.
A few comments, however ...
-- The police helicopter flew near the mass a few times during the ride. They weren't following as closely as they did that one month, but they were around, several times. It originally seemed like it was just a coincidence, but perhaps not?
-- Again, it all goes down on Congress. From Talib's thoughts, it sounds like they picked a place to be ready to go and then pounced when the mass took the guessed-at route?
It would seem that the mass is too predictable. It almost always goes to the Capitol, via Congress, so they just have to be ready on Congress. And now, it sounds like actual lawbreaking isn't needed for the police to go into action anymore -- they'll just pick somebody if they don't see a corker when they want to grab somebody.
Part of the solution would seem to be to not take Congress. If the mass wants to go to the capitol, take another route.
-- Seems like more video is needed of the actual ride. The best defense against trumped up or entirely fictional charges is video, and you never know when you'll need that video, so the more time spent recording, the better.
Mass is too predictable, but only with regard to our stop at the capitol - we've been mixing it up a lot lately with excursions north, and to the east side (which is always fun) and down south. I'd say lets focus on going places we don't normally go, and if the capitol stop happens, lets approach from a different direction. Going downtown seems to always result in police altercations lately, and we all want less of that.
I was cycling to a destination, stopping at lights, and travelling in the right-hand lane. I WAS traffic. If they go after us for obstructing traffic, I want them to ticket every car that doesn't make it through the light and hangs in the intersection during rush hour. That's much more of an obstruction than a cyclist.
Yes THIS! MLK at Congress and 15th and Congress, every frickin afternoon on my way home. Ridiculous!