Washington, DC: Riding A Bike Is Not A Crime
Submitted by Reverend Chuck0:Riding A Bike Is Not A Crime
by Miles Swanson
2:45am Tue Apr 8 '03
miles@swanson.com
DC CODE § 50-1601 states:
"The Council of the District of Columbia finds that:
(1) Increased use of bicycles for transportation
and recreation will result in improved air quality,
reduced levels of noise and traffic congestion,
greater energy conservation, lower transportation costs,
fewer parking problems, and increased physical fitness."
It seems that the Chief Ramsey does not agree with
the findings of the DC City Council. Early Monday evening,
police, perhaps taking a cue from their Oakland brethren,
continued their policy of what seems to be an ever
increasing use of verbal harassment, physical force,and
carefully calculated tactics exercised to disrupt and
deny Critical Mass riders of their right to peacefully
and lawfully ride on the streets of Washington, DC.
The culmination of these unjust actions was the
illegal search of riders’ bags, the confiscation
and damage to riders' bikes, and the unlawful
arrest of one rider under the guise of assaulting
a police officer.
From the outset of the Monday’s ride,
bicyclers tried to obey police orders by keeping
to the right and in one lane, obeying traffic
signals and making the proper turning gestures.
Riders were consistently prevented from doing
so by police officers who took every opportunity to verbally harass individuals and assault riders,
using their motorcycles to broadside moving
bicyclers. Police drove their motorcycles
ahead of bicyclers and then suddenly stopped,
throwing riders off balance and in some cases
off their bikes entirely. In one instance, a
police officer on a motorcycle forced a moving
bicycler into the path of a parked car, leaving
the rider little time to avoid a serious accident.
Often, police would let some riders through a light,
only to stop the rest leaving the group splintered
and disrupted. Some officers even took it upon
themselves to single certain bicyclers out by
isolating them and then preventing them from
joining the rest of the riders.
Although not having your bike registered
is prohibited by DC Code, it is hardly ever enforced.
Police officers used this as pretext to rip riders
from their bikes in order to check for proper
compliance. The end result was one rider’s
bike taken from her while police made derogatory
and misogynistic comments and another rider being
assaulted by several officers, thrown to the ground,
and then put in handcuffs. He was charged with
assaulting a police officer and every witness can
attest that he did nothing to justify such action.
From now on bicyclists and especially
Critical Mass riders should keep their bikes
registered to avoidharassment by the police
and prevent the confiscation of your bicycle.
It takes one minute and one dollar at most
any police station or fire station. Riders
should also write and complain to city council
members and the DC Bicycle Advisory Council, http://ddot.dc.gov/information/bicycle/bicycle_program_bac.shtm). As well, riders should familiarize
themselves with relevant DC Code ://ddot.dc.gov/information/bicycle/bicycle_regulations.shtm) to prevent future police abuse. For example,
helmet laws only apply to those 16 years or younger,
it is ok to ride safely on the sidewalk in the
majority of DC unless posted otherwise, and,
whether the police like it or not, OPERATORS OF BICYCLES HAVE THE SAME RIGHT AS OPERATORS OF MOTOR VEHICLES (DC Bicycle Regulations § 1200.3).
Miles Swanson
National Lawyers Guild
www.civil-rights.net
www.nlg.org
http://dc.indy
media.org/front.php3?article_id=63100&group=webcast
