Cop Knocks Over Ctitical Mass Rider In Central Square?
Written by Boston Biker on Aug 30Is this going to be another incident like the one in New York? (to be clear I wasn’t at this ride, and am getting this all second hand, all parties innocent till proven etc etc.) This all went down Friday Aug 27th sometimes around 6 or 7 pm in central square.
From the BCM mailing list
A bicyclist by the name of *name removed* was assaulted by a Cambridge police officer, Raymond Pina, Badge CPD 567, in almost the exact same manner as the infamous NYC Critical Mass incident. Unfortunately, we do not currently know of anyone who caught it on film, so please spread the word and hopefully we can find someone who managed to record it. We have film of the aftermath, we have about seven eye witnesses, and hopefully we can take advantage of any nearby surveillance cameras (one of which we saw looked to be aimed directly down at the intersection near the incident). We plan to call the ACLU for legal advice as well.
For those of you who were not there to witness it, Pina was in the middle of the road, trying to knock over passing cyclists who were all doing their best to avoid him. After a few failed attempts, Pina lunged towards *name removed*, grabbed him, and threw him to the ground. *name removed* was in the bike lane, had not personally been in the way of any traffic, and had not even reached the intersection and could not have run the red light. The ticket was filed for either “Bicycle operating to endanger” or “Bicycle leaving the scene of an accident” but there were no nearby pedestrians, and *name removed* along with all other bicyclists did their best to avoid contact with the officer. There was a clear effort to attack one of the passing cyclists.
Please stand by while we wait for the court date, and please ask around for anyone who might possibly have the incident on video. It is also up to the cyclist to decide where he wants to take this. We will send another update when what video we have goes online.
In case you forgot here is the video from the New York incident that got this cop in trouble (although he was later not given any punishment, the cyclist did get 65,000 in cash from the city).
anybody get video or more info on the incident in Cambridge?
EDIT:more from the mailing list…this is from the cyclist that got tackled.
Hi Everybody- Sorry for the delayed response, but I have been spending some time getting my thoughts together about the incident during the ride. I would like to be completely upfront about the events that occurred, and I would appreciate any advice you would like to offer.I was riding down Mass ave in the bike lane, about 30 feet before the Central Square intersection. As I understand it, other riders were blocking the intersection; I do not know whether the light was green or red. Officer Pina was standing in the roadway, yelling at passing cyclists to stop and lunging back and forth as people passed him. I was unable to dodge his lunges, and he tackled me to the ground. Fortunately I was wearing a helmet.
I sustained two minor superficial injuries to my right arm and leg.Following the tackle, he yelled at me to get on to the sidewalk and asked why I did not stop. I was shaken up from the incident and decided not to answer. Officer Pina called for backup and I had no further interactions with any of the officers until he handed me a $20 ticket, presumably for “Operating to Endanger” (though the ticket is poorly filled out and vague).
Other issues with the ticket include:
The address indicates that the incident occurred right in the intersection, when it in fact occurred well before it.
My old address is listed, as he failed to note my updated address on the back of my license.
The officer neglected to have me sign the ticket acknowledging receipt.
Needless to say, I will be appealing the ticket.I spoke briefly with Sgt. Joe Keough who said he was unable to comment as he was not there. He said I should appeal the ticket. I would like to thank Dave and the guy with the video camera (sorry, I forgot your name) as well as the other cyclists who stopped. Your support went a long way, and I believe it strongly influenced the Sgt. as well as the other officers to de-escalate the situation away from an arrest.
As for further actions, I am conflicted: On the one hand, I have only been cycling regularly for 3 months, and this was my first Critical Mass ride. While I believe that both Boston and Cambridge would benefit from more bike lanes, I am not overly passionate about this cause. Further, I have no desire for the publicity this would involve
specifically because I am in the process of applying to Medical Schools, and I worry that a Google search of my name could scare off admissions committees. Lastly, I know in my heart that I made the decision to avoid the officer rather than coming to a stop as he had requested. On the other hand, this officer had no reason to stop me in the first place: I was operating my bicycle appropriately. Further, throwing me to the ground could have caused serious injuries.As for further actions, I will be appealing the ticket. I have called the Cambridge Police Department, and I was told I should be able to pickup a copy of the officer’s report from the Records Department on Monday. I have not decided whether I want to file a complaint, but I am pretty sure any attempt at a lawsuit would be a waste of time and money. Even if I did file a complaint, I would be faced with the fact that the officer demanded I stop and I failed to do so. Even though the stop was unmerited, this will still reflect poorly on me and the officer’s actions may be deemed justified. This single fact may make the difference between yesterday and the NYC incident.
Another option would be some sort of negotiation with CPD. I think the other other officers realized that Pina made a very bad decision to do what he did, and I think that a threat of a complaint may be a good negotiating tool. Are there any concessions we should ask for from the city/PD that would benefit cyclists? Does anybody have any contacts in the Cambridge government or PD? Know any lawyers who could offer advice?
I have written this email as honestly as I could, and I know parts of it are selfish but that is the situation as I see it. I look forward to your responses.
