Video Of N.Y. Police Officer Shoving Bicyclist A YouTube Hit

Information Week ^ | 29 July 2008 | IW

[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.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

bain-lazy = brain-lazy

[Vendome]

The guy on the bike is moving out of the way of a thug who is clearly tracking him. Said thug takes his opportunity to clock the skinny little runt.

This is how bullies behave

[Vendome]

I live in the Bay Area and I avoid the city on Critical Days.

[Vendome]

If you have ever been caught up in one these events you would know how harrowing it is.

On the last Friday of each month these gangs ride through the city trying to enforce their right to be on the road.

If you are in a car, at rush hour, you are already dealing all the work you have to do keeping you on course and safe. You drive while trying to ensure you are not hit by someone in their vehicle and all traffice noises and horns around you.

Then all of the sudden you are surrounded by hordes of bicycilist who are yelling, screaming and chanting their slogan for the month. There is little to no room for these guys to get past a car without bumping or scraping or even stopping into a car.

Now your driving is complicated by light, weather and road conditions. You have to count on others to respect the rules of the road and have some thought with reagrd to their lives and others.

You are surrounded by hundreds of these bikes with their addtional distractions and they purposely stop in front of cars and in the middle intersections. Then they pick up their bike shouting and reveling in their victory. Then they walk around and ride in circles leering with their grimacing faces.

Believe me, I have experienced this twice and it is very hard to focus on just driving safely. It is very scary because you don’t want anyone to get hurt and you, yourself, just want to exit the ordeal safely.