05:10 PM PDT on Monday, July 3, 2006

By JIM KLOCKOW / KING5.com

SEATTLE – The arrest of two cyclists who tangled with plain-clothed police officers was galvanizing a group of bicyclists Monday whose goals include asserting cyclists right to the road.

The resulting incident was either a simple case of assault or police road rage, depending on whom you believe.

Two members of the bicycle group Critical Mass were arrested Friday after they prevented unmarked police van from moving through an intersection during a group ride Friday.

The arrests happened about 6:15 p.m. Friday during the monthly ride of the local chapter of Critical Mass as the group of between 150 and 300 cyclists was turning from Vine Street in downtown Seattle onto Western Avenue.

A few members of Critical Mass, some of whom ride to assert cyclists right to the roadway, were blocking the intersection to allow riders to pass as a group, according to rider Charles Redell, who said he witnessed the incident.

"Some cyclists had tried to block the intersection as a safety precaution," Redell said, a common but not necessarily legal practice often called "corking," by Critical Mass riders.

A Web site for Critical Mass describes the group as "a loose affiliation of bike riders with no leaders or set agenda. Some of the reasons people join are to assert cyclists' right to the road, to promote bikes as a fun, healthy, viable alternative to cars and to build a greater sense of community."

According to a press release from the King County Sheriff's Office, deputies in an unmarked van approached the intersection of Vine and Western and began to move slowly through the mass of cyclists when the light turned green, but stopped when a cyclist intentionally blocked their path.

"The cyclist threw his bike down and raised his arms as if to challenge the detectives to run him over," according to the Sheriff's Office.

courtesy Critical Mass rider "Steve"

Two plain-clothed police officers arrest a pair of cyclists during a ride Friday.

According to police, Sheriff's deputies activated their siren and air horn in an effort to get the cyclist to move and when he did not, got out, showed their badges and told the man he was under arrest.

The man allegedly fled and was caught about 15 feet into the crowd. But at that point, a second man came up behind the deputy arresting the man in a choke hold, according to police.

Police said they were yelling loudly, "Police, stop resisting."

In the end an 18-year-old man and a 30-year-old man were arrested. Critical Mass members have identified the 18-year-old as Jason Brien, who was booked on charges of disorderly conduct and being a minor in possession of alcohol, and the 30-year-old as Zach Treisman, was arrested on a charge of third-degree assault.

Police say one deputy was taken to Harborview for treatment of minor scrapes sustained during the incident and a sore neck, according to King County Sheriff's spokesman Rodney Chinnick.

Redell said, however, that he and other cyclists witnessed something different than that described by King County Sheriff's deputies.

A press release created by Critical Mass riders after the incident is headlined, "Police Road Rage Mars Peaceful Bike Ride."

All agree that some cyclists were blocking the intersection and that the van began to move through.

Then, said Redell, "I saw somebody get out of the van and run toward this biker who was not in front of the van. When he saw this angry guy coming out of the van, he started to ride off because the guy looked furious."

Redell said he was about 5 feet from Brien when he saw Brien tackled by a man who had come out of the van and whom Redell then considered simply an attacker.

"I grabbed the bike rider (Brien) to get him out of there. Jason was trying to get himself away and pull the attacker off of him," Redel said. "Then, somebody came at him from behind to pull him off Jason. We had again, still, no identification," Redell said.

At some point, the man began shouting, "Stop, stop, your under [expletive] arrest, I'm a [expletive] cop," Redell said. "I'm still not backing off at this point because I don’t believe the guy. Cops don’t act that way."

He also said the police were dressed in what appeared to be "gangsta"-like clothing: baggy pants and flashy jewelry.

Shortly after, a second man from the van came out and Redell said he then saw a badge.

Sheriff's spokesman Chinnick, however, said that the deputies were on duty and working in their assigned area as part of the transit division.

He said they were dressed in street clothing to blend in and it was possible not everyone recognized them as police.

But, "after the siren goes off a couple of times, you should recognize that there's emergency vehicle in the area," Chinnick said.

Redell and other Critical Mass riders say they quickly raised enough money to get Treisman out of jail after a judge ordered him held in lieu of $3,000 bail.