Originally published at: A cop thought he could intimidate a bike rider. Big mistake | Boing Boing
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“That’s how you handle a police officer…”
…if you are white.
Still, good on the kid.
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Know the law - know your rights. Because the cops genuinely do not care about either.
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For folks who want to see the Long Beach Municipal Code text, it’s Municipal Code 16.08.502 that pertains to bicycles on the Esplanade.
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That was my first thought while great not all would have the same results.
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Sure. In my view it is the moral obligation of us white folks to do this when we can explicitly because of the people who can’t do it safely.
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Once again, ACAB.
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I’ve had conversations like that about street photography. Usually with security guards and randos. “Well, really, sec. 102A of the copyright code says…”
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This isn’t a new video and I’ve seen elsewhere that the “defendant” got the exact Code #.#.# wrong (he says 16.16.502). The best part is the Cop doesn’t know his shit either and is so outwitted he gives up. Love this one.
http://longbeach-ca.elaws.us/code/mc_title16_ch16.08_artiii_sec16.08.502
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My husband will site the specific code about crossing at an unprotected intersection to any officer or civilian who tries to pick that fight with him. He walks to work every day and I’m pretty sure he crosses at the unprotected intersections on purpose. All the station chiefs of the nearby precincts know my husband by name because he always follows up with a request that they teach their employees the law. Good news, the U of M police now all seem to know the law.
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I used to do long distance bike touring - hundreds to thousands of miles over a long course of time. That usually involves crossing through multiple states (although I live in TX, so not always). We would always get all the relevant statutes prepared and print out laminated cards for anyone on the trip. If you ride long enough, eventually you’re going to get harassed by a cop.
(for bonus points, one of my cycling friends is a federal judge. it is a thing of beauty to watch a cop try to pull something on him and then get his ass handed to him)
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Know your rights.
Puck Figs.
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Reminder that cops usually have little if any training in law themselves. In some states cops only get 10 weeks of training before they go out on patrol, which is less time than it would take to complete a single course at a community college.
The widespread impression that a badge implies any kind of in-depth understanding of what is or is not legal is an idea that needs to go.
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And got the actual law wrong, too. You can ride a bike, but only 3mph or under.
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3mph?? It’s hard to keep a bike upright at that speed. Most trails here are I think 10 or 12mph.
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Which is prolly why the cops just tell people “no bike riding.”
In other words, the guy is just as much at fault here if he was riding above 3mph.
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Thing is, things could have gone sideways for the biker at any moment. The cop, because of their ‘immunity’, can arrest the guy for any old reason. And although he would probably get freed in no time, he still loses his liberty for some amount of time, goes through the hassle of getting arrested, getting fingerprinted, getting his DNA collected (this is Calif after all) and then waiting for the process to unfold. After all that, the ADA and the cops just tell him, ok, you’re free to go. And there ain’t shit the biker could do about it after the fact.
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Oh, that’s absolutely a large part of it. Even there, I’ll note the cops immediate reaction was to start to pull out his club. He stopped, but it’s notable that he kept his hand on it through the entire confrontation.
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