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.
>> Not much of one. No breaking, minimal swerving. Did you notice that the cop was in a crosswalk? If that cop had been a little old lady, there’d be a dead little old lady. The cop may well deserve a suspension or reprimand; the bicyclist deserves whatever broken bones he gets. <<
I take it back... on watching the tape again: I’m not sure what the striped lines are on the left side of the road; I had taken them for the remnants of a partially warn-away crosswalk. But other things in the scene make it appear that there is no intersection there.
I hope you are right.
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The Rookie (soon to be ex) cop didn't know that there was a camera. He wrote it up to cover his ass. In the old days it was the cop's word against the civilian and if the civilian wanted to make a stink then LE had a bargaining chip.
Cop definitely picked that guy out for some reason unseen that occurred before he came into camera view
btw....how’s by you?
It looked as if he was waiting for that particular cyclist.
These Critical Mass bikers don’t look like hard core cyclists. Some of them were riding bikes you’d expect to see a 9 year old girl riding around the block. Maybe in New York that’s what most cyclists look like, but it’s not what I’m used to.
I’d love to give the cop the benefit of the doubt but that video looks awful. I’m okay. I’m trying to get back to “normal” after a rollercoster year so far.
Yes, it’s a cruel irony.
He's having a bad day.
>> Cop definitely picked that guy out for some reason unseen that occurred before he came into camera view <<
Yeah... he was a straggler. Lionesses pick out their prey for the same reason. The cop has a defense if he can establish that the cyclist was reckless, and that the shove was self-defense. If his claim is that he was provoked, he’s full of crap. Even if the bicyclist shouted “F*** YOU, NAZI PIG! I HOPE YOU DIE!,” deliberately crashing a moving bicyclist is an insane escalation.
WTF?
Are you serious?
The swerving was minimal because he was going about 2 MPH and wasn’t dangerous to anyone.
Did you help that cop write up his report?
you are so right. just like those a-hole military guys who come around simply to start fights by groping girls in bars all the while spouting off their war stories. they’re all heroes when it’s 5 on 1. thugs, all of ‘em.
Videos have been known to lie, and I guess the things the bike jester were saying like “out of my way, pig” didn’t make it to the tape...
The replacement will be gold-plated and diamond-encrusted with platinum shift levers and titanium forks.
Courtesy of NYC and the NYPD.
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