Critical Mass
Streetsblog LA
Rider Report from Last Week’s LAPD/LACM Confrontation: It Was All Bad News
Responding to a tweet asking for any first hand accounts, John Clark sent along the following first hand Rider Report from last Friday's Critical Mass. It's interesting to see what someone in the ride, not involved first hand in any confrontation with the LAPD thought of what was happening as it was happening.
June 2, 2010
Hollywood LAPD Misses the Memo; Caught on Tape Brutalizing Cyclists
(In addition to a great report by Jeremy Grant, Bikeside has a list of things that you can do to make certain that justice is served in this case. Including a "Storm the Bastille" ride to this week's meeting of the Bike Advisory Committee)
May 31, 2010
NYPD Cop Who Tackled CM Cyclist Guilty of Cover-Up, Not Guilty of Assault
The Post reports that the jury has reached a mixed verdict in the trial of Patrick Pogan, the ex-NYPD officer who was seen by millions of YouTube viewers slamming his shoulder into approaching cyclist Christopher Long during a 2008 Critical Mass ride, sending Long to the pavement. Pogan was found guilty of falsifying records when … Continued
April 30, 2010
A Brief History of San Francisco Critical Mass
(I figured some of you would enjoy this. Originally posted as "A Lost Decade for San Francisco's Critical Mass?" at SF Streetsblog - DN)
December 22, 2009
LAPD Tackle Cyclists at Friday’s Critical Mass
Bike discussion sites have been abuzz since last Friday with news that things got ugly when Los Angeles Critical Mass breezed onto Los Angeles Street and ran into an LAPD Squad Car facing against traffic with its lights flashing. According to eye witnesses, the two officers tackled cyclists off their bikes at the front of the mass and were still trying to drag massers off their bikes at the tail of the mass. Witnesses claim that there was no announcement that riders should dismount nor any attempt to signal out riders that were lawbreakers, just an attempt to randomly grab cyclists and detain them. From at one poster at Midnight Ridazz:
November 30, 2009
Northeast LA Critical Mass: “One Night Only” or “Rebirth”
(This article is my first effort to revive a monthly series on Critical Mass
in the Greater Los Angeles area. Previously Streetsblog has celebrated an anniversary in the Valley, dodged the
police in Santa Monica, cruised with the kids in Pasadena, toured the downtown in Los Angeles, and kicked around in Venice. Why is a policy blog doing a series on Critical Mass? Simply, it's an uniquely L.A. experience for so many communities to have their own Critical Mass and each ride tells us as much about the community as it does Bike Culture.)
March 24, 2009
San Fernando Valley Critical Mass Celebrates 2nd Anniversary
(This article appears as part of a monthly series on Critical Mass in the Greater Los Angeles area. Previously Streetsblog has dodged the police with Santa Monica Critical Mass, cruised with the kids in Pasadena, cruised the downtown in Los Angeles, and kicked around in Venice.)
September 3, 2008
Crimanimalz Create Traffic Jams to Protest Santa Monica Police
Responding to the over-policing of Critical Mass in Santa Monica, cyclists took to the streets last Friday night to show the SMPD that sometimes following the letter of the law is the worst thing that can be done for traffic. In what MetBlogs described as an act of “Civil Obedience” 60 cyclists got off their … Continued
August 12, 2008