TIME'S UP! Responds to NYC's Actions and Statement by Norman Siegel

[Also Posted to critical-mass]

=v= The NYPD's attack on Critical Mass last Friday made it
necessary for TIME'S UP! to hold a press release this morning.
Arrestees spoke to the press and prominent civil rights attorney
Norman Siegel spoke.

Here's a press release on the issue:

In an Affront to First Amendment Rights, New York City Sues
TIME'S UP! Nonprofit Environmental Group and Continues to
Criminalize Critical Mass Bicycle Ride

http://www.times-up.org/press_view.p...criminalize s

And here's what Norman Siegel said:

http://www.times-up.org/press_view.p..._norman_siegel

_Jym_

"Jym Dyer" wrote in message
...
[Also Posted to critical-mass]


snip crap

_Jym_


same old phony "headlines" for the last 20 years, same old "let's stay
teenage victims"

just grow up, "Jym"

http://www.ny1.com/ny/TopStories/Sub...entintid=49440

Protest Riders Say Police Seized Bikes Illegally
NY1 | 27-Mar-2005

Some people who participated in Friday's Critical Mass protest
ride in Manhattan say police confiscated their bicycles without
justification.

The riders say that once police threatened them with arrest,
they got off their bikes and began to walk away from the rest of
the group. But they were arrested anyway, they say, and their
bikes were loaded onto a truck and taken away.

Other riders say they locked their bikes but that officer cut
the chains with power saws and took them.

"I watched as my bike lock was cut by a saw by the NYPD," Jaimie
Favaro, a protestor whose bike was confiscated, said at a news
conference Sunday. "I use my bike daily for commuting, and I am
absolutely devastated about the illegal theft of my bicycle by
the NYPD."

About 200 riders showed up for Friday's ride, and 37 people were
arrested.

Critical Mass organizes large rides through Manhattan on the
last Friday of every month to protest pollution produced by
vehicle traffic. The city and the group are involved in a court
battle over whether permits are needed for the rides.

"You know we get together once a month to have this small action
of peace and an alternative lifestyle that gets pretty violently
challenged by the powers of the city," said William Laviano,
whose bike was also seized.

The NYPD says it confiscated 50 bikes in connection with a law
violation. Police say bikes used in violation of the law will be
taken regardless if any connection to a protest.

"Jym Dyer" wrote in message
...
http://www.ny1.com/ny/TopStories/Sub...entintid=49440

Protest Riders Say Police Seized Bikes Illegally
NY1 | 27-Mar-2005

Some people who participated in Friday's Critical Mass protest
ride in Manhattan say police confiscated their bicycles without
justification.

So, they should have been a demonstration to block traffic


The riders say that once police threatened them with arrest,
they got off their bikes and began to walk away from the rest of
the group. But they were arrested anyway, they say, and their
bikes were loaded onto a truck and taken away.

Police said the were guilty too, and rightfully rounded them up.


Other riders say they locked their bikes but that officer cut
the chains with power saws and took them.

The police have FULL RIGHTS to do so.


"I watched as my bike lock was cut by a saw by the NYPD," Jaimie
Favaro, a protestor whose bike was confiscated, said at a news
conference Sunday. "I use my bike daily for commuting, and I am
absolutely devastated about the illegal theft of my bicycle by
the NYPD."

You take the risk, you get the ****. Deal with it dumb****, go borrow some
quarters for the bus.


About 200 riders showed up for Friday's ride, and 37 people were
arrested.

Good, but the Police need to do better, go for at least 50% next time.


Critical Mass organizes large rides through Manhattan on the
last Friday of every month to protest pollution produced by
vehicle traffic.

BULL**** - CM Blocks Traffic, emergancy vehicles it is Bicycles VS CARS
stupid.


The city and the group are involved in a court
battle over whether permits are needed for the rides.

Permits are required, because the rides cause accidents.


"You know we get together once a month to have this small action
of peace and an alternative lifestyle that gets pretty violently
challenged by the powers of the city," said William Laviano,
whose bike was also seized.

Which it should have as he was blocking a cop car, and screaming at the cop.



The NYPD says it confiscated 50 bikes in connection with a law
violation. Police say bikes used in violation of the law will be
taken regardless if any connection to a protest.

Good policy!

Keep maggot brained CM ers away from the rest of us who have to ride in the
streets for a living.

"m" writes:

"Jym Dyer" wrote in message
...

