2 arrests, one citation at Berkeley Critical Mass bicycle ride

[Photos to come, video exists]

What are we going to do?

Hi all,

Well at least they were smiling...

For those who missed the ride, the police tried their new tactic of passing out \"safety\" information at the beginning, as if handing out American Automobile
Association misinformation that they don\'t follow
themselves, gives them the right to commit selective enforcement and brutalize us...

Immediately after leaving Constitution Plaza, the police ticketed a nice fellow rider (for a red light violation?).

Our response was very good, we filled the street and blasted \"War Pigs\" on the sound system, which seemed outrageously appropriate. Dancing, singing, laughing ensued (for me at least!). The ride stopped and the police spectacle began, holding up traffic as their motor system prefers.

Police laid off for a while, until we had made a circuit through Telegraph and parts of Downtown. Then one rider (one of the few people of color on the ride) was targeted. He was jumped by police who caused a great deal of surprise and knocked other riders around in the process of arresting him for \"failure to yield to a police officer\". In the process of rushing him out of there, they grabbed and yanked and pushed a number of riders, at least one rider was injured and one bicycle/trailer was damaged. One rider was smashed up against
a restaurant\'s window by police, surprising diners.

The ride then went to the Public [Un]Safety Building to hold a brief demonstration, then on to the party (8th birthday of the Infoshop radical reading room).

But before we made it there, yet another rider was targeted by the forces of darkness. He was also chased down and surrounded by officers. In their ferver to take the rider down, one motorcycle officer evidently spilled his motorcycle and another one fell flat on the asphalt. Another yanked his shirt.

I do not know why police selectively targeted these men over other riders, not to mention other drivers (there is a critical mass of cars every day, all day. The bicycle critical mass is a short event in one small part of the city on a Friday night once a month).

When do police use this type of vicious behavior against motorists? Why did they choose these three individuals out of a group of up to one hundred? The first arrested was one of the few people of color on the ride. Police have a long history of targeting people of color at Critical Mass rides.

The police also used severe noise pollution as a weapon against the demonstrators. Even police officers were holding their ears as their piercing sirens were blasted in concert at close range.

What did these riders do that was special? One wonders. But I do know that when they pull over motorists, they use a lot fewer cops and give a lot longer for the person to pull over (and are a lot more clear about it), and use much less force.

Many riders associated the new problems with our latest problem officer, Offcr. Meredith, BPD #102, who was mounted on a \"traffic detail\" Harley.

Last month, Meredith nearly struck a number of riders while blasting through them along parked cars on Dwight Way. When asked (on video) if he really had to be that dangerous, he justified his aggressive behavior by saying, \"They\'re riding on the left illegally, they have to be on the right.\"
When corrected that under CVC 21202(b), bicyclists have the right to ride \"as close as practicable\" to the left-hand side of a two-or-more-lane one-way street, he seemed a bit dumbstruck. When asked if he was a traffic officer he said yes. He refused to admit that he needed to learn bicycle rights. He could not explain the left-hand-side bike lane on Dana which we encountered soon thereafter.

But let us not pin the blame on one officer alone.

That devil worshiping *ROCK*AND*ROLL* may in fact be the villain here as others speculated that this latest police misbehavior was spurned by testosterone-raising Hard Rock Musicisms, as AC/DC and Black Sabbath were the featured theme music. \"If we\'d played reggae, they never woulda done all that.\" (Of course riders are always welcome to bring music to offer for play, or to bring their own sound system(s)). If only Tipper Gore were here to bring balance back to our democracy.

Walking and riding bicycles is a peaceful and benign act which benefits everyone.

Yet the situation in Berkeley makes one think that they want to run non-drivers out of town (and indeed, many are actually run down).

Not only are bicycling issues closely aligned with those of pedestrians and people with disabilities, all of whom are endangered by motorcar abuses everyday, and all of whom are groups which are also asking for improvements. Many motorists also wish that aggressive drivers and poor roadway designs and conditions would be given more priority by the City.

When will the City begin to make even the simplest
changes to ameliorate the most glaring of problems?

SO WHAT NEXT?

>
> WHAT: Berkeley Critical Mass dinner and meeting
> Watch videos, eat tasty vegan food, talk about
> what\'s next for Berkeley Critical Mass and
> radical bicycle advocacy in Berkeley
>
> WHEN: Sunday August 19, meeting at 7 PM
> Dinner at 7:30 PM
> Chill and brainstorm from 6 PM to 7:00 PM
> Help cook dinner if you like, at 6 PM
>
> WHERE: Long Haul/Infoshop
> 3124 Shattuck Avenue
> Cross street is Woolsey, 2 block south of Berkeley BART
>