SEATTLE -- Sorting out the Critical Mass mess will take a while, but I've already got a bead on who is to blame.

Every month, anywhere from 100 to 300 bicyclists take to Seattle streets to make a point about how they have a right to the road.

Long story short, last Friday the critical mass riders got into a row with a motorist trying to pull out of a parking space. (Read story at this link.)

The cyclists say the car driver was aggressive.

The guy driving says the cyclists were basically a mob.

Police have arrested two bicyclists after the guy was punched, his tires slashed and his car pounded on.

I'll let the legal system sort all that out.

But the real issue here is Seattle police officials.

They'd be the ones who've long turned a blind eye to the monthly critical mass demonstrations.

They'd be the ones who have ignored the spontaneously planned disruption of traffic.

It would be Seattle police officials who've told patrol officers to do nothing.

It would be Seattle police officials who've sat back with their thumbs up their butts while several hundred cyclists were allowed to make their point.

That's why things went wrong last Friday.

Because Seattle police officials didn't do their job.

Have something to say to Ken? E-mail him at kenschram@komo4news.com.

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