Some people who participated in Friday's Critical Mass protest
ride in Manhattan say police confiscated their bicycles without
justification.

So, they should have been a demonstration to block traffic

Police said the were guilty too, and rightfully rounded them up.

The police have FULL RIGHTS to do so. You take the risk, you get
the ****. Deal with it dumb****, go borrow some quarters for the
bus.

The San Francisco police said the same thing when they decided to
crack down on Critical Mass rides some years ago. The city was sued
and lost. When the city refused to pay and appealed, the next judge
up the chain doubled the settlement as a warning to the city to stop
playing games.

Why should I, as an observer 3000 miles away, assume this will turn
out differently?

BULL**** - CM Blocks Traffic, emergancy vehicles it is Bicycles VS CARS
stupid.

Idiotic - bicycle riders can easily stop and carry the bikes to the
side to let an emergency vehicle through. I'm sure nearly everyone in
a critical mass ride would do that to expedite a fire truck or an
ambulance or a police car responding to some sort of emergency or
crime. And if anyone didn't I'd expect the others to have a word with
the dude.

Permits are required, because the rides cause accidents.

Nonsense. Permits are typically required for certain parades and
precessions.

Which it should have as he was blocking a cop car, and screaming at the cop.

If one person was interfering with the legitimate functions of the
police, by all means arrest him, but if he was merely on the road and
the officer didn't have a siren on, then the officer can wait in
traffic like everyone else, just like he would do if following a car.

The NYPD says it confiscated 50 bikes in connection with a law
violation. Police say bikes used in violation of the law will be
taken regardless if any connection to a protest.

Good policy!

Given the constitutional requirement of equal protection under the
law, I take it that cars should be confiscated for any violation of
the law, including speeding, double parking, and all the other things
drivers tend to do when they don't think they will be caught. Is that
what you mean? :-)

--
My real name backwards: nemuaZ lliB

On Mon, 28 Mar 2005 05:25:11 GMT, (Bill Z.)
wrote:

"m" writes:

"Jym Dyer" wrote in message
...

Some people who participated in Friday's Critical Mass protest
ride in Manhattan say police confiscated their bicycles without
justification.

So, they should have been a demonstration to block traffic

Police said the were guilty too, and rightfully rounded them up.

The police have FULL RIGHTS to do so. You take the risk, you get
the ****. Deal with it dumb****, go borrow some quarters for the
bus.

The San Francisco police said the same thing when they decided to
crack down on Critical Mass rides some years ago. The city was sued
and lost. When the city refused to pay and appealed, the next judge
up the chain doubled the settlement as a warning to the city to stop
playing games.

Why should I, as an observer 3000 miles away, assume this will turn
out differently?

BULL**** - CM Blocks Traffic, emergancy vehicles it is Bicycles VS CARS
stupid.

Idiotic - bicycle riders can easily stop and carry the bikes to the
side to let an emergency vehicle through. I'm sure nearly everyone in
a critical mass ride would do that to expedite a fire truck or an
ambulance or a police car responding to some sort of emergency or
crime. And if anyone didn't I'd expect the others to have a word with
the dude.

Permits are required, because the rides cause accidents.

Nonsense. Permits are typically required for certain parades and
precessions.

Which it should have as he was blocking a cop car, and screaming at the cop.

If one person was interfering with the legitimate functions of the
police, by all means arrest him, but if he was merely on the road and
the officer didn't have a siren on, then the officer can wait in
traffic like everyone else, just like he would do if following a car.

The NYPD says it confiscated 50 bikes in connection with a law
violation. Police say bikes used in violation of the law will be
taken regardless if any connection to a protest.

Good policy!

Given the constitutional requirement of equal protection under the
law, I take it that cars should be confiscated for any violation of
the law, including speeding, double parking, and all the other things
drivers tend to do when they don't think they will be caught. Is that
what you mean? :-)

The NYPD is a group of mindless drones and have become more so as the
dept. is desperate for new recruits- and most of the new recruits are
ex military with a minimum education- they don't have the ability to
discern the difference between the spirit of the law and the letter of
the law. They're not here to serve us, especially the us who don't
own anything in Manhattan; that was made very clear during the
republican convention- they're here to arrest us. They broke the law
then and got away with it and now feel they have carte blanche to
arrest and harass anyone they please. And since cyclists don't
generate any income for the city we've become the new anarchists to
Ray Kelly. The ironic thing is that the mayor billed himself as a
cyclist. Let's hope he won't get re-elected and Kelly will be gone-
I've not been convinced that Kelly isn't anything more now than an
employee of the Federal Government.

"Bill Z." wrote in message
...
"m" writes:

"Jym Dyer" wrote in message
...

Some people who participated in Friday's Critical Mass protest
ride in Manhattan say police confiscated their bicycles without
justification.

So, they should have been a demonstration to block traffic

Police said the were guilty too, and rightfully rounded them up.

The police have FULL RIGHTS to do so. You take the risk, you get
the ****. Deal with it dumb****, go borrow some quarters for the
bus.

The San Francisco police said the same thing when they decided to
crack down on Critical Mass rides some years ago. The city was sued
and lost. When the city refused to pay and appealed, the next judge
up the chain doubled the settlement as a warning to the city to stop
playing games.

And the City did not have to pay anything on that either, but you left that
fact out.


Why should I, as an observer 3000 miles away, assume this will turn
out differently?

BULL**** - CM Blocks Traffic, emergancy vehicles it is Bicycles VS CARS
stupid.

Idiotic - bicycle riders can easily stop and carry the bikes to the
side to let an emergency vehicle through. I'm sure nearly everyone in
a critical mass ride would do that to expedite a fire truck or an
ambulance or a police car responding to some sort of emergency or
crime. And if anyone didn't I'd expect the others to have a word with
the dude.

NYC CM did NOT do that during the convention and blocked in two emergency
vehicles for 15 min, who were responding to life threating critical
injuries, that is why the City is ****ed at CM. CM is a bunch of idiots.



Permits are required, because the rides cause accidents.

Nonsense. Permits are typically required for certain parades and
precessions.

Nonsense, a CM ride is intentionally disruptive, with the point to get
arrested.


Which it should have as he was blocking a cop car, and screaming at the
cop.

If one person was interfering with the legitimate functions of the
police, by all means arrest him, but if he was merely on the road and
the officer didn't have a siren on, then the officer can wait in
traffic like everyone else, just like he would do if following a car.

Says you. Not the Cops.


The NYPD says it confiscated 50 bikes in connection with a law
violation. Police say bikes used in violation of the law will be
taken regardless if any connection to a protest.

Good policy!

"soinie" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 28 Mar 2005 05:25:11 GMT, (Bill Z.)
wrote:

"m" writes:

"Jym Dyer" wrote in message
...

Some people who participated in Friday's Critical Mass protest
ride in Manhattan say police confiscated their bicycles without

snip

The NYPD is a group of mindless drones and have become more so as the
dept. is desperate for new recruits- and most of the new recruits are
ex military with a minimum education- they don't have the ability to
discern the difference between the spirit of the law and the letter of
the law. They're not here to serve us, especially the us who don't
own anything in Manhattan; that was made very clear during the
republican convention- they're here to arrest us. They broke the law
then and got away with it and now feel they have carte blanche to
arrest and harass anyone they please. And since cyclists don't
generate any income for the city we've become the new anarchists to
Ray Kelly. The ironic thing is that the mayor billed himself as a
cyclist. Let's hope he won't get re-elected and Kelly will be gone-
I've not been convinced that Kelly isn't anything more now than an
employee of the Federal Government.

Moron - you are simply refusing to take your own responsibility for tying up
traffic and causing accidents.
CM = irresponsible "Teenage Victims"

On 27 Mar 2005 14:10:02 -0800, Jym Dyer wrote in
message :

Some people who participated in Friday's Critical Mass protest
ride in Manhattan say police confiscated their bicycles without
justification.

It must be great in New York now the most serious crime they have to
deal with is a few cyclists going for a ride without a parade permit.
I must have missed the headlines when they achieved the zero murder
and armed robbery rates - does anyone have links to those stories?

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound

ALL property belonging to suspects must be taken away and
accounted for. That includes bikes, wallets, cash, jewelry
and other valuables.

=v= Which "suspects" are you referring to here? The article
was very clearly referring to bikes that were taken without
anyone being arrested. Do some arithmetic:

37 arrests
50 bikes (supposedly)

Seizing locked bikes without arresting anyone is exactly what
Judge Pauley's order said not to do.

=v= I should also mention that there's no shortage of items
that were taken from arrestees that have vanished. Devices that
have recorded police behavior, in particular. Your "must be
accounted for" scenario sounds reasonable, but it's not what's
happening.
_Jym_