I would like to help people know of a great new organization BIKEAMICI.ORG, begun as a result of this case but completely separate from me, and with the intention of carrying on well beyond it. Their first project is to help fund the writing of an independent brief for the appellate court supporting cycling civil rights, on behalf of cyclists coast to coast and beyond. They will also possibly contribute toward the costs of the district court transcript (estimated at $1400-$1600) due to be complete this month. I fully appreciate their efforts, and hope a lot of individuals and bike organizations in particular can come on board in support, whatever the contribution amount. The breadth of support is the really important thing. Please have a look, and thanks!
http://www.bikeamici.org
Friday, September 14, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
26 comments:
Mr. Orsak,
I would like to weigh in on the issue you brought to our attention.
First of all, I would like to say I know one of the officers involved in the case. His name is Officer Bryant and I have known him for some time now. I have spoken to him on the incident and I really find it hard to believe your side of the story after hearing his. I know Officer Bryant, as being a very fun, kind, mild natured, and honest person.
So, you are calling my friend a liar. I don’t like this and I am offended by your accusations towards him. You say you were profiled for being a bicyclist. I think you should be made aware of the fact Officer Bryant competes in triathlons and rides his bike to train on almost a daily basis. I too am a bicyclist and that is how I got to know him. But when you and your ‘pellaton’ of bikers try to get other bikers in your pack, please don’t include me. Here is why.
I went to the airport, not to fly somewhere, but to look at the road you were traveling on when the incident happened. Yeah it was a waste of gas going out there for this reason, but I had to observe this road in question. From my point of view, I really don’t see how after looking at the road you can honestly say it is a safe road to bike on. Not to mention, the airport has erected signs saying you cannot ride bicycles on the road. If the airport felt the road was safe, and bikes should be allowed on the road, why would they erect the signs indicating bikes are prohibited. This too would alleviate the need for the airport to apply for the grant money to make the airport more “bike friendly.” I ride my bike almost everywhere, but I carry too much luggage to ride it to the airport. Not to mention, I wouldn’t feel safe locking it up for a week on a bike rack. My bike is worth over $1200.00. And who knows what the weather would be like when I returned. Oh, and I probably won’t be able to ride during the cold months of the winter also. Oh, yeah, forget everything I just said, I DON’T LIVE CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE AIRPORT to ride my bike there. Wow, what a good use of grant money. One in twenty thousand passengers may be able to use such a “bike assessable” entrance/exit.
So, you make the accusation he is only covering up for the other cops, and not doing so could result in future retribution towards him if he didn’t. Don’t you think lying under oath might be worse?
I have a request from you Mr. Orsak. Will you please personally respond to this posted comment. Answer this one question for me. DO YOU really, after studying the road for so long as you apparently have, BELIEVE IT IS SAFE TO RIDE ON? Convince me that you were safe riding where you were, and I will then condemn the cops for asking you to ride your bike on the other side of the road.
Come on, really, stop dragging my friend through the mud on this. I believe you felt you had every right to be on that road as a bicyclist, and you were not going to let anyone, yet alone the police, tell you, you couldn’t be there. Perhaps, the police, in their knowledge with the road, may have known more than you at the time, even if it wasn’t posted with no bicycling signs at the time.
Oh, and have you seen all the news about bicyclists getting hurt on the road. A fellow bicyclist was recently run over by a bus in Minneapolis. I bet if you were injured by a vehicle that day when the incident happened, and the police just drove by instead of telling you to get off the road, you would have gone after the police for not warning you to the dangers of the road.
Just a feeling I have about you. And you are being very persistent in your argument you did nothing wrong. Kinda makes me wonder how persistent and antagonistic you were as the incident unfolded.
This is one biker who is at least not now in your corner.
J.
RE Officer Bryant, on June 7th I wrote the following- it is still posted, and is the first comment under the post 'OVERVIEW' (with 406 comments total):
"I think a word needs to be put in for Officer Bryant. I want to clarify that there was a distinct difference between the manner of Officer Wingate and Officer Bryant. Officer Bryant (who had taken his oath less than 3 weeks before) had a minor part to play in this, even though he did follow through on Officer Wingate's order to tase me. Perhaps he did not consider as a free individual if that were really a reasonable thing to do. Perhaps he felt he had to just 'follow the order' whatever the rightness or wrongness of it. Or, perhaps he feels that it was completely reasonable and in accord with the force continuum policy. Whatever the case, it can be seen by all that Officer Bryant was made to write the bulk of the narratives, and I will state with all my conviction that I believe he was made to embellish them by orders from others. You will note that Officer Wingate's narrative is only a couple of sentences. It is outrageous for the responsible officer to only have to write two sentences in explanation for such an incident. I have reason to believe that Officer Bryant would make a fine peace officer and may be so now, and in no sense should the overbearing actions of Officer Wingate be blamed upon him. Officer Bryant should be able to stand upon his own record, and not be tainted by the record of another. Fairness is fairness and peace officers deserve it too."
Once again, I wrote that on June 7th 2007.
