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.
What on earth are you talking about?
Andrea Peyser calls it this morning. There were 500 pedestrians hit by bike riders last year.
Because these Critical Mass plans are made in advance and all the participants know about them, every one of the riders can be indicted under RICO. They’ve been getting off easy so far.
You seem to have a basic confusion about breaking the law versus not breaking the law.
I'm not familiar with the group.
However, ALL American citizens have the right of assembly and to protest.
Police brutality against peaceful citizens of ANY political persuasion is wrong.
The Constitution applies to ALL citizens.
Alas, these will be the good old days long after I am gone and some of todays young people are saying how much society has become less civil. That is the way it is from generation to generation and in some ways that is correct and in other ways not.
For example, people now really are on average less racist and more likely to be civil to people regardless of race than 50 years ago, but people are also more likely to be on a cell phone rudely ignor you today than 50 years ago.
Not really, but thanks for the out of the blue comment with no context.
whatever
You seem to have a little problem with comprehension as well. You were comparing lawbreakers who block traffic with law-abiding drivers who end up in traffic jams. Clear now?
why give the cop the benefit of the doubt? Have you ever been in civil court against cops? I guarantee you that you will never, ever, get the benefit of the doubt. The cop gets that in court and you get a fine.
The context was what you posted. That’s how FR works.
Cop moved aggressively towards the bicyclist who tried to get out of the way. If cop went into sensory overload... So sorry. No badge for him.
So your view is that no Manhattan drivers ever break laws? Never speed? Never double park? Never run red lights? Never tailgate? Never make illegal U or other turns? I did not think so. Really the difference as far as I can see is that one group might “organize” to be there and maybe to break traffic laws and others show up independently every day and break some traffic laws.
Now I guess a city that needs to be open for business can not have bikes clogging the streets? Perhaps NYC needs to outlaw bikes other than those used in business or maybe commutes during business hours or maybe just rush hours.
My original response was really to point out that people have the right to use public streets. And of course who the crime victim was in this case is irrelevant to the crime committed by the cop.
You are ignoring the argument. I never said no motorist ever broke a law. And the bike riders in Critical Mass do not have the right to do what they do. No one was saying they don’t have the right to use the streets in a lawful manner. You are ignoring what I said and making up things I didn’t say and you sound idiotic. I don’t have any more time for this. Go try to cross a street in Manhattan on the last Friday of the month when this herd of lawbreakers is coming your way. Maybe then you will get the picture.
Broomstick,spokes
The officer thought he was at risk because, if you think about it, the bicyclist was coming close enough to make an 1/8 radius turn and hit him.
I've seen folks hit by a bicycle and it's not always pretty.
: )
Not exactly sure the cyclist wanted to hit the guy, maybe more like make a short right turn and cut past him to the rear.
15 MPH though ~ not a 2 MPH like some have asserted.
You know that if you or I did that to a bicycle officer we would either be imprisoned for the next 20 years in the deepest darkest hole available, or our families would be attending our funeral.
The officer was clearly watching this particular cyclist, and walked with apparent intent to move adjacent to or in front of the cyclist. The cyclist swerved to avoid. The office maliciously slammed the cyclist to the ground.
The video doesn’t leave much question regarding intent. To then manufacture false charges and illegally imprison the victim is even more aggregious. Misusing police powers to defraud, intimidate and imprison should meet with the harshest penalties.
Assuming a proper investigation, litigation, and reasonable judgement find him guilty, he should spend the next 20 years breaking rocks Then he can spend remainder of his days working to pay off the judgement from the civil suit. He acted on his own here — why should the city have to pay all of the judgement.
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