Posted on 12/16/2008 9:41:42 AM PST by BGHater
A grand jury indictment is expected to be unsealed Tuesday in the case of a New York City police officer shown in video footage knocking a bicyclist to the ground in Times Square.
Officer Patrick Pogan has been told to appear for arraignment on charges in the indictment in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, said his attorney Stu London.
Sources familiar with the investigation said the charges against Pogan are expected to be misdemeanor assault and felony filing of a false instrument.
"He denies any wrongdoing in this matter," London said. "The video in question doesn't show the reckless behavior of the bicyclist prior to Officer Pogan taking police action. He was clearly disruptive and in accordance with the type of behavior the office was trained to prevent or stop."
Pogan was stripped of his badge and gun and assigned to desk duty after video emerged from the July 25 Critical Mass bicycle ride. The footage, shown widely on YouTube, showed Pogan shoving Christopher Long off his bike.
After the event, a monthly bike ride held around the world to draw attention to alternatives to motor vehicles, police said Long was arrested because he was obstructing traffic and had deliberately steered his bicycle into an officer.
In September, charges against Long were dismissed. Long's attorney, who had said his client is considering suing the city, could not be reached Monday.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
depends. sometimes it was just crim possession of a weapon (CPW). sometimes it was also menacing or felony assault depending on the crime itself.
That's exactly the situation I have to deal with in my area. I dont know when this trend started but some of these idiots are begging to become road kill.
Suspend him with pay for doing it on video.
Perhaps you will understand that “CPW” in NY is somewhat different than in VA.
In fact, my retirement plan is to get a law degree and spend every penny I have sueing NY over their unconstitutional gun laws.
and if u get them changed, i’ll be eternally grateful. they are atrocious! the law-abiding have zero recourse. only cops and criminals have guns.
I live near Tucson, Arizona that touts itself as a "bicycle friendly city" and there has been at least one Critical Ass demonstration here. There are bike lanes everywhere but it's against the law to use them for right turn lanes because it might inconvenience a rider. Yet they'll ride 4-6 abreast and spill out into regular traffic lanes. That's legal in Arizona since they have the same rights and are supposed to observe the same laws as motor vehicles. But it doesn't make sense to ride outside a ten-foot wide bike lane unless it's to intentionally antagonize moterists.
Interesting thread on misbehaving bicyclists and over the top cop response..
None of you know what it is like to Live and Die in New York or to be a police officer here.
Cops in New York don't opt for jury trials because of the nonsense that has been written here by you so-called Law and Order types. Thankfully under New York State statutes you have the choice of a jury trial or one by three judges, and it is the later that police officers who have been alleged to have committed a crime take.
May I suggest that you chaps hop over here to NYC and take a tour with me of central Brooklyn, the Bronx (its no longer just in the South Bronx), southeast Queens, the East Village (aka Alphabet City), and of course Harlem.
I doubt that many of you would go or go unarmed, but I have without one in a police uniform without a vest.
I make this remark not to claim any heroics on my part, but to show you how asinine your position is. You forget that cops are people just like you, and that when they're faced with possible imprisonment for their actions they simply won't put themselves in harms way. They'll simply do what they did when John Lindsay, Abe Beame, and David Dinkins were Mayor, they'll coop,which is NY cop speak for hiding from the public and crime.
Unfortunately, this kid was white and only three months out of the Police Academy. He simply didn't get the job explained to him properly. However, you can be sure that had he been black, hispanic, female, or gay that all his alleged misconduct would've been excused and he simply would've been "retrained".
We have numerous cases here in New York where the cops have had to use they're weapons with high rates of fire, resulting in the death of people who weren't armed. After the trial the cops where found innocent. Years from now, unreported on this site or any other, this cop may be acquitted in a court of law. After all, even in the NFL their instant replays have to be viewed from a multitude of angles by the officials before a judgement can be made of the call on the field. The NYPD has numerous cameras through out the Times Square area as are there numerous private cameras.
You Tube doesn't show you these angles, nor does it explain the left wing bent of the DA office in NY County (Manhattan).
Well after having read this thread I can say that conservatives and liberals have found common ground -- they both hate the cops. Good Luck in anarchy...its coming soon to your community.
I can remember way back when conservative values were the rule of the day here. Suggesting better ways to mask a criminal assault in no way reflects those values.
I'd like to hear you say that after keeping up with a cyclist for the first 20 miles. Spandex works, plain and simple. I cringe when I think of the chafing some idiot in soaked cotton shorts is going to endure for days after a 60 mile ride.
Hit a nerve did I?
I’m sure you’re proud of the way the Spandex caresses your your lovely curves and embraces your “manhood”.
*snicker*
That’s one opinion
Eat another bon bon moron.
You're cute when you're mad. Especially when you wear those clingy little things.
I did 35 miles on a mountain bike in cotton shorts in the summer in AZ. Not a chafe on me.
5' 10" 220 lbs and not fat. Hardly a bon bon eater.
>>If they decide to do something about it, how are they to stop a bicyclist who refuses to stop?<
Please watch the video again, and tell me where the officer tries in any way to communicate to the bicyclist to “stop.”
Did he wave his hands? Did he yell? Did he utter a single word or send any signal whatsoever that could be construed as a signal to “stop”?
No. He went over and violently pushed the bicyclist onto the sidewalk and could have caused severe bodily injury to the cyclist or someone in the crowd.
You should really stop trying to defend the indefensible.
I was speaking in more general terms about devising an effective police counter-measure to this particular form of disruptive protest.
As for requesting the bicyclist to stop, that was what that red light on the pole was for at the intersection he just blew through. I won’t pretend the police officer was a saint if you don’t pretend the bicyclist was just out for a Sunday ride.
I’m having a hard time believing you’re a mountain biker given your derision towards cyclists. I’m first and foremost a mountain biker, and we wear lycra off road too.
I didn't say I was a "mountain biker". I said that I rode a mountain bike 35 miles. I used to be able to do that ten years ago before I ruined my legs skydiving, water skiing and riding motorcycles.
Just to be clear my only beef with cyclists is the skinny tire kind that interfere with traffic. Mountain biking is great fun and doesn't endanger either the riders or motorists. If I can get my legs repaired I may start riding again (in cotton).
I still think wearing Spandex voluntarily in public is less than manly at best or narcissistic at worst.
That's because you don't understand it. For most cyclists especially ones my age, it's the complete opposite of narcissism. We know it's not a pretty sight, but we just don't care.
We wear lycra because it works. It wicks sweat away from the skin where it evaporates quickly cooling the rider. Also, it's skin tight so that it never rubs against the skin. I wasn't kidding about sweat soaked cotton. It will rub you raw over time. My pedals revolve anywhere from 100 to 110 times per minute, that's a lot of rubbing in a 60 mile ride.
I’m 52 and have never had chafing problems. I’ve done 50 mile 10 day hikes in the Sierra mountains carrying 60 pounds, USMC boot camp and 20 years of construction work. All in cotton or cotton polyester blends. I don’t know what chafing feels like.
Wear Spandex if you want. I’ll keep thinking it’s funny.
I do, however, enjoy seeing a fit young woman wearing it [;-)
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