[*BCM*] Globe and Herald on Rowinsky suit

[Chung-chieh Shan]

The Boston Globe and the Boston Herald each ran a story yesterday (March
3) on Peter Rowinsky's lawsuit against the Massachusetts State Police.
The Herald online article also featured a nice photo of Pete.

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Testimony begins in suit by cyclist arrested in 2001
By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

Peter Rowinsky was riding with about 100 other cyclists on Memorial
Drive in Cambridge in 2001 when he was arrested after protesting a
trooper's efforts to force them off the busy roadway. To Rowinsky, then
a 27-year-old from Chelsea, his arrest was an affront to bicyclists.

But to Trooper John Walsh, Rowinsky and the other riders were blocking
traffic and causing a hazard, and he was just doing his job when he
arrested him.

Rowinsky sued State Police, alleging that they were wrongfully stopping
and harassing bicyclists on roads where cycling is permitted. The suit
also aims to force the State Police to train troopers about the law.
Testimony began yesterday in the case in federal court in Boston, but
only on a narrow part of the suit: whether Rowinsky was wrongfully
arrested.

Still, Rowinsky, now a 31-year-old second-year medical student at the
University of Pennsylvania, said that if he wins the case, it would
send a message. ''What's most important to me," he said in an interview
yesterday, ''is establishing some kind of precedent that will prevent
State Police from continuing to harass bicyclists."

During opening statements yesterday, Rowinsky's lawyer, Andrew M.
Fischer, said Rowinsky and his wife were riding that day with Critical
Mass, a national group of bicycle advocates who try to ''win motorists
over to the idea that on a bicycle you can travel faster than a car."

Fischer told jurors that the group, which included seniors and parents
with children in tow, was not blocking traffic and that Walsh tried
unsuccessfully to pull other riders off their bikes and arrested
Rowinsky after he stopped to talk.

''It was a difference in political philosophy," Fischer told jurors,
saying that Walsh chided Rowinsky for ''disrespecting" soldiers who had
died by staging a ride along Memorial Drive at the start of Memorial Day
weekend.

But Walsh's lawyer, Brian Rogal, told jurors that the cyclists were
blocking two lanes on the eastbound side of Memorial Drive on a busy
Friday evening, riding at 5 miles per hour and stretching the length of
a football field, making it impossible for cars to pass.

''The idea that he's grabbing and pulling at people is nonsense," said
Rogal, explaining that Walsh ordered the cyclists to move to the right
or onto a bike path. Walsh arrested Rowinsky, Rogal said, after he
repeatedly argued and refused to get off the roadway.

Rowinsky was charged with refusing to obey the lawful order of a police
officer and disorderly conduct, but the charges were later dismissed.

Walsh, who retired from the State Police in 2002 after 21 years on the
job, said after testimony yesterday: ''I do ride a bike, and so does
my daughter and grandkids," he said, adding that he never disputed
Rowinsky's right to ride on Memorial Drive as long as he followed the
rules of the road. ''I also believe in motor vehicle safety."

What's not challenged in this case, Chief Judge William G. Young of US
District Court in Boston told jurors, are state laws governing bicycles
that give cyclists, like motorists, the right to be on most public
roadways, including Memorial Drive.

A judge has yet to rule on whether Rowinsky will be able to pursue the
broader aspects of his suit.

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Freedom of the road suit pits cyclist vs. trooper
By J.M. Lawrence

When a state trooper tried to stop scores of bicyclists from parading
down Memorial Drive five years ago, cyclist Peter Rowinsky stopped and
asked why. He wound up in handcuffs.

Now Rowinsky, a 31-year-old med student, is suing state trooper John
Walsh in federal court for wrongful arrest in a bid to deter troopers
from ``harassing'' cyclists.

``I was doing something totally within the bounds of the law,'' Rowinsky
said yesterday after opening statements in a civil suit highlighting the
increasing demands of cyclists for road respect.

Rowinsky was a rider with Boston Critical Mass, a group whose Web site
declares, ``the revolution will not be motorized.''

Yesterday, the trooper's attorney, Brian Rogal, told jurors Walsh had
never heard of Critical Mass when he saw more than 100 bicyclists riding
four or five across two lanes, disrupting traffic on a Friday night at
the start of a Memorial Day weekend. The trooper, who has since retired
after a 20-year career, parked his cruiser across two lanes to force
riders onto a nearby path.

Under state law, bicyclists are allowed on such roadways as Memorial
Drive, Storrow Drive and Route 9, but are barred from such ``limited
access'' roads as the Mass Pike and Route 93. Cyclists are required
by law to ride single file. The trooper arrested Rowinsky because he
``refused to obey lawful orders'' to get off the road, Rogal claimed.
``Mr. Rowinsky for reasons known only to him decided to stop and argue
the point and stay there and stay on until he was arrested,'' Rogal
said.

Rowinsky attorney Andrew Fischer told jurors he did comply with the
trooper's orders, including handing over his identification.

The criminal case against Rowinsky was ultimately thrown out, but cost
him $400 in court costs, including $35 for bail.

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