Rollfast

I had to Google it. Now I have to go back and figure why you got in a wrasslin' match with a policeman.

asmac

Or maybe I'm the referee...

ZombieRider

I've read this thread and I'm seeing people say the cop threw him to the ground. Who says? Even the OP says he doesn't know if she intended that.

"I don't know if she intended to knock me off"

The OP may think he has the right to go around the barrier but he is wrong. If the cop is there and actively preventing people from crossing the barrier he had no right to think he was out of all the cyclists that special one.

As for grabbing his arm:

He tried to ride, in his words, "around her" which means he was close enough for her to touch him. Maybe she felt he was going to hit her and she grabbed him to stop that. Maybe she did intentionally knock him down. Or maybe she grabbed him to stop him and him falling was an accident. Either way she had the right to stop him from crossing the barrier. The barrier was put there by the city and she was tasked with making sure no one crossed it. The barriers legality is for a court to decide. It's not the officers job while standing at the barricade to argue in defense of it. The officer was given a legal order to man the barricade and to direct traffic along the proper route and to prevent cyclists from crossing the barrier. She in turn gave the man a legal order to follow the detour and he got close enough to her that she took action to stop him from crossing the barricade.

The cyclist is in the wrong here. The cyclist reads as one of those type of people who thinks they are the special one and that rules don't apply to them. And no I'm not talking about all cyclists because we've all seen plenty of these "I'm special" people in all modes of transportation be they cars, trains, planes, ships, bicycles, skateboards, hell even just on their own two feet.

DBrown9383

I never thought of it that way, very interesting

bakes1

This

rdtindsm

OP here. RAGBRAI is held on open roads. While there is some degree of traffic control to minimize car / bike conflict, the roads are not closed to auto traffic and the cyclists are allowed to ride their own routes as they see fit. The 10000 cyclists have many different destinations to RAGBRAI campsites or local host families once they reach the overnight stop. They can and do ride on arterial roads once they get into town.

I was not headed towards a destination on the official route, but to a cafe some distance from the official campgrounds and in a different direction. I finally followed the route for a couple blocks before I cut back to the street the barricades were blocking. There was NO traffic on that street, no threat to public safety, nor my own. I saw no indication anywhere else that the traffic was being controlled on that street, even at the other end. The only thing I could not do was cross an arbitrary line drawn in the sand; I could approach it from either side without interference.

My position is that I had a full right to use that road. Her orders had as much authority as if she had demanded that I give her ten pushups. Not all orders are legal. The other factor is that she committed an assault by grabbing me, one which could have caused serious injury. You will fall when someone is pulling on your arm, whether or not it is a deliberate intent. Was enforcing the matter worth the risk?

rydabent

Good heavens yes------------lock up the women and children, a cyclist is riding down a street that doesnt lead to the majority of venders.

I guess the big problem I have with what was probably a rent-a-cop is the fact you were thrown to the ground. Even here this amounts to an assault.

But after all that nonsense, you did what any logical thinking person would do. Ride away from her, and cut back and go where you knew you wanted to go. As others pointed out it is supposed to be a free country.

jeichelberg87

Having read the OP and all the opinions, I now offer mine. I hope the OP tries this one more time and suffers more severe consequences.

rydabent

Could we get an explanation of that post?

Mr Grinch

Wait a minute here, you got pulled to the ground by a female cop? Since we are hating on public servants tasked to keep us safe, including cyclists who ignore barricades that might be keeping those cyclists from say, falling into a bottomless hole, perhaps we should hate on females too?

Don't be a jerk. Stop and converse. I've found police very accommodating to cyclists who ride in a safe manner.

lostarchitect 

You sound like a nice person.

bakes1

You need an explanation?
General comprehension issues?
I'll go way out on a limb of conjecture and theorize that he quite simply means that if you disregard a direct command from a police officer you should get a more severe response than simply being wrestled to the ground?
By a woman...

jeichelberg87

Yes, I think if you are a "stranger in a strange land," you should tend to obey persons in authority. It is apparent the OP felt this "My position is that I had a full right to use that road." No, he did not. There was a barricade erected and there was recognized authority present. In this instance he behaved like an ass and received what I believe is a relative slap on the wrist.

Thank you. I am a nice person. But if I am tasked with keeping people out of an area and that area is clearly barricaded off and someone decides to exercise their own judgement and decide they have a "right," to supersede that barricade and then blow by me without so much as a how-to-do, then you can bet they will receive some sort of physical intervention which will not be as pleasant as that doled out in this instance. And the level of that physical intervention will be justified.

+1

lostarchitect 

Whatever, internet tough guy.

bakes1

Too sad
A lot of clueless police haters with obvious authority issues pedaling around the country these days.
True rebel without a clue syndrome

Saving Hawaii

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mYUWy_hvxk

jeichelberg87

It has nothing to do with being, "tough." It has plenty to do with upholding local laws and ordinances and maintaining order.

The OP made a decision a barricade meant nothing and the officer standing there in full view meant nothing. And was treated like nothing in return. Got what he had coming. Simple.

lostarchitect 

You law and order types are always full of it. I hope you get a taste of your own medicine when jaywalking or speeding sometime.

GP

I hope you're not a cop.

GTIMKIV

What is a "Law and order type"? Someone who has respect for the law of the land and those who are sworn to uphold it? People who have respect for the rules laid down by event staff to ensure the safety and enjoyment of those involved in an event? You accuse someone of being an internet tough guy and then wish something bad befalls him/her? Wow, that's some keyboard toughness there....

lostarchitect 

Someone like you, who assumes law enforcement can do no wrong and whoever they beat up had it coming.

Yeah, no. I'm just hoping you get educated. It has nothing to do with my toughness, it'll be a cop who educates you, not me.

Rollfast

HEY...dial it back a notch, folks.

GTIMKIV

LOL Your posts make me laugh! Nothing personal, unlike you, I do not wish to see you punished for your opinions. Stay safe.

jeichelberg87

Wow, passive-aggressive much? Put on the badge and just give it to me already, okay? Come on, you know you want too...LMAO!!!

I think law enforcement is a tough job. Educated to what? To your vision of the world where we run around in fear of police and lose sight of what we are supposed to be doing? Come on, get real.

The reality is, if you act like a moron and blow by a barricade with a police officer standing right there, you can expect the described result.

unterhausen

ok, so now we've fully discussed the subject at hand and are veering into psychoanalyzing each other. Closing