3 naked bicyclists arrested on Seattle ride

updated 11:09 p.m. ET July 17, 2007

SEATTLE - Cyclists in the Seattle Naked Bike Ride are chafing at the arrest of three of their number in the annual protest against pollution and pants.

"Seattle has never had a problem with this ride," said Daniel Johnson, who has organized the event since 2003. "This is what happens when there's a communication failure."

The daylong ride Saturday through eight parks and the Seattle Center was one of several around to world to show how exposed people are to pollution while attracting attention to bicycling and the beauty of the human body, Johnson said.

He said the three arrests in Seward Park, one of them a woman painted with tiger stripes, indicate the city's Parks and Recreation Department is trying to discourage events that include nudity, an accusation a park spokesman denied.

Parks spokeswoman Dewey Potter said there had been no change in policy on nudity, explaining that state law allows a person to be naked in public as long as no one is offended.

According to a police report, officers received complaints from several people, including a 12-year-old girl, about the ride on Saturday.

Before the ride began, an officer contacted the bicyclists about a report of a naked man walking on a nearby street and warned that arrests would be made if there were more complaints.

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