Officer Bryant and I shared greetings two days after the airport incident. I was retrieving my belongings and he was on the upper balcony. He was friendly, good natured, just as you describe. We waved to one another. We also had a brief and cordial greeting in the courthouse hallway, in spite of all that was going on.
I stand by what I wrote last June. I cannot imagine Officer Bryant initiating a rude encounter in the way that Officer Wingate did. You, J, of course know him much better than I do, but my experience seems to concur with yours. As to lying under oath, it was disappointing to me that he did just that, but that was his choice. The pressures are tremendous, the police reports had already been written, and don't think for a moment that the police never lie under oath. Going to court is just another part of their day. Unfortunately for the police in this case, their testimony speaks for itself, with exaggerations and gross logical inconsistencies, that frankly, were painful to hear. Anyone who was there saw and heard it for themselves, and the jury decision was a clear reflection of it.
If what officer Wingate did to me was justified based on the police report, why did the police need to trump up the case in district court and try to frame me with so many more exaggerated behaviors? The 'facts' presented in colluded police testimony were actually akin to attempted assault of a police officer, far more extreme than even in the illogical police reports. Does Officer Bryant actually believe all of this, or does he stand by the report written? Or does he believe something else entirely? Perhaps as a friend of his, you might ask him if the police report was in any way whatsoever exaggerated, whether to assist in pressing charges, to save face for the department, and/or to cover for the inappropriate behavior of Officer Wingate.
J, you ask if I still believe the road is safe to ride on. Is any road safe to ride on? Every excursion has its risks. But this one is actually better than most, for the simple reason that the long terminal section has a 15mph speed limit. Later it's 30mph, same as residential Minneapolis. If someone is making it less safe by speeding, or driving recklessly, they should be the ones cited. Go after the people breaking the law, not the people following it. There is too long a history of 'blaming the victim' here. As a cyclist you know the risks. Would this road be my first choice for an outing or workout? Of course not. If I needed it to get to work, would I use it? Certainly. There are many people including lower wage earners at the airport who would benefit from a less costly way to get to work. For this reason alone I am very happy that the MSP airport has decided to become bike-friendly. This is the best solution of all, and compared to the costs of running and maintaining the airport, the cost is insignificant.
You raise strong points about injuries on the road, and these concern me as well. The USA could benefit from the approaches taken in other places, such as Denmark, where cycling is much, much safer. It is happening, a piece at a time, by organizations doing good work, and cyclists speaking out of their own experience for what would work best.
Officer Bryant most likely had the brunt of the report writing since he was the one that discharged the taser....
Mr. Orsak,
I think these 2 gentlemen's biggest mistake was that it was you they tried to screw. You've proven yourself to be calm and precise in your response to silly statements made on this board. I'm glad there are Americans like you willing to go the distance with fools like Wingate.
Anyone that sees the taped Missouri incedent has to be shocked. Sometimes the police just make it up.
I wanted to mention that at first I was skeptical of this being a bicycle incident, but the more I learn about MPD I'm not so sure Mr. Orsak is right.
Pat
I read a very interesting analisys of the Sen. Craig arrest as it pertains to Sgt. Karsina. In a nutshell it reads that Sen. Craig has a case for throwing out his guilty plea, because Karsina talked about not going to the media. Karsina made clear that if Craig pleaded guilty he would not go to the media. Karsina never said he would go to the media, but he created a motive for Craig to plead guilty! He can't do that! It's his job to enforce the law not offer plea arangements.
Now I know there are many left leaners that must hate Larry Craig, but it's bigger than him. Police are out there operating on there own. Why not call the media on the Senator or anyone else that is truly guilty? You could send a message MSP is off limits. But Karsina is a ticket writing machine and rung climber.
Thanks,
Pat
Pat....Of course his first concern was about the media...Were you there? Did Larry Craig say "Look, I'm worried about the media if I plead guilty. I mean if this got out it might ruin me politically."
Officer:"Look I'll do my best to keep it out of the media. I surely won't go to them. You have my word".
So Pat does that sound like a pretty good assumption that may have been said? If so how is that coerce someone? It's not arranging a plea doofus. Of course the officer can't do that. Most likely he was assuring Craig that HE wouldn't go to the press. Which he didn't do......A leftwing blogger did.....So how can you be mad at the officer?
Read the interview transcript before you start typing next time. Ahole! Of course I wasn't there, what kind of an arguement is that? You must be low level idiot cop?
Pat
pat rhymes with, bat,mat,hat,cat,and fat.
These are my only thoughts because I am only a low level cop with these low level thoughts.
der da der.
Dear Dumb Cop,
What are you doing trolling this site? why don't you go out and arrest someone? At lease go out and pretend to do some work, maybe make up some charges against someone? My mother was an assistant DA for many years and she used to tell stories of how dumb many cops were, and how some made terrible witnesses at trial because of dishonesty.
I challege you to say something smart!
