C.R.A.N.K. MOB: The other police force

After I was grilled and upbraided by a Culver City cop who doesn’t like children, I hustled to catch C.R.A.N.K. MOB at it’s next stop.  As the fastest man on the Westside, this was easy, and I caught the group at in a Von’s parking lot only slightly short of breath.  And just then they decided to go.

Simultaneously LAPD showed up.  It’s sort of hard being a 500 person party ride.  It’s like being an NFL lineman or heavyweight boxer – no matter how friendly you are, you’re going to make people a little nervous.  So someone saw 500 people, and they called the cops.

“Here we go again” I thought, as I just happened to be right by the LAPD when they arrived.  Five officers sauntered into the parking lot, smiling, talking to each other, and nodding to the bicyclists.  If they had bicycles with them I’d have assumed that they were all dressed up in matching uniforms as a gag.

That’s not to say LAPD wasn’t professional – they were.  But they understood the situation for what it was – a bunch of adults enjoying their Saturday night with the bicycle as means.  They were secure enough in their control of the situation that they were in good spirits, and so they were genuine and friendly with the riders.

I remember that one rider explained to them that we had just had a run in with Culver City PD.  One of the officers replied “yeah, everyone talks bad about us, but it’s those small city forces that you gotta watch out for.”  We all laughed a little, and I remember thinking “yeah, you guys are cool to us Ridazz, but on the other hand, LAPD did beat up a bunch of protesters in a park (see the May Day Melee), so maybe some of the bad reputation is deserved.”  I don’t remember clearly if anyone said that, but I can imagine if they did, the officers would have just looked sheapishly at the ground, kicked a small stone, and said “yeah, there is that.”

I think they’d do that because they were acting like adults, not authoritarians.  If my friend Ryan says “you have a hot temper Alex”, I’m not gonna get all up in his face and yell “what do you mean I got a hot temper?” or “Asshole – you’ve got the hot temper!”  I’m gonna say, “yep, I’ve got a hot temper” and just acknowledge that truth, because I’m an adult and I recognize that is a problem that I have to live with, and denying it gets me nowhere.

More generally, the mature and restrained behavior of LAPD towards the Midnight Ridazz has encouraged a mature response by the Ridazz.  When LAPD shows up, we know it’s time to go.  We also know that LAPD isn’t going to rush us, and so we take some time (usually) to clean up the joint.  We know that they’re not going to ticket us frivolously, so we are able to keep the group tight and make sure there aren’t any stragglers.  We know they’re not going to lecture us, so riders feel more free to approach them and find out what their concerns are.  By giving the party ride phenomenon a little room to coexist, LAPD has developed a mature and workable relationship with them.  And, LAPD now has the ability to disperse a ride without antagonizing it, simply by showing up and encouraging the ride to move along.

By contrast, when Culver City PD, or Santa Monica PD antagonizes a ride, they create conflict where there doesn’t need to be any.  Party rides are a social phenomenon, and they’ve been occurring in San Francisco for over 15 years.  You’re not going to get rid of them. Besides, isn’t it better than the alternatives for the people on the rides – getting wasted at bars and then driving home?  When these smaller cities try to destroy rides, it’s a totally misguided approach.  They can’t succeed and it only generates animosity between police and cyclists.  In the long run it hampers the police force’s ability to move a ride along, and it damages the relationship of cyclists with the city.  It’s not pragmatic at all.

Attacking such rides doesn’t make ethical sense either.  The smaller police forces tend to focus on the letter of the law.  They look at a large group ride and they see an obscene number of infractions.  To them, breaking the law is absolutely unethical, and therefore such a group is offensive.

What LAPD sees is a big, big group of people cooperating to be safe.  That’s highly ethical behavior.  The purpose of law is to establish conventions by which we can coexist safely and fairly.  Therefore, that group, while not strictly following the law, is honoring the law’s intention.

Law enforcement and riders who are critical of the ethics of large social rides need to go beyond the standard replies of “the CVC says such and such” or “you’re inconveniencing motorists.”  Such replies indicate an unwillingness to consider the spirit of the law, and the positive benefit of large group rides.  Those who give them have failed in their responsibility to think as an adult and not simply act as a social and legal automaton.  Before decrying such rides, one should consider whether these rides have a positive public benefit, and if so, how they can be accommodated.

I believe that LAPD, in it’s own way, has considered this question, and arrived at a reasonable and elegant solution.  I respect that.