Jason & Fischer

Boston Herald
Thursday March 3, 2005

Freedom of the Road Suit Pits Cyclist vs. Trooper

By J.M. Lawrence

Cyclist sues over commuter hassles

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.