After meeting with San Francisco police Chief Heather Fong on Thursday, Mayor Gavin Newsom said more police could be assigned to monitor future Critical Mass bicycle rides in San Francisco.

Newsom met with Fong in response to an incident Monday in which at least one Critical Mass cyclist allegedly shattered a Redwood City family’s car window with a bike after the three-hour ride.

On Thursday, Newsom said he doesn’t want to overreact to the incident, which has caused some San Francisco cyclists to become defensive. He said most Critical Mass rides have been fairly tame in recent years, although there have been “incidents.”

San Francisco assigns 20 to 30 officers to monitor — not regulate — Critical Mass rides, Newsom said. Critical Mass rides take place on the last Friday of every month, and thousands of cyclists take to the streets, often ignoring basic traffic laws, to promote alternative transportation methods.

This story continues below
Advertisement

Last week’s incident has highlighted the unofficial rides, which have been held in San Francisco since 1992 and have no leadership.

Susan Ferrando, of Redwood City, said she was leaving Japantown on Monday at around 9 p.m. in a family van with her husband and their five children, ages 9 to 13, when Critical Mass cyclists chased them down and attacked them, swarming their vehicle at the intersection of Post and Gough streets. One cyclist shattered the van’s rear window with a bike, police reports stated.

Cyclists, however, have said Ferrando bolted through a group of cyclists milling about at the end of the ride. They said the cyclists rode after Ferrando, yelling for her to stop, when she allegedly hit a cyclist and kept driving.

Newsom said the San Francisco Police Department is reviewing its protocols for responding to incidents that happen during the rides. He said he has reached out to the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, who is not responsible for the events, but “they can certainly help,” he said.

“I don’t want to see a cyclist injured anywhere in this city,” he said Thursday.

arocha@examiner.com

Each day until voters go to the polls Nov. 6, The Examiner lays odds on local figures beating Mayor Gavin Newsom. Check out our exclusive blog: San Francisco's Next Mayor?