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By ben on Aug 30, 2010 | Reply
The officer is clearly in the wrong in this situation. If we, as cyclists, stopped engaging in the misguided, counter-productive event that is Critical Mass, though, we wouldn’t be faced with nearly so many instances such as this.
CM is purposefully antagonistic, and participating in it is in-and-of-itself a show of support for the illegal, ineffectual, and often incendiary actions of the group. Unfortunately, that carries with it an inherent risk of an overblown response from motorists, cops, or both.
Acts such as Officer Pina’s are never justified, but I think Critical Massers should allow for some introspection over whether their actions might precipitate such events, and if the perceived payoff (whatever it may be) is worth — or perhaps even responsible for — the (increasingly predictable) ramifications.
By i love espresso on Aug 30, 2010 | Reply
i believe Andrew Fischer (of Brookline? not sure) specializes in bicycle-related cases. I think you can google his name or check on the Bay State Bicycling Google group list, he posts there frequently. I hope you are ok, how frightening. Good luck.
By GoRideABike on Aug 30, 2010 | Reply
CM is a bunch of aholes and gives cyclists a bad rep.
By gmook on Aug 30, 2010 | Reply
CM is a Parade, not a protest. Hasn’t always been this way though, but it sure feel that way now!
I saw some kids on the ride on Friday, around 12 years old. Purple bikes, helmets. Parents along for the ride too. And a couple on a tandem. Also, a pedicabber joined for some of the route.
Anyone who says “___ is a bunch of assholes” generalizes and glosses over the real issue.
“Daily car commuters are a bunch of assholes and give all drivers a bad rep.”
I’ve also seen BMX riders do tricks off car hoods during the ride. Not that all BMX riders are a bunch of assholes or anything.
Thanks for your patience! Happy Friday!
By Supermark on Aug 30, 2010 | Reply
@gmook-
“I’ve also seen BMX riders TRY TO do tricks off car hoods during the ride.”
Fixed that for you. I was on that ride. The kid who tried it failed miserably and ate shit. Everyone laughed at him when he fell down and nobody stopped to help him like we do for riders that aren’t being assholes.
By Steve H on Aug 30, 2010 | Reply
@GoRideABike: I’m a daily bike commuter (4+ years of daily commutes) and a recreational road cyclist. I’ve enjoyed a number of Critical Mass Rides in the past. I assure you that I’m a nice, generous, compassionate individual; decidedly not an ahole.
@ben: I don’t agree that Critical Mass rides are inherently counter-productive. In fact, I actually believe that a group of cyclists coming together to ride is an excellent activity that has many potential benefits, in my opinion.
By murph on Aug 30, 2010 | Reply
Avid cyclist here…..
Though I do not condone the actions of the officer, I am not fond of CM rides. I find them counter-productive in that all that they accomplish is to piss off everybody else using the road. The last thing I want is some pissed off motorist (and rightly pissed off) taking it out on me while I’m riding elsewhere. The smug attitude doesn’t help your cause at all.
I want everything possible to be done to make cycling a better experience in the city, and that requires having a good image. CM rides do not present a good image and can only harm any effort to help cycling.
Glad the cyclist is alright, and he seems to have a pretty level head about things.
Just my 2 cents
By Docbarber on Aug 30, 2010 | Reply
Critical mass doesn’t seem very productive from the standpoint of improving the cultural acceptance of cycling as a viable means of mass transportation in America. I’ve got years of experience as a bike courier, bike racer, and bike commuter with office job. I think Critical mass should be broken down into much smaller, well organized rides that would start from one hundred different locations across Boston/Cambridge/Somerville on a given night, and converge in one place, for a party that would be inclusive to non cyclists- i.e., charity BBQ on Boston Common or something. You could get 10-20 riders per location to ride in a double paceline, following the accepted rules of group riding which result in an impressive display of speed, control, and fun. This meandering herd of riders whose attitude ranges from well meaning to self righteous is probably not advancing the cause in real, objective terms. The line between fear/hatred and respect can be very thin, but very staunchly defended. The experience of riding a bike on the street will improve as the mutual respect between drivers and cyclists increases. Fact.
By Marianna on Aug 31, 2010 | Reply
^Agree! The Ride of Silence this year essentially fit that bill, and actually got support from peds and drivers. I think showing how we CAN coexist makes a better impression than taking turns squishing others out.
By Fenway on Aug 31, 2010 | Reply
I’ve run into CM 4 times in the past couple of years and ever single time they’ve managed to make me hate them. I can only imagine the damage they are doing to relations with the general public.
The first was on my bicycle at night on Huntington Ave. Having a large loud group blow through a red light and cut in front of me wasn’t too cool. Neither was a guy on a tall bike throwing a soda can in my direction yelling “JOIN US!”
The second was in a car as a passenger. It was awful to have a group ride past banging the sides of the car and making rude gestures at the driver.
The last two were as a pedestrian trying to cross Vassar Street in Cambridge. With the signal in the crosswalk the group either held up all the pedestrians, or in one of the cases struck me and then proceeded to harass me as I tried to stand back up.
CM strikes me as having the same spoiled brat confrontational attitude that big truck and SUV drivers have with everyone else trying to use the streets. I hate both groups with a passion for this.