Posted on 08/09/2009 9:21:20 AM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
OGDEN -- Was it a friendly group bicycle ride through downtown Ogden or a confrontational melee that included obstructing traffic, assault, obscenities and alcohol?
Depends on who you talk to.
Numbers vary from 35 to 70, but a large group of cyclists, referred to as Critical Mass, was taking a monthly ride to celebrate cycling and assert their rights to the road on Friday when Ogden police say things got out of hand. Four individuals were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, failure to disperse and public intoxication.
Matt Hasenyager, owner of Skyline Cycle and one of the bicyclists, said the group was obeying traffic laws and having fun.
However, police reports indicate some were hostile, disrupted traffic flow, yelled obscenities and made gestures at motorists while intoxicated.
The trouble started at the intersection of 23rd Street and Grant Avenue when a woman motorist stopped at a red light and was suddenly surrounded by bicyclists. When the light turned green, she was unable to pull forward and honked her horn.
Cyclists responded by yelling obscenities and someone threw a cup of soda pop and hit the woman in the face, the police report said. When she pulled forward, her vehicle bumped one of the bicycles, causing minor damage to the fender and wheel. Then she called police.
"They demanded she be arrested for aggravated assault, but it wasn't intentional," said Ogden Lt. Mike Ashment. "The woman didn't want to pursue anything."
The group continued its ride to 24th Street and Lincoln Avenue, where two individuals halted traffic, entered the intersection and began escorting the other riders through even though the light was red, according to the police report. Angry motorists were forced to maneuver around the pair and more gestures were made and obscenities yelled, Ashment said.
The scene was observed by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper and Weber County deputy who were assisting the Ogden City gang unit for the weekend. They arrived and instructed the two cyclists to leave the intersection and talk with them. One complied, but the other pedaled away after the group.
Deputy Trevor Petersen pursued the individual, eventually tackling him off his bike. Petersen's actions surprised the group, which then surrounded him. He ordered them to move away and called for backup, the report said. Eventually more than six officers arrived to help disperse the irate crowd.
Four individuals were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, failure to disperse and public intoxication. They are Samuel Mc-Kay, 26; Sara Fulks, 33; Donald Hall, 61; and KC Shirra, 19. A 12-pack of beer was located in Fulks' backpack.
It was a bizarre scene, trooper Chris Turley said.
"I have never encountered something like this. Usually people are very law abiding, but the crowd was very hostile. Many were intoxicated and smelled of alcohol," Turley said. "It was unusual behavior."
Hasenyager was riding with the group and recalls the scene as one of chaos and confusion. He said his friend that was tackled didn't know the deputy wanted him to stop.
"It was hard to know who he (the deputy) was talking to when he said 'Stop sir, stop.' There 30 of us," Hasenyager said. "I don't think the police department as a whole was out of line, but this individual (the deputy) could have handled it in a different fashion. If it had been handled differently, without physical force, I wouldn't be talking about it right now. Maybe tickets could have been written."
According to several Web sites, Critical Mass is a bicycling event typically held on the last Friday of every month in hundreds of cities around the world. The ride was originally founded in 1992 in San Francisco with the idea of drawing attention to how unfriendly the city was to cyclists. Participants have insisted that these events should be viewed as "celebrations" and spontaneous gatherings, and not as protests or organized demonstrations.
Ashment and Lt. Scott Conley both find it odd that the group is out promoting fun and bicycle awareness, yet failing to comply with traffic rules and other laws.
"It doesn't jive," Ashment said.
"Why are they so confrontational with public? Why do they have alcohol in their backpacks? From what I am being told, they were they individuals escalating the situation," Conley said.
Hasenyager didn't see the incident at 23rd and Grant, but said has heard several different versions of what happened. He said it was heartbreaking to see this all happen, but the bottom line, he said, is that Ogden is an outdoor hot spot.
"The best we can do now is move this in a positive direction, learn a valuable lesson and move forward, and be better because of it."
“Please understand that Critical Mass is not supported by the majority of serious cyclists. Don’t paint us with that brush. Critical Mass is to cycling as Bill Ayers is to civil politics. These people are nihilists.”
Absolutely right. They are a gang of violent and arrogant bullies.
They are required to have the same lighting as a motorcycle when ridden at night in almost every municipality in the US.
Next?
Every time someone can’t relax for 30 seconds and instead gets their panties in a wad because a few of their fellow citizens are enjoying themselves a SEIU member gets a t-shirt.
car vs. 18 wheeler... 18 wheeler always wins.
I say remove cars from the highways...
“The guy was drunk was his point. And he murdered people.”
And your point is?
Doesn’t matter. It is still one hell of an illustration of what happens when a car takes on bikes. Bikes lose.
I would never ride a bike on a public highway now, too easy to get bumped’’ by an oh so sorry moterist. I grew up on hwy. 50 in Ill. We would ride facing on coming trafic and get of the road when we seen trafic coming. Also I noticed when the fitness crowd took up jogging, they jog along or on a street or Hwy. Pure suicide IMO, just asking to be hit by a car.
No they aren’t. Bicycles just have to have a light, not the high power light lights required on a motorcycle. They aren’t required to pass a safety inspection or have a license plate or registration.
Nor are they required to yield to traffic. People obstruct the flow of traffic with these toys. It isn’t allowed with any other toy and shouldn’t be allowed with these toys.
So what exactly should cyclists do to protect themselves from people breaking the law. Several laws in this case as the guy had to drive through barricades to hit them?
“car vs. 18 wheeler... 18 wheeler always wins.
I say remove cars from the highways...”
When did I say remove ANYBODY from the highways?
I merely disagreed with a post that said the picture shouldn’t be shown.
I say everyone who rides bikes in a group should see it.
Doesn’t matter who is right and who is wrong, being in a big mass won’t make you invincible.
No, the commute would be a lot faster. Drivers wouldn't be slowed down to 10mph because a biker is taking too much room and with on coming traffic you can't go around the obstacle. Traffic patterns at intersections would be better because you wouldn't have bikers running lights, or stop signs.
I asked a friend who is a biker why bikers don't follow the rules of the road at intersections. His response was, "because we would never get anywhere if we stopped with traffic". Every year there are 5-6 bikers killed in Chicago. It's not a good activity in a large urban environment. Bikers should go back to the suburbs.
We all saw this one coming. These are anarchists more than cyclists
“So what exactly should cyclists do to protect themselves from people breaking the law.”
Damned if I know.
But they shouldn’t be out there inciting violence against them from motorists, as this group of morons “critical Mass” does. It is just stupid. As you can see from the picture, if a car goes into a gaggle of bikes, people die.
Single Speed, baby!
you sure you’re conservative?
BTW, how long have you been here?
you don’t...
Just like you can’t protect yourself from the drunk driver that runs the red light and slams into a family in a mini-van...
it is the risk we all take when we drive on the roads... no matter what vehicle we are driving/riding.
“We all saw this one coming. These are anarchists more than cyclists”
Exactly. They’re the same thing to cycling that Tim McVeigh was to gun rights.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.