Willamette Week | News| Urban Pulse

When 18 bicyclists were jailed the day after Thanksgiving, they may not have drawn much sympathy from the car-driving masses--particularly given the media reports that the cyclists snarled traffic for two hours and blocked a fire truck. But a closer look at the facts shows that if anyone played the role of Scrooge, it was the cops. In an unprecedented move, they detained the cyclists for hours and seized their bikes as evidence.

The arrests were the latest takedown in a five-year wrestling match between police and the cyclists who ride as part of a monthly event known as Critical Mass. As in previous confrontations, the police cracked down. In this case, though, they treated the riders more harshly than usual.

Since 1993, cyclists in many cities have gathered on the last Friday of every month for a group bike ride, often through downtown rush-hour traffic. The idea behind Critical Mass is to bring together enough riders so that drivers are forced to notice them and share the road. The goal is to give added visibility to an alternative form of transportation. The monthly rides draw a variety of cyclists, from militant car haters to weekend enthusiasts.

In the past, particularly in the early years of Critical Mass, some of the Portland cyclists were aggressive, running red lights right in front of police officers, harassing drivers and in one case blocking the entrance to I-84. Police responded by handing out hefty tickets for each and every infraction they could.

For the past two years, however, most of the rides have gone smoothly, with no police involvement. "We were pretty much trained to ride the way they wanted us to ride," says longtime participant Fred Nemo.

Last month, however, things got nasty. A group of about 80 riders began their trek toward Pioneer Square for the Christmas-tree lighting around 6:30 pm. The riders interviewed by WW claim to have had no ill intent."It was the fun place to be at the time," says rider Sara Stout. "We were going down there to make a circle around the Christmas tree. It's not like a real major threat to society."

The police thought otherwise. Armed with video cameras, the cops caught the riders making an illegal left turn onto Broadway and running red lights. "When folks make a choice and break the law, oftentimes there's a consequence to that," Lt. Greg Hendricks said.

At about 7 pm, officers stopped the riders and "arrested anybody they could get their hands on," according to Barbara Holisky, a 44-year-old CPA, school teacher and first-time Critical Mass rider. The cyclists were charged with disorderly conduct.

Although some of the riders clearly thumbed their noses at the cops by deliberately violating traffic laws, it's hard to see how they committed any serious crimes. The cyclists didn't block traffic for hours, as The Oregonian reported. In fact, even the police concede that downtown streets were clogged long before the bikers arrived. Furthermore, in an interview with WW, Hendricks backed away from his earlier statement that the cyclists had blocked a fire truck.

What is clear is that in two respects the police treated the cyclists differently than others accused of similar offenses.

First, police usually give misdemeanor suspects a citation instead of arresting them. In this case, the 18 were handcuffed and herded onto a Tri-Met bus, which had been waiting since 9 am in case there were group arrests of participants in Critical Mass or two downtown protests. They were booked into jail and finally released around 3 am.

"They made a choice to treat the defendants more harshly than they could have," says Stuart Sugarman, a lawyer who is coordinating pro-bono legal defense for the 18.

Hendricks says officers followed normal procedures for mass arrests.

Second, the cops seized the bicycles as evidence rather than taking them as prisoner property. Prisoners can retrieve their property as soon as they are released from jail, but evidence is normally held until trial. In this case, a deputy district attorney allowed the bikes to be released after about a week.

Sugarman says the police appear to be treating Critical Mass as an act of civil disobedience. "In civil disobedience, the cops in my experience try to disrupt the lives of the defendants as much as possible," he said. "They know these people who are challenging the status quo and rely on their bicycles will be hurt if their bicycles are confiscated."

Those arrested are scheduled to be arraigned beginning Dec. 17, but one defense lawyer not associated with the case says the charges probably won't stick. "We've seen instances in the past where people have gotten arrested for quasi protests," says Garrett Richardson, a lawyer with Multnomah Defenders. "When they got to arraignment court, the charges were usually dropped down to violations so the people wouldn't have a right to go before a jury."

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Willamette Week | originally published December 9, 1998