UPDATE: Local attorney Jay Paul Warren (who let us publish that very helpful article on what to do in a bike-car accident) contacted me this evening to let me know he posted bail for the cyclist in question. Jason from ATXBS also sent me an e-mail from Chief Acevedo who is very aware of the situation and committed to looking into what happened to find resolution.
—
This morning, ATXBS reported on some cyclists who were knocked to the ground and arrested by APD officers during Friday’s Critical Mass Ride. It turns out one of the riders is from San Antonio and has been in jail since Friday since he knows no one in Austin to bail him out.
LOBV President Rob D’Amico is seeking legal assistance in getting this cyclists released on bail so he can return home:
On Friday, two cyclists were arrested for obstructing traffic, officially obstructing a highway passage, class B misdemeanor, $2,000 bond. Both disputed the claim. One, a local cyclist, was bailed out by friends. The other, a guy from San Antonio, is still in jail four days later. The cyclist who was bailed out noted that he talked this person–Richard Polendo–who said he couldn’t reach anyone in San Antonio and didn’t know anyone locally to raise bail.
While the $425 bail needed to release him isn’t impossible to handle, we don’t want to be in a position of bailing someone out without knowing anything about him or his circumstances…not to mention being liable for the full bond.
Are there any attorneys out there that would be willing to at least look into the situation to see why he’s not afforded a PR bond or why he can’t bail himself out?
Here’s why I care and my concerns:
1) Both cyclists were tackled and knocked off their bikes by officers. Both deny that they were “corking” the intersections. I ride CM maybe once a year at the most, just to see what’s happening first hand. I would hate to think that myself or someone else innocent of doing nothing more than participating would be subject to arrest and a fairly high bond, not to mention being physically knocked to the pavement.
2) I have seen enough of late on other complaints that I am confident that there are a small number of officers out there who are actively out to get cyclists, regardless of the seriousness or legitimacy of their infractions.
3) There could be several legitimate reasons why Polendo has not been given a PR bond, but I personally would like to ensure that there are not other, more vindictive reasons.
If anyone can be of assistance, please call me directly:
Rob D’Amico
President, League of Bicycling Voters
627-1343
on Sep 1st, 2009 at 4:35 pm
I called bonds office. They said he was only able to supply them with 1 phone number and they weren’t able to make contact with anyone. They said due to being in austin for such short time and no lawyer or people to contact he didn’t qualify for PR.
i was going to drop off some cash for a phone card so he can continue to call contact since the bonds office won’t, but they said he’d have to wait until sunday to place order and then it’d be delivered sometime monday… what a crummy system
on Sep 1st, 2009 at 5:36 pm
From the ACA mailing list –
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 2009 17:20:22 -0500
From: Jay Warren
Rob,
Just to let you know, I went to the jail and met with Richard
Polendo. He has been there for three full days. I talked to the
judge and he agreed to release Richard on a personal bond, with
my assurance that he would appear in court. He was charged with
a Class B misdemeanor which carries the same penalty as DWI (up
to 6 months in jail). If anyone was a witness to the arrest, I
would like to talk to them. The police say that Richard “fell”
from his bike, but it sounds more like he was knocked off of his
bike. They also referred to CM as an “anarchist bike group.”
Please contact me at jwarrenREMOVE_ME[@]REMOVE_MEhowrybreen.com
if you have any information regarding the arrest and
circumstances.
Jay Paul Warren
Howry Breen L.L.P.
1900 Pearl Street
Austin, Texas
(512) 474-7300
[ email disclaimer and previous emails in thread removed ]
[ email addresses also obfuscated somewhat to slow spammers ]
on Sep 2nd, 2009 at 12:39 am
Would ACLU be interested in such a case?