CFL Teen arrested for "resisting arrest"

[verticaldoug]

The sheriff he yelled at them at the stop sign. We all know when riding hard we sometimes can't even hear the guy right behind us.

If you were in NY State, I have just the guy to call. Sorry I can't help you in Florida.

[Ralph]

I live in the general area, and don't know all the details. I do know....there are very large group rides on weekends, by a particular group, which sorta takes on the aspects of a race....with cyclists riding 3 or 4 abreast sometimes on 2 lane and 4 lane roads. Sometimes blocking traffic, the rear of the group sometimes blowing thru stop lights and signs (though I understand that is not group policy....ride leaders trying to limit this) and just annoying the hell out of motorists. This I have witnessed from this group. Motorists then put pressure on the county Sherriff's Dept to "do something about this behavior", and deputies know the route this group takes and which mornings. So deputies are looking for about any infraction.....with lots of support from the driving public. Lots of blame to go around here, and in this case, maybe the kids getting the worse end of this.

And...although I have observed this kind of behavior from this group, been caught behind them a few times on Sat AM's, don't know the details of this particular incident. And this group's (Club's) policy is to be responsible cyclists. I do believe cyclists bring this situation about from large group riding behavior.....we hear about it all over the country. And I'm not excusing the behavior of over zealous police officers.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Ralph

I live in the general area, and don't know all the details. I do know....there are very large group rides on weekends, by a particular group, which sorta takes on the aspects of a race....with cyclists riding 3 or 4 abreast sometimes on 2 lane and 4 lane roads. Sometimes blocking traffic, the rear of the group sometimes blowing thru stop lights and signs (though I understand that is not group policy....ride leaders trying to limit this) and just annoying the hell out of motorists. This I have witnessed from this group. Motorists then put pressure on the county Sherriff's Dept to "do something about this behavior", and deputies know the route this group takes and which mornings. So deputies are looking for about any infraction.....with lots of support from the driving public. Lots of blame to go around here, and in this case, maybe the kids getting the worse end of this.

And...although I have observed this kind of behavior from this group, been caught behind them a few times on Sat AM's, don't know the details of this particular incident. And this group's (Club's) policy is to be responsible cyclists. I do believe cyclists bring this situation about from large group riding behavior.....we hear about it all over the country. And I'm not excusing the behavior of over zealous police officers.

Well said and I am NOT excusing the actions of the LEO, even tho the article paints a very one sided picture..I'll bet there ARE 2 sides to this story. BUT the above happens every year in the county north of Boulder county(Larimer)....

ONE thing for sure, IMHO, don't be a dick when riding, even if you are correct and right and legal..AND if stopped, even if you ARE right/correct/proper and legal..MY response to any LEO is "yes sir, no sir, 3 bags full sir". They hold all the cards, like it or don't, bite your tongue. Getting into a pissing contest with a LEO, and you lose 100% of the time. EVEN IF you are right..chances are this will be cleared up in court but it's going to be expensive and time consuming...

[merlinmurph]

$8500 bail?

I would love to hear the justification for such a high bail for an innocuous event.

[benb]

We usually bleat and plead to be given all the rights of other vehicles.

If you were exhibiting this behavior in cars/motorcycles you'd get hit with a street racing charge and be in jail too.

It doesn't sound like officer charged them this way but he could have seen it this way. I think it's legit with the way a lot of group rides behave.

Running a stop sign/light to stay ahead of others sure sounds like street racing behavior, and it's never safe.

Hopefully the judge clears the kids record, dismisses the charges, etc.. but some fools learn not to "race" in their group ride.

Saying you can't tell you're getting pulled over cause of hypoxia from riding too hard sounds like a great way to get killed by a car when you're running the stop sign. You can't ride so hard you can't maintain situational awareness out there if you want to stay safe.

[unterhausen]

nobody street races at 25mph, so I don't see how the comparison is apt.

I ignore anyone shouting at me because the likelihood it's something I don't want to hear is probability 1, almost sure. If cops could do something about the number of times I have been assaulted on a bike riding safely and legally, that would be great.

[benb]

Just cause you're doing 25mph doesn't mean your moving violation isn't going to result in your death.

Racing is for races!

The whole thing with running intersections during group rides is so silly. There are no numbers pinned on, no prize, no one is timing. The risk:reward is not there to run the intersection.

[glepore]

I don't doubt that the kid probably didn't deserve arrest. A stern lecture, sure.

But the bigger point here is what the ... is a "breakaway" on a "group ride"?

We are our own worst enemies sometimes. A group ride is just that, there is NO place for racing or race tactics, particularly where traffic controls are involved.

I stopped doing the group ride I frequented in Pa when stop signs and intersections became places to take chances because someone wanted to maintain a gap, or where a bunch would sprint away despite others not being able to cross traffic. Mindless, dangerous and just plain rude to the traffic and the other cyclists left.

[vqdriver]

yeah, i never understood the pseudo racing that comes with group rides. it's fun for sure, but no one else in the world cares about your club ride. certainly not the cars and motos trying to navigate an intersection. rolling thru stops, not yielding to pedestrians, weaving thru traffic en masse, etc... all that goes out the window when we demand the rights of vehicles. the idea of being hypoxic and not assuming the siren applies to them does not resonate with me. if i were driving hypoxic, that's reason enough to pull me over. now i get that the point is that as cyclists we understand and can relate to the cyclists' perspective, but we also have to acknowledge that there's more than the cyclists' perspective at play.

having said that. yeah, the cop overreacted. a traffic citation, sure. roadside admonishment, okay. arrest???? c'mon.

[jtbadge]

Racing or not, the fact is that this is a child and there is no reason he should have been arrested and spent a night in jail.

Hands down, racist and power hungry cops at it again.

[gdw]

Originally Posted by jtbadge

Racing or not, the fact is that this is a child and there is no reason he should have been arrested and spent a night in jail.

Hands down, racist and power hungry cops at it again.

And you know this because? It's always interesting to read threads like this one. We have limited information about what actually occurred yet some folks jump to conclusions with utterly no facts to back up their opinions.

[bthornt]

As has been mentioned by others, there are 2 sides to every story. All comments that I have seen, unless I've missed something, come from a posting on the facebook page by someone who was involved on one side of the incident.

Not sure, based on what has been written, how some folks can conclude that the arresting officer was racist or power hungry.

[Black Dog]

Originally Posted by mjb266

We are not a police state, and dragging a KID in Lycra who was RIDING A BICYCLE ! Does nothing buy destroy goodwill. That kid isn’t going to help out law enforcement in the years to come. Neither will his friend. Instead they will avoid the cops and recount stories of that cop to their buddies.
That could have been a conversation with the kid about how folks with warrants act, with a release at the end of that conversation...but what the hell...it’s a guy on a bike in full Lycra kit...if he rolled the stop sign, ticket him and be done.

This. So this.

[CAAD]

These cops have been hanging out at this stop sign for months on end. It's literally a back road with ZERO car traffic at 9:30am. I know these kids and this is unacceptable. Not saying rolling through this stop sign is acceptable but come no one is out running a cop on a bicycle. I missed this ride this weekend but it's my go to Saturday ride.

[ftf]

Originally Posted by bthornt

Not sure, based on what has been written, how some folks can conclude that the arresting officer was racist or power hungry.

Hummmmmm, I suppose we don't know if this one cop is racist, or not, but is the system racist? yes, is it systematically racist, yes.

At the end of the day it doesn't even matter if this ONE cop is Racist or not, it matters if the system is, and if you haven't been paying attention it is, blatantly unabashedly so.