A ride to promote bicycle awareness turned into a clash between motorists and police in Ogden Friday.
It happened during the Critical Mass ride, held on the first Friday of each month in Ogden. As many as 40 cyclists took to the road Aug. 7, said Matthew Hasenyager, a participant and owner of Skyline Cycle.
Around 8 p.m., the group reached the intersection of 23rd Street and Grant Avenue, said Ogden police Lt. Mike Ashment. The bikers filled in pockets around a woman's car as they stopped at the light.
When the light turned green, some of the cyclists didn't move through the intersection, so the woman grew angry and honked her horn, said Ogden Lt. Scott Conley.
The cyclists started yelling back and forth with the driver, and eventually a cyclist threw a large 32- to 44-ounce paper cup of soda into her car, striking her in the side of the face and spilling into her car, Conley said.
She then picked up her cell phone and started to call police, and in the process her car rolled forward and struck one of the bicycles, causing minor damage, Conley said.
But cyclist Michael Byrd said the woman purposely drove forward, bumping three cyclists.
Byrd said the woman came up behind the group, and when she couldn't make the yellow light she purposely "revved her engine" and hit two cyclists, one of whom ended up with a pinched nerve in his back.
"She was absolutely the first person yelling to get out of the
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way" and shouting obscenities, Byrd said.
Some demanded that police arrest the driver for aggravated assault and using her car as a deadly weapon.
Conley said the incident did not meet the elements of the state statute to constitute such serious charges.
"We deemed it an accident," Conley said. "The only thing that fits criminal elements would be identifying the person who threw the cup of soda, which is assault. But the driver did not want to press charges."
The group eventually moved on and reached the intersection of 24th Street and Lincoln Avenue, where two men blocked the intersection for a female cyclist with a child to pass, Hasenyager said.
Conley said that event was relayed through police radios as 40 to 50 bikers holding traffic, so a Weber County sheriff's deputy and a Utah Highway Patrol trooper on gang duties -- thinking it was a motorcycle gang -- drove down to the intersection.
UHP Trooper Chris Turley said several bicyclists passed through the intersection against the light and cyclists were blocking the intersection and "flipping off" frustrated motorists.
He and Weber County sheriff's Deputy Trevor Peterson parked and arrested a 19-year-old cyclist on suspicion of disorderly conduct. The other cyclist who was helping to block the intersection rode away.
Hasenyager said the cyclist -- a retired train conductor with poor hearing -- didn't know police wanted him to stop, but Turley said it was clear. The deputy activated his siren and emergency lights and pulled in front of the cyclist near 25th Street and Lincoln, but the biker rode around him.
The deputy got out of his car and tackled the 61-year-old cyclist off of his bike and onto the lawn in front of the local Department of Motor Vehicles, then arrested him, Conley said.
A group of cyclists saw what happened, surrounded the deputy and "verbally abused" him, Conley said.
"There were so many people yelling," said Turley. "People were really upset that their biker friends had gotten arrested."
At one point, the deputy believed one of the cyclists grabbed for his gun belt, but it turned out he might have just been taking a picture of the deputy's badge with a camera phone, Conley said.
"He slapped the hand away, and then there was total chaos around him," Conley said, adding that Ogden police were called in a second time for backup.
Two more people -- a 33-year-old woman and 26-year-old man -- were arrested on suspicion of public intoxication and disorderly conduct. Several of the cyclists had alcohol in their systems and one had a 12-pack of beer in a backpack, Conley said, adding that officers could have taken the time to do breathalyzers and pair cyclists with their bikes, then charged them with DUIs.
But public intoxication is left to an officer's discretion and can be based on breath, glassy eyes, slurred speech and other symptoms, Conley said.
"It's unfortunate the situation had to happen, and I'm sure there's a core element of the group out there with the specific purpose in mind of raising awareness," Conley said, adding that the cycling event likely got out of hand when friends not committed to the cause came along and it became a social drinking event.
"They're responsible to obey and follow all state traffic laws and regulations like any individual using the roadway," Conley said. "They should concentrate on the goal if that's what they really want to do instead of drawing attention to themselves and being disruptive."
Hasenyager said the incident was an example of an overzealous police officer going overboard.
"I don't think it was the police department, I think it was one officer that reacted really badly in the situation," he said. "If they were ticketed and that was the end, I don't think anyone would have batted an eye."
The ride has been held once a month for about two years, and riders say they haven't had problems with police before.
Steve Gehrke contributed to this report.
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