Lesson here is to stay out of Ohio.
He obviously doesn't have enough sense to stay off the roads where death is one splat away.
Having lived in mountain communities and beach communities with riders, I find they are a pain in the ass. They do not obey traffic laws, they ride in clumps impeding traffic (when paths are provided) and generally obnoxious sots.
I have little sympathy for them when for years I have seen how they “obey the law” - they don’t.
The article writer took 9 pages to tell his story. Seems to be impressed with himself and love the cyclists.
Is this article actually 10+ pages long? According to the link, it is.
After suffering through that article, I would have entitled it “When A-holes Collide”, the cop was one, and the bikers were not to far off the mark either.
This cop certainly seems to have delusions of grandeur as well as anger management issues. This deputy needs to be fired and the prosecutors who defended this idiot’s action before a judge need to be sanctioned and disciplined by the court. This is totally outrageous and the taxpayers are going to get hammered in this case when it gets to court.
When a cop says “Pull over”, you better pull over. Why argue with him? Not that cops are always right. But they are always cops. You get a lot further being nice than arguing with them over a traffice issue.
Yep, and many on two wheels will be willing to lose a fight with a 1 ton vehicle to prove it.....idiots!
Simple common sense: when the cop says “stop” you stop. If the cop is wrong you’ll have your day in court to demonstrate that. To ignore the order to stop only needlessly escalates the situation.
This cyclists license an tags an proof of liability an collision insurance gives him all the authority he needs to be on the road like the rest of the drivers on the roads........:o)
Physics an safety be dammed ....spandex vs steel phhhhtttt..;o)
This story is he said we said BS.
Without bothering to read nine pages of self-satisfied preening, I can tell you from my reading of the title what my reaction is: When the cop says “stop,” you stop. If he is unaware of the laws, you explain them. If he is not convinced, you go back home, download and print the .gov page that applies and carry it with you for next time. If THAT does not work, you accept the ticket and fight it in court with a lawyer. If that does not work, you sue. There. And I didn’t have to wade through 9 pages of posing prosing.
What happened, in 200 words or less, please?
Locally, bicyclists are going to accomplish what the open carry dummies in kalifornia accomplished, viz. to have the whole thing outlawed. That’s what happens when people get arrogant and confrontational.
Most cops don't know the law, generally speaking, and are trained that way.
Like a lot of law, bicycle law doesn't always make sense.
When it comes to natural law, automobiles and trucks will win over bicycles.
It doesn't take nine pages to complain about natural law.
A professional doesn't put the public a risk by training on a public right of way.
Dhimmikrats support hyphenated american special citizenship rights to the endangered “VAIL-SKIER” and to the “CYCLIST-ATTORNEY”.
Cyclists seem to lack just routine, commonplace manners. Cyclists appear to have rights to property along their special paths.
Most folks have to have identity papers(the plastic thing with your photo from the DMV). Cyclist-Attorneys don’t need one. They could be lordy knows all sorts of unwanted folks like pedophiles or serial rapists hanging out near daycares or school zones. They might even be ACORN folks visitng the local CEMETERY to register voters.
Caddis
“4.2 GPA”?
The article says that the LEO gave a specific order (lawful, since the LEO is authorized to control traffic). The order was simple: first, ride in a single file and then, when the first order wasn't listened to, get off the road. There is no need to debate those orders as those riders did. You can debate all you want in the courtroom, *after* you complied and then sued the police.
The article takes several pages to tell us that the riders repeatedly failed to stop. In the end the deputy was forced to block the road with his car and fire his Taser. It is possible but minimally believable that the deputy was just messing with those riders out of boredom.
I can accept that the deputy was upset that his orders are ignored, and the situation escalated. But the riders - or anyone else to that matter - upon seeing the lights and hearing the orders should do what they are told, and challenge these orders when they are safe. Telling the LEO "I have a right to be here" and continuing to ride is even technically stupid: the police may even have good reasons to temporarily remove bikes from a certain road. What if there is a vehicle out of control, or a chase, approaching, or an oversized vehicle, or a motorcade?
The entire story, on so many pages, tells us that bike riders see themselves outside of the law. I don't know if they blocked the traffic or not. But they certainly failed to obey lawful orders, repeatedly.
The police doesn't know why they ignored orders to stop. Maybe they were carrying illegal drugs or weapons. Maybe they were riding stolen bikes. Maybe they are criminals in general. Unlikely, of course, but the facts are that they were fleeing the traffic stop. They are lucky that they were only tased. The deputy began with simply advising the riders to let the traffic pass (if that's the truth.) If only they listened, the deputy would be on his way and the incident would be forgotten in minutes. But the riders just had to escalate a minor encounter - which wouldn't even bring them into contact with the deputy - into a full-scale arrest.
With regard to the aftermath, repeated tasing and such, I wasn't there and can't say if it was justified or not. This is something that the police will need to explain.
About the phone: I don't know if the police is supposed to prevent the arrested people (or people being arrested) from calling others. Theoretically that would be understandable, in general - if you arrest one criminal you don't want him to call other criminals. But this should be governed by laws and police instructions.
All in all, I think the police were quite heavy-handed here, but the riders did all in their power to bring it upon them. They deserve each other.