Update:
NEW YORK (CBS) ― A New York City police officer was stripped of his gun and badge Monday after he was caught on video slamming a cyclist in motion to the ground. The cyclist was among over a hundred other “Critical Mass” riders passing through Times Square Friday evening, when witnesses say — and as a video posted on YouTube shows — two officers approach him. What happens next is disturbing. One of the officers intercepts the rider, identified as Christopher Long of Bloomfield, N.J., and apparently deliberately shoves him hard as he rides by, sending the cyclist hard to