Posted on 03/11/2008 12:44:18 PM PDT by kingattax
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - Police officers trying to control a mass ride of naked bicyclists decided against making any arrests after the confrontation intensified.
Roughly 100 bicyclists in various states of undress took part in the hour-long event that mimicked similar rides held in bigger cities around the world. Along the way, riders cheered, chanted and stopped traffic as they pedaled through the streets of Eugene.
Organizers of the Saturday night event did not alert Eugene police in advance, but officers quickly caught on. At one point, at least three patrol cars showed up near the main pack of cyclists.
When an officer grabbed one of them, several bicyclists surrounded the officer, shouting at him to let the rider go. After letting the first cyclist go, the officer grabbed another.
Cassandra Hurd, 21, then rammed her bike into the other rider's bike.
She told The Register-Guard newspaper she was trying to keep police from making an arrest: "We were making a statement; we weren't doing anything wrong."
An officer grabbed Hurd, who was wearing only panties, and put her on the ground, preparing to arrest her. Another officer trained his Taser on a naked man who approached the scene, but did not use the weapon.
The officers let Hurd go after the crowd chanted for them to leave her alone.
"We attempted to make arrests but the crowd turned on the two officers we had trying to handle the situation and they elected to disengage before someone got hurt," Eugene police Lt. Rich Stronach said.
Stronach said officers may not have gotten involved if the organizers had contacted police ahead of time and obeyed traffic laws.
Naked bike rides, most of them peaceful, have been staged in dozens of cities around the world in recent years. The purpose, besides fun, is to protest global oil dependency and celebrate cycling and the human body.
Portland has been host to such rides for several years. Last year's event drew more than 1,000 participants.
"It's just fun and it caught on as a novel thing to do," said Jonathan Maus, editor of bikeportland.org. "It's a sign of a good healthy bike culture."
“Photos HERE.”
Embed a few please? Stupid SonicWall filter.
“Up against the wall... and, uh ... spread ‘em.”
Guilty AND convicted. Yuck.
And the naked people are never the ones you would want to see naked....
This was a job for the Fire Department. A fire hose would have changed their attitudes.
“Another officer trained his Taser on a naked man who approached the scene, but did not use the weapon.”
The naked man approached the scene, but did not use the weapon??
Throw the cow over the fence some hay.....
Militant
Well, it would tend to keep anyone from either riding or stealing your bike...
The epitome of liberal culture: “look at me....look at me”
That’s the real issue. It’s always the people who look like a sack of dead cats that want to run around nekked.
Not bad, if it's her....
We must examine the evidence closely before making any rash judgments.......
Where is a mid-March blizzard when you need it!
A tad chilly for this kind of thing huh?
ooops sorry wrong thread - bye bye
Seattle has it’s own Naked Cyclefest, for more info see washingtonstatedemocrats.com........
“Another officer trained his Taser on a naked man who approached the scene,.....”
Nude front and back? I would think that pepper spray may be very effective if used correctly, especially on women, it would make for some fun video of the effects.
Man, he better not hit a pothole.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.