Man arrested after taking naked son to bike ride in Vancouver
By THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER - Naked cyclists converged on Vancouver's main police station Saturday after a man was arrested with his three-year-old son during a nude ride earlier in the day.
Naked Bike Ride spokesman Conrad Schmidt said six squad cars and a paddy wagon showed up as the group of about 75 naked cyclists arrived along the city's English Bay.
They were taking part in a naked bike ride event, which happens several times a year. It attracts a range of people, some who want to promote bike riding and others who enjoy cycling in nude.
Schmidt said the boy was in tears as police took him and his father away.
He said the arrest prompted the group to cycle through downtown Vancouver to the police station.
Vancouver Police Const. Jana McGuinness said several people had called police, concerned about the child's well-being. Police arrived and reached an agreement with the man that both he and his child would wear underwear during the ride.
As he left to join the group on the ride, the man stripped his and his son's clothes off. The father was then arrested at the scene of the bike ride under public nudity laws.
However, McGuinness said it appeared the man regretted his actions.
"When they were leaving (the scene) it was under the understanding that perhaps he hadn't shown the best judgement, there were a number of people that took offence to the child being naked in the group and subjected to people's scrutiny," she said. "It sounds like it's been a good lesson all around."
Not all the cyclists who made the trip through Vancouver's tourist-crowded downtown core supported the protest.
One cyclist who declined to give her name said the man took off the boy's pants
She said most of the cyclists did not agree with the situation and would not be protesting.
"The leaders of this event do not support what the guy did," she said.
"I think that's wrong. The kid's a minor."
The ride went down the city's crowded Robson Street, stopping both vehicle and pedestrian traffic and drawing hoots and horns.
