• 2:00PM Meet at Colonel Summers Park (17th and Taylor)
• 2:30PM Let the swarming begin
• 4:00PM Meet back at park for potluck
• Rage till the sun goes down.

www.may12.net

www.globalmay.org

https://www.facebook.com/events/374408479262888/ (Event page)

With tons of bottled beer, a museum of bikes hanging on the walls, and even a photobooth that uploads directly to the shops Flickr page, this place is really as fun as it sounds. Official meeting starts at 8pm but get there at 7 and we start gettin’ sauced.

http://velocult.com/

With that mission in mind, it was deeply saddening to us to come under repeated attack by Portland Police Bureau officers on May 1st, 2012 during an “unpermitted” march through downtown Portland. Through the course of this action all of those involved, pedestrians and cyclists alike remained nonviolent and predominantly peaceful, yet came under violent assault by the PPB for what is nothing more than the traffic ‘crime’ of jaywalking, an offense that surely did not require the arresting and beating of some 39 individuals.

Of those 39 protesters that were thrown to the ground and in most cases injured, many were legally riding their bicycles at the time they were accosted and arrested. The police relentlessly broadcasted via public address system that the streets were open for “vehicular traffic” which undeniably includes bicycles.

Even more telling and shocking was the fact that not one cyclist arrested saw his or her bike removed from the scene by the police; they were yanked from their ride and were left to question if they would ever see their bicycle again. Theories have emerged that this was a deliberate attempt by the PPB to intentionally conceal the fact that these protesters were in fact not breaking any law at the time of their arrest.

It is for these reasons that the PDX Bike Swarm can no longer trust that the Portland Police Bureau has the intention of enforcing the law where it concerns cyclists. We have repeatedly attempted to communicate and cooperate with law enforcement officials during previous actions, and to make our intention to abide the law as bicycle riders abundantly clear.

On May 1st the police made it clear that the law means very little to them, and the future of our relationship with our police bureau is very much in question. It is our sincerest hope that this relationship can be resolved, and we look forward to a representative of the Portland Police Bureau making a similar statement of intent in the near future.