Pat
Just so you know pat, the little rhyme wasn't by me. Wow, all you can come up with is a personal attack. Funny how when someone doesn't agree with the all mighty word of a non police officer, they are labeled a low level idiot cop. So really what does that say about your mentality?
I actually work in the financial field, so now what?
As to saying something smart? Just copy and paste my post and put it next to yours. I mean really...Considering that a 5 year old sounds a bit smarter than you Pat.....
Your mom was an assitant DA? Did that stand for Dumb Ass?
Please say something smart. Pretend you're back at Central North Dakota Community College and you have to muster all your brain power to answer the first question on your test: NAME?
God you two..You say something smart, no YOU!
Hey pat...why not pretend you're back in your mom's womb BEFORE your abortion....Idiot....
Stephen,
You chould consider yourself lucky you didn't accidently strangle yourself on the taser wire. It happens all the time, ask the Phoenix airport police. What we're seeing all over the country is lazy and dumb rent-a-cop types that just slap the cuffs on and taser. Older officers could calm a situation without making it worse and costing the TAXPYERS millions in damages. Most of the cops you see at the airport still live with thier moms. And the woman cops are overwight with bad skin.
Pat.
Methinks Pat was sodomized in a holding cell once or twice....
What he ISN'T telling you is that he actually went back for seconds.....
BOOYAH!
Louie
Yes there was attempt to rape me, but it was from a low level law enforcement type. I beat the crap out of him in a Saint Paul bar. You guys are not so tough off duty. Most are pussies. Although some of the female cops I am afraid of.
Pat
Did you beat him up pat because he didn't give you the courtesy reach-around? Why are you afradi of the women cops? More man than you?
Louie
The MSP web site now has and "MSP Bike Access Map".
It can be found at http://www.mspairport.com/msp/docs/msp_bikemap_final.pdf
Happy reading.
John P. Bloomington, MN
OOPS, It didn't copy over to the blog site very well.
Here it is again, only separated between two lines.
http://www.mspairport.com/
msp/docs/msp_bikemap_final.pdf
John P. Bloomington, MN
Thank you, John, for posting that website update.
Of course, this does not constitute equal access or equally easy access to the Lindbergh terminal. Can you imagine all auto drivers being happy to park short of the terminal, then wait for and take a train the last bit, paying a separate fare, negotiating several elevators or subterranean escalators, just to end up outside at the front entrance? And for workers to do such a thing with a bicycle twice a day? This is extremely cumbersome, and hardly a lasting solution.
Stephan:
Your comment about drivers having to park and finish going to Lindberg, this does actually happen when the Lindberg Parking Ramps are full. They "cone-off" the entrances and route the drivers back around to park at Humphrey.
About the separate fare, if you are traveling between Humphrey and Lindberg, you do not have to purchase a ticket. MAC has reached an agreement with MTC that rides between the two terminals are free of charge.
Then you can make your way up to the Tram Level in the "Hub Building" and enjoy taking the tram to the main terminal.
John P. Bloomington, Mn
Intro & disclaimers: I wasn't there, don't know any of the players, don't ride bicycle, and find aggressive bicylists a nuisance. I'm pro-cop -- when it comes to good, service-oriented cops that is, and unfond of bullies with badges, as their bad attitudes seem to be contagious.
Which is why I don't find Mr. Orsak's account at all unlikely. A problem, when people are as unaccountable for bad behavior as police officers are, is that bad behavior tends to happen more often.
In this case, if the more senior cop lied (which seems more than vaguely likely), Bryant was in the position of testifying against a brother officer who had perjured himself, or of doing his own testilying.
It would take a person not only of good intentions but remarkably strong character to sacrifice his police career, under those circumstances, by telling the truth.
Hey All,
Don't let a bad apple ruin the reputation of hundreds of hard working and decent Police Officers in MN and around the Country.
I am a long time officer and I agree that training/decision making is lacking in the younger generation.
Like all career fields there are both good and bad. Not all Cops lie, cheat , and steal or are "bullies with badges" nor are all cops uneducated.
Just had to say my piece continue with your free speech.
M
M is, of course, right. There are good, service-oriented cops, as well as the bullies with badges.
The problem in the police field is that, by and large, the bad actors are rarely punished, and almost never for petty bullying and testilying.
By and large, I think that older cops tend to do better, not necessarily because of training or even experience, but of being raised in a culture of responsibility that goes along with privilege.
All in all, I blame the public -- we choose to put up with this, when we do, collectively, have the tools to fix it.
As to Wingate and Bryant, it's pretty certain that the baby cop will adopt the behaviors that he sees the older ones acting out. In this case, he saw a relatively senior cop get away with recreational b&b (bullying & bondage), with no consequences.
What do you think he learned from that?
Gee I sure dislike reading comments like the ones I just slogged through. Name calling is so NOT uplifting or edifying.
One point for anyone still reading: the light rail between the Humphrey Terminal and the Lindbergh Terminal is FREE, there is no charge for passengers who are only going between terminals. This was not obvious to me from the MAC site linked to earlier, I had to go find it on the metrotransit site.
Post a Comment