I generally agree with all the above stuff about media strategy, but don't call the media because the cops are being idiots, call them because you're having a community bike ride and it's really cool and blah blah and they can come get a bunch of B roll for a 30 second puff piece to kill time before they tell you what's threatening you and your family tonight. Then you've got them on hand and you can go, "gee, why is there one cop for every 5 people here? what's all this fuss about? we're just a bunch of nice guys trying to ride our bikes..." Cops may not be the sharpest tools in the shed sometimes, but they're a friggin' think tank compared to local TV people.

Also, you have to remember that police forces are organized hierarchically, so if you want anything done you need to be talking to someone above the person you want to do something. Usually this means just going straight to the mayor's office or the city council.