Winnipeg police better be careful with how closely they co-operate with the anti-car group Critical Mass, which is scheduled to hit the streets again Friday.

Police brass could end up on the wrong side of a lawsuit.

A group of 100 to 150 cyclists, who call themselves Critical Mass, have been protesting the use of motor vehicles on the last Friday of every month by clogging city streets and obstructing traffic.

In May, the protest turned ugly and several cyclists got into a scuffle with police, prompting criticism that some cyclists were “roughed up” by cops.

Since then, police brass have decided to work with the protesters by escorting them on bikes through city streets.

Trouble is, they’re doing more than just escorting. They’re allowing these bozos to break the law.

There have been conflicting reports on the degree to which some of the cyclists are breaking the law (travelling the wrong way down one-way streets, running red lights, clogging intersections, etc.).

But there’s no question some are violating the Highway Traffic Act — offences most of us would not get away with.

Cops have given out a few tickets but, by and large, police have been told to look the other way.

Which I find very disturbing.

That may be good public relations for police in the short term — avoiding the kind of criticism hurled their way after the May brouhaha.

But it could mean lawsuits down the road if police are deliberately not enforcing the Highway Traffic Act and someone gets seriously injured as a result (or if the next ambulance patient waiting in a Critical Mass gridlock dies).

Escorting this group through city streets, much like cops do for other protests held on foot, is one thing. But failing to enforce the law — which puts the public’s safety at risk — is quite another.

Cyclists have every right to use city streets. And they have every right to promote cycling, including demanding the city do more to facilitate cycling. But they do not have the right to break the law.

Some are anarchists

Not all Critical Mass riders are law-breakers. Indeed, many are law-abiding citizens who go along for the ride to promote cycling.

The trouble is that some of the main Critical Mass organizers are anarchists, as pointed out by Winnipeg’s most prominent protester — Nick Ternette — in an Aug. 3 letter to the editor in The Winnipeg Sun.

(Nick knows his anarchists.)

Which means their objective is to break the law. Police on the street know that. But their directive is to “play ball” with these guys.

The problem is surrendering to lawlessness of any kind tends to encourage more disorder. These guys think they’ve got the cops beat because they can ride through red lights and obstruct traffic and not get ticketed.

So they’ll do more of it. Until someone gets hurt, or worse.

What police should be doing is ticketing everyone who violates the Highway Traffic Act — period — starting this Friday.

They should send out the message that it’s OK to protest peacefully and within the law, but not by breaking the law.

They shouldn’t wait for the lawsuits — or for someone to get seriously hurt.