The video documentary organisation i-witness was responsible for overturning over 400 of 1800 arrests at the 2004 NY RNC. They were able to demonstrate that the testimonies of the police were false.

Not surprisingly, before the 2008 RNC, they were all preemptively arrested, as well as a number of other journalists, videographers, and lawyers.

It's sickening. What allows it to happen are the people who back the police up, and go "oh, they must have had a good reason to arrest that journalist". The passive/compliant/authoritarian section of the population.

The military style of policing also scares off the families and 'ordinary folks' - would you take your kids to a rally when stormtroopers are heavying you? And all that are left are the "rabble", who the police can target and arrest safely knowing that they'll get away with it.

Helmets have been demonstrated limited protective value. Better than none, but far less than the helmet manufacturers would have you believe. But they have talismanic value, as a symbol warding off danger.

I'd have no problem with that, if it didn't affect me. But what this discourse of risk and danger does is convince the public that cycling is an inherently dangerous activity, and thus actively discourages uptake by the population. This is an enormous downside, contrary to the assertion above that there is none.

Cyclehelmets.org has some graphs that show just how dramatically cycle use rates dropped in Australia after the laws were introduced, and how the injury rate per cyclist kilometre increased. Less cyclists on the road makes it a much more dangerous activity (thus proving the helmet evangelists right in their assertions of danger). The safest places in the world to be a cyclist are not coincidentally those where helmet use is extremely low (less than 5% of riders), and thus there is no looking stupid/feeling unsafe for a casual rider to contend with.

All of which serves to put the onus for safety on the rider, rather than the society that privileges the rights of cars over that of other road users.

Oh, the other thing that as far as I can tell has been missed in all this discussion is that the victim was the one charged with assault. This is pretty much standard operating procedure among the police departments I've had the misfortune of encountering. If you're assaulted by the police, you can pretty safely bet money that you'll get charged with either resisting arrest, or if the violence against you is sufficient to produce injuries, assault. Again, I know someone who had this happen to them - peacefully demonstrating, then tackled, violently chokeholded, and charged with resisting and assault.

There are good police officers, certainly. But the problem is the police tend to close ranks and exert tremendous pressure on their members to 'protect' their own from charges. And people wonder why gangs do so well? People simply have enough bad experiences that they lose all trust of police and turn to alternative forms of protection.

Although I just expressed some strong sentiments about cars, I do think that critical masses are a critical miss tactically.

"If all those massers merely rode their bikes every day, in normal clothes, like normal people, like the millions of citizens of Northern Europe" we'd be a lot closer to the cycle culture that would improve all our lives.

Two points.

1.) For every incident of police brutality that happens in front of a video camera, there will be dozens more that where only the word of the victim is evidence. Your word against the cop - who's going to win? Good luck with that.

I've had a friend sue for unlawful tazering, but there is no way he would have won had he not been filmed. I've had others with no recourse after their cameras were deliberately stolen or destroyed after filming brutality. If you're middle class and white, and look or act like a "good person" it's unlikely that police violence figures on your radar. This kind of thing doesn't even surprise me. I avoid any contact with police because the risks are too high.

2.)Every time you start up your car you are injuring cyclists. Every time. Cars emit huge quantities of toxic chemicals. You're asking me to sit behind you while you idle and put that tailpipe in front of my mouth? No thanks. I'd rather not commit suicide.