Re: Very sad news from Brazil

  Dear Companeros,

There was a an article in our local (small) paper that was from the AP 
about the incident which was sympathetic to the cyclists and appears to 
cast doubt on the driver's story. The video was mentioned.

I've noticed that police here as well tend to side with drivers. Perhaps 
because they are drivers or because their job is to defend the status 
qua. Its definitely a problem

Micah



On 02/28/2011 12:07 PM, Davi Pires wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> The driver lawyer said his client would show up at the police this
> afternoon, when he was contacted by the press. According to his
> lawyer, he will pledge innocent, alleging that the cyclists hit the
> car first, breaking the glass and scaring his 15-year-old son who was
> with him.
>
> This is different from the story the cyclists told on the video
> footage taken right after the accident. They said they were going
> slow, and that the driver had been honking and threatening to
> accelerate for a few minutes. They asked him to stay calm, because
> there were elder people, and kids, and pets, and it would not be safe
> for him to pass through - which, as you saw, he ignored.
>
> The 15-year-old son, when interviewed by the press, said (translation):
> - It was wasn't them, the cyclists, who started. My father went a
> little first. But then they started hitting the car for real. Then,
> after they calmed down, three of them stayed in front of the car,
> blocking him, only him.
>
> [from this link, in portuguese:
> http://zerohora.clicrbs.com.br/zerohora/jsp/default.jsp?uf=1&local=1&section=Geral&newsID=a3223867.xml]
>
> Etienne, you are right. The police so far acts as if the cyclists were
> wrong, for they had not warned the authorities that they would be
> riding that night.
>
> I think one of the great help we can have from the international
> community is to have this story show up on major newspapers all over
> the world. I believe our politicians are very sensitive to the bad PR
> that will come if this insane driver is not convicted.
>
> BTW, I am brazilian too, but from another city (Recife). I will follow
> the events through the blog of the Critical Mass of Porto Alegre, and
> try to keep you updated.
>
> We are also trying to figure out what is the best strategy to raise
> awareness of the incident throughout the country. Some cities have
> scheduled rides for this week. If anyone has experience on this kind
> of thing (I hope not), we are open to suggestions as to what worked
> before, and what didn't.
>
> Davi Pires
>
> On Mon, Feb 28, 2011 at 8:58 AM, Theo Haris<[email protected]>  wrote:
>> This is very sad news indeed. I hope nobody got killed during this heinous
>> act..
>>
>> Luis Patricio, do you want to keep us informed on what's happening in
>> Brazil? I wonder also whether we should organise a critical mass ending on
>> the embassy of Brazil in all countries we can, to protest if they still hold
>> to the story that he didn't mean murder..
>>
>> Theo
>>
>> On Mon, Feb 28, 2011 at 1:51 PM, Etienne von Bertrab<[email protected]>
>> wrote:
>>> These are horrible news, Luis Patricio. As far as I understood the police
>>> is still not recognising these powerful video testimonies. I wonder if we
>>> could show solidarity while contributing with putting pressure on
>>> authorities with a letter from WCN. Has it been done in the past? What do
>>> you guys think?
>>> Étienne
>>>
>>> On 27 February 2011 21:40, Luis Patricio<[email protected]>  wrote:
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>
>>>> Last friday on Porto Alegre's Critical Mass, a driver hit dozens of
>>>> cyclists:
>>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRgiIrHRoHM&feature=player_embedded
>>>>
>>>> We are all still shocked but many groups throughout the country are
>>>> already planning something to respond to that hideous crime.
>>>>
>>>> The Porto Alegre CM blog has more info and videos (in portuguese):
>>>> http://massacriticapoa.wordpress.com/
>>>>
>>>> Luis Patricio
>>>> transportehumano.com.br
>>>> "Mais importante que o veículo que você usa, é a mensagem que você
>>>> veicula"
>>>> @luis_patricio
>>>>
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-- 

--------------------------------
Micah Posner
micah-z9BsaMI/aLXHxD91WwI4dNi2O/[email protected]
People Power of Santa Cruz County
703 Pacific Avenue | Santa Cruz, CA 95060 | (831) 425-0665
http://www.peoplepowersc.org/

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