Does this look like a “lawless mob” to you?- July 25, 1997

The Three Questions the Local Media Lacks the Guts and/or Smarts to Ask

How the story the local media reported is falling apart.

Question #1. Why did the San Francisco police withdraw the traditional safe escort for the July 25h Critical Mass ride at the last minute?

The city/media party line that “everyone went off in their own direction” is patently false. I (Ken McCarthy) was in Justin Herman Plaza a good fifteen minutes after Mayor Brown spoke and the plaza was packed with thousands of people looking for route leadership. Many other journalists were there too and there is ample video and photographic evidence of this indisputable fact.

Answers from eye witnesses.

Question #2. Who called the riot squad? Who authorized police officers to attack cyclists and pedestrians? Who ordered the police to arrest a whole block’s worth of bicycle riders whether they had committed a crime or not?

Question #3. Why did the Mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown, refuse to look into media reports that there was “mayhem in the streets” of San Francisco and instead chose to stay at a private party and ignore the situation.

What kind of mayor responds to reports of a serious civic disturbance in his city by partying?

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