
Some time ago, I came across the story of a Minnesota bicyclist who was tazed by airport police while riding home from the Minnesota airport after a recent trip. By all accounts the bicycle rider, Stephan Orsak, was in compliance with all pertinent airport regulations and Minnesota law at the time he was stopped by airport police.
During the encounter, the police were rude, hostile and gave conflicting orders to Mr. Orsak regarding his perfectly legal bike riding activities. When Mr. Orsak questioned the police regarding their behavior and confusing orders, the police became more belligerent and ultimately tazed Mr. Orsak and stomped on his glasses.
After the encounter, the police charged Mr. Orsak with multiple criminal misdeamenors to cover up their own egregious behaviour. They also posted no bike riding signs after the fact in strategic locations and erased footage from airport surveillance cameras that could have been used as evidence to exonerate Mr. Orsak of the charges levied against him.
Mr. Orsak has documented the incident, including legal documentation associated with his case on his blog.
Tomorrow, Mr. Orsak is scheduled to appear in court where several motions will be heard and jury selection for the trial will begin.
I encourage those who are interested in this case to checkout Mr. Orsak’s blog and lend him your support if you feel it’s justified.