Christian Burkin's Crime Blog

A few people who rode in Stockton’s Critical Mass on Friday night have emailed to complain about what they call abusive behavior by the police.

In an email, Critical Mass rider Jay Nelson wrote:

“As we were heading north on Pershing, a southbound SUV attempted to drive through the middle of the group on a yield left turn. When he was stopped, he exited his vehicle and stood chest to chest with a participant before flashing his badge. He then began to follow the group. Finally, on the corner of Hammer and Thornton, 4-5 police vehicle arrived by speeding through traffic, screetching tires, and announcements over the loud speaker. All the while some of the participants where parents riding with their children. With Stockton Police claiming to be under staffed, how is it possible for 5 police vehicles to arrive and treat the participants like criminals? Why do they insist on endangering the lives of all those involved during an event for bicycle safety? Stockton has a bad bicycle friendly reputation, it won’t get better if belligerent officers treat cycling as a crime.”

Another, Steffan Randle, wrote:

“The scene was ridiculous. Several cop cars pulled in on the one person whom prepared for a scolding. Bystanders recorded as he got a ticket whereas others whom had their hands behind their heads were violently thrown to the ground, knees in their backs, were arrested. This just shows their boredom and abuse of power.”

At least two videos of Friday’s Critical Mass have been posted to YouTube. The first is a recording of the encounter between riders and police. Unfortunately, it’s shaky, and doesn’t really show much:

The second shows a group of cyclists riding north on Pershing, unimpeded. The atmosphere seems merry. There doesn’t seem to be any tension between drivers and riders. However, at 2:40, the riders run a cold red light at Rose Marie Lane. At least one person stopped his bicycle in front of westbound traffic, to allow the rest of the group to ride through. That’s illegal.

It turns out Lincoln and Pershing is a four-way signaled intersection, with guarded left turns for northbound and southbound traffic. I called Randle, and he said the Critical Mass riders had actually violated the right-of-way.

“We just kept on going through the red light,” Randle said. “I understand he had the right of way.”

Still, he said, the off-duty cop’s reaction was excessive, and so was the response by police. Officer Pete Smith, a spokesman for the Police Department, said the riders had become a “pretty serious traffic hazard.” He said they refused to cooperate with police, and were openly defiant. Smith said one, Caleb Mize, was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor battery of a peace officer.

Smith said police weren’t inherently hostile to the Critical Mass riders, and haven’t had problems with them before.

“Most Critical Mass stuff is fairly peaceful. We had a little different energy in this one,” he said.

For their part, some riders said police were needlessly aggressive. One, Melchor Sahagun III, wrote in an email that, “One teenager was taken to the ground and, upon telling the officer that he had recently suffered a concussion, was responded to with a stern “F*** you,” from the policeman.”

Randle said the Critical Mass group is meeting soon to discuss the next ride, and one of the things it would be discussing is whether it would change its approach.

And now for a disclosure: An old army buddy of mine, Christopher Long, was involved in what is arguably the most infamous interaction between police and Critical Mass riders. That’s on YouTube, as well: