A record 147,500 people took part in the annual Day of the Dead night bike right held Saturday in Mexico City, the Transport Secretariat said.
And while most enjoyed their nocturnal ride, some were victims of police brutality, according to a complaint.
Wearing a range of disguises and costumes, the cyclists completed an 18-kilometer route from the Fuente de Petroleos (Petroleum Fountain) on Reforma avenue to Plaza Tlaxcoaque in the historic center of the capital.
Mexico City Transportation Secretary Andrés Lajous, who participated in the ride, told the newspaper El Sol de México that one of the most gratifying aspects of the event was to see young children enjoying their city at night. Many families took part including some that took their pets along for the ride, which took place between 9:00 and 11:00pm.
A costume contest at the Angel of Independence monument, live music at different locations and the screening of short films promoting the use of sustainable transportation at Plaza Tlaxcoaque complemented the bicycle outing.
While the vast majority of participants had an enjoyable and safe night, one young woman said that she and other cyclists were attacked by at least 20 police officers late on Saturday.
Twitter user @malitriushka said that after Reforma avenue reopened to traffic at about 11:00pm, the safety of cyclists riding on the road was threatened by an aggressively-driven Metrobús.
The woman said that she and other cyclists approached police to ask for assistance but were beaten and accused of theft.
“As a cyclist, as a woman, I saw the situation and decided to help. Now I have fractures and am accused of theft,” she wrote on Twitter. “They beat me and with false testimony they say I stole a hat,” the woman said in another post.
She also said that her boyfriend and three other people were detained by police and that their cell phones, which had recorded the incident, were confiscated.
The Secretariat of Citizens Security (SSC) said that one officer was injured after an altercation between cyclists and police and that it had launched an investigation into the incident and the alleged aggression by police.
If any wrongdoing on the part of police is uncovered, the guilty officers will be arrested and will face justice, the SSC said.
Source: El Sol de México (sp), Milenio (sp)
