Posted on 07/30/2008 1:28:56 PM PDT by BGHater
A video showing a New York City police officer knocking a bicyclist to the ground has become a YouTube hit and cost the officer his badge and gun.
An anonymous bystander posted the 70-second video over the weekend. In two days, it was viewed over 260,000 times. Viewers had rated it five stars and provided 647 reviews as of Tuesday.
The video shows bicycle riders in Critical Mass pedaling through the streets of Times Square on Friday. The footage shows the incident first in real-time, then in slow motion.
The officer stood in the street as some cyclists passed by, then walked briskly toward the sidewalk as another cyclist approached. The bicyclist attempted to swerve out of the officer's way but the officer slammed against him and pushed him to the ground. The person who shot the video appears to be about 30 feet away and, although the sound of the bicycle crashing was clear, the video did not pick up any verbal exchange between the officer and the bicyclist.
Critical Mass is a group that rides through city streets monthly. Some people claim they do so in protest of or to draw attention to unfriendly bicycling policies. The rides take place in cities around the world. New York City police frequently clash with members of the group, who often videotape their rides. Police claim that some members of the group are overly aggressive by deliberately slowing traffic and harassing drivers.
In the latest incident, the officer was placed on desk duty pending the outcome of an investigation by the Manhattan district attorney. Bystanders said the officer's behavior was unprovoked, but a police report said the cyclist provoked the officer.
The cyclist, Christopher Long, of Hoboken, N.J., was handcuffed, arrested, and charged with attempted assault, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct for allegedly obstructing traffic.
He is due in court Sept. 5.
Police arrested more than 250 members of Critical Mass during the Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden in 2004. Though members have asserted the arrests infringe on their rights to free speech, a federal judge ruled that local government has the right to regulate the rides.
In recent years, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has taken several steps to make the city more green and bicycle friendly, including adding bicycle lanes to several avenues and streets and announcing entire avenue closures to free up routes for bicyclists.
Wow, that’s a lot of If’s. Sorry. I have faith that she grabbed the bike before the police could do anything with it. They probably would have kept it for one reason or another until this was cleared up. No...I don’t think the person was running off with the guys’ bike. No way at all.
True, but it was just a fun ‘50’s concert, and it wasn’t just there. In stores people are rude and surly, in the mall, abrasive, ill-mannered.
It’s true for this area, a small retirement community in Oregon, and it’s doubly true for other places I’ve been to recently, like Brooklyn.
Ed
I agree with you there. I watched a documentary on West Point and one of the officers being trained was a little girl, high, squeaky voice, looked like she was 16 years old. They showed her at rifle practice and she squeaked out,
“My rifle is so big! They had to come up with a way to let me train with such a big rifle. I’m only 4’ 10” and 105 pounds, and the rifle’s too big to carry!”
I was so saddened by watching that. To think, these are the people West Point accepts to become Army officers, little 4’ 10” girls who weigh just over 100 pounds.
The I saw an advertisement on TV regarding an escape pod for high rises for when skyscrapers catch on fire. The ad showed a demo escape pod, with a bunch of firemen helping people out, and EVERY SINGLE fire fighter in the ad was a slightly built woman gently pointing out to the requisite minorities, people in wheelchairs and ABA wymen coming out of the offices where the escape pod was.
Eight fire fighters, all of them females, not one man, and dozens of office workers being shepherded to safety, 90% of them women, minorities or people in wheelchairs.
I remarked to my girlfriend that people being raised today, kids, teenagers and people in their early 20’s, are being taught that there’s no such thing as masculine men, men who are warriors, men who are leaders, men who take charge, they’re being taught that the world and its leadership belong exclusively to women and maybe a few non-white males.
I’m 50 years old, and in a decade, or two, or three, I won’t be around to see the sad, weird world we’re creating around us.
Ed
I probably shouldn’t since I got a ticket for a car accident that sent me to the hospital. The other folks walked away and I get $108 ticket *LOL*
Nice deflection from the topic at hand.
There are a number of US Circuit Court of Opinions that state calling a cop a pig is protected speech and not justification to arrest someone. Cops are supposed to have thick skins. This cop assaulted the bicyclist and blatantly lied in his report.
Because the police took quick action to strip the officer of his badge, it is very possible the City will either avoid liability or be forced to pay minimal damages.
That would be a good result. If the city hadn’t taken this action, the cyclist would have gotten a huge award in a law suit.
Too often, cops have earned that disrespect.
Do you even know the elements of a crime that violates 18 US Code 1962(a),(b),(c), or (d) (RICO)?
my only point is that you probably have the same percent of bad cops as bad soldiers. as much as i love FR, we seem to be the equivalent of the MSM when it comes to military propaganda as well as cop-hating.
and for me, as an honest cop, quite frankly it blows. excuse my french.
LOL, that’s great!
I doubt it. Still, there is a difference between an on duty cop and off duty military from your example.
Not PC. It just didn’t read like a joke, particularly because there are some Freepers who SERIOUSLY despise all cyclists.
The cop walked up to him and shoved him.
That’s proof enough that he gave the cop enough space.
Do they really offer a course in ‘comparative velocities”?
Really?
So much for the publik edumacation system.
Geezuz.
ping
100% agreement. Hard to vette a person w/o a record or history of performance though.
Of course, you'll pay for the classes if you're a member of the heterosexual, Caucasian male, gainfully employed variety.
You bain-lazy (brain dead) folks need to do your homework:
+++++++++++++
Cop who shoved Critical Mass biker ready to face assault charge
By Jonathan Lemire
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
The rookie cop who body-slammed a cyclist at a demonstration in Times Square has been indicted for assault and will surrender Tuesday, law enforcement sources said.
Officer Patrick Pogan, who knocked over Christopher Long during a Critical Mass demonstration in July, will turn himself in at Manhattan Criminal Court just days after he was indicted on charges of assault and filing a false report.
Pogan had drafted a criminal complaint claiming that the bicyclist tried to run him down - an account contradicted by a YouTube video that shows the cop targeting the bicyclist and shoving him to the ground.
“We hope it’s a message to police officers that when they swear out a complaint, they need to tell the truth,” said David Rankin, Long’s lawyer.
“If you lie, you’re criminally liable,” said Rankin, who noted Long is on a cross-country bike trip. “We’re glad the city is taking this seriously.”
Pogan arrested Long, 29, for assault and disorderly conduct. Those charges have been dropped. Pogan, 22, is the son of an NYPD detective. He had been on the job just three weeks before the incident. His lawyer, Stuart London, did not return calls for comment.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.