{"id":3060,"date":"2013-09-12T09:37:57","date_gmt":"2013-09-12T15:37:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iamtraffic.org\/?p=3060"},"modified":"2013-12-03T16:51:37","modified_gmt":"2013-12-03T22:51:37","slug":"reality-check-the-hadley-harassment-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iamtraffic.org\/equality\/reality-check-the-hadley-harassment-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Reality Check: The Hadley Harassment Case"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Eli
Eli Damon preparing for a hazardous rail road crossing during CyclingSavvy Instructor training.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Update (Dec 3, 2013)<\/strong>: Eli’s case has been settled quite favorably. Read the news as broken on The Daily Hampshire Gazette website: Hadley poised to settle federal case with bicycle advocate; agrees to pay $27,500 in lawyer\u2019s fees<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Since August 2009, Eli Damon has been put through the wringer of the justice and legal system, but perhaps most demeaning: Lousy media reporting. All because Eli was looking for a job near his home in Easthampton, Massachusetts. After a series of harassing traffic stops by local police, the town of Hadley began pursuing legal action against Eli for his right to use the road safely. Unlike many states, Massachusetts does not require that cyclists ride “as far right as practicable.” Instead, the Massachusetts General Laws have a requirement for overtaking that is applied frequently to cyclists:<\/p>\n

“Except when overtaking and passing on the right is permitted, the driver of an overtaken vehicle shall give way to the right in favor of the overtaking vehicle on visible signal and shall not increase the speed of his vehicle until completely passed by the overtaking vehicle.” (MGL 89-2<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Eli is an experienced transportation cyclist and traffic cycling instructor, and well-versed in the numerous<\/em> safety benefits of visible lane positioning. He also has a thorough understanding<\/a> of how to facilitate safe overtaking when appropriate (a CyclingSavvy <\/a>technique called “Control & Release”).<\/p>\n

With all of this in mind, I was completely stunned while reading a recent editorial titled “A wise ruling on bicyclist\u2019s use of Route 9 in Hadley<\/a>” in The Daily Hampshire Gazette. The un-attributed author of the piece shows a complete ignorance of cycling safety, actual laws, and even journalistic ethics.<\/p>\n

Imaginary Motivations<\/h3>\n

Without asking Eli directly or reading any of his online posts, the editor assumes Eli’s motivations and reasoning for (assumptions italicized):<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Wearing a video camera while riding. “But by gearing up with a camera, he seemed to expect a confrontation<\/em>; he claimed what he got was harassment.”<\/li>\n
  2. Filing a complaint. “Damon\u2019s 2011 U.S. District Court complaint, by the way, did not seek money. He wanted to prove a point.<\/em>“<\/li>\n
  3. Lane position. “Though the magistrate makes clear bicyclists have the right to use roads, too many motorists seem to think riders have no place on public ways. Damon\u2019s decision to ride in the middle of a travel lane pushed back against that, with predictable results.<\/em>“<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Perhaps had the editor inquired into his actual motivations — instead of fabricating a narrative convenient to editorial bias — they would have learned how vital unencumbered, safe cycling is to Eli’s livelihood:<\/p>\n

    “The primary allegedly criminal act on my part is one that I must commit as part of my daily life, namely traveling on public roads in a safe and efficient manner. Indeed, traveling on public roads is almost universally considered to be essential for full participation in society. The effect of this is to place me on a kind of virtual house arrest, since any attempt I make to travel unescorted carries the risk of interference by police officers.” (Eli Damon, “Undue Process of Law”<\/a>, June 12, 2010)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    For additional context, the following is Eli’s CyclingSavvy<\/a> Instructor bio:<\/p>\n

    I was born in 1977. I am principally a math teacher and have been teaching since the age of 17. I have a B.E. in computer engineering from SUNY Stony Brook (2000) and a Ph.D. in mathematics from UMass Amherst (2008). In the Society for Creative Anachronism, I am Lord Eli of Bergental, member of The Order of the Fountain. I first learned to ride a bike, in the common sense, at age 7. Due to a visual disability I cannot acquire a driver’s license. I once thought of this limitation as a severe one. I made some trips by foot, bike, and bus, and relied on friends and family members with cars to give me rides for some other trips. For the most part, however, the difficulty I had in traveling prevented me from living what most people would consider a full life. I learned to DRIVE a bike at age 27, and it radically transformed my life. Suddenly, I could go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted, in a reliable, flexible, carefree manner. It felt as if I was no longer disabled. Now I travel almost entirely by bicycle. I have found that good cycling habits provide me with more freedom and flexibility than I could ever achieve through driving a motor vehicle. I have cycled in ten states and the District of Columbia, on a wide variety of roads under a wide variety of conditions. I have made trips of up to 200 miles.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    The unwarranted police interference with Eli’s right to travel safely on our public roads made his only means of independent travel nearly impossible. Eli had been repeatedly harassed by police officers (The Hadley Encounters<\/a>, The West Springfield Encounters<\/a>, The Third Hadley Encounter: Relapse<\/a>), so he should not be chastised for using common video equipment to record the encounters. The justice system holds a sworn law officer’s word in higher regard than that of a citizen. Unfortunately, this favors dishonest officers. Many of us have seen videos that contradict statements made by such officers. It’s a sad reality that citizens (especially ones in a minority) need to protect themselves from some of those sworn to serve and protect us.<\/p>\n

    Confrontation was not\u00a0Eli’s motivation for recording his rides. In fact, his motivation was quite the opposite:<\/p>\n

    When I originally bought my Oregon Scientific ATC5K sport video camera, it was because I wanted capture footage of my bike rides for educational videos. I had seen videos from John Allen, Dan Gutierrez and Brian DeSousa, and Keri Caffrey and Mighk Wilson, and I wanted to do something like they had done. I wanted to show my community our local roads from a new perspective. I wanted to show them that there was no reason to be afraid of motor traffic on those roads, and wanted to show them the benefits of an assertive position, and the absence of the danger that many imagined.<\/p>\n

    A month after I bought the camera it was seized by Mitchell Kuc, and I was made to feel insecure traveling alone. The camera did come in handy in documenting the encounter. (Eli Damon, On-Bike Video Project<\/a>, June 23, 2012)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Eli wants to prove a point<\/em>? At great expense to himself, he is not seeking monetary damages for the harassment, humiliation, unwarranted confiscation of his property or curtailment of his ability to travel\u2014a violation of his civil rights. He is simply seeking the ability for himself and other bicyclists to travel safely on public roadways without continued threat of police interference and harassment. That’s quite a point.<\/p>\n

    Common Ignorance of Bicycle Safety<\/h3>\n

    Common sense is that which tells us the world is flat.<\/strong><\/em> \u2014\u00a0Stuart Chase<\/p>\n

    It may not be commonly understood, but as many of our educated and informed readers know, Lane Control<\/a> is a vital safety skill that cyclists use to improve vantage and visibility and significantly reduce conflicts. Unfortunately, the editor did not see fit to look into why Eli might believe so fully in riding in a visible and predictable manner. Instead, the assumptions and bizarre conclusions set in: “If [Neiman\u2019s ruling] had supported Damon\u2019s claim riders can use the middle of a travel lane, people would get hurt<\/em>. Even if lawful, it wouldn\u2019t be safe<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

    Sadly, the media platform allows the writer to set an authoritative tone to common ignorance and misconception. Since the editor could not be bothered to search out these claims of safety, I’ve collected a few pieces to bring the editor up to speed:<\/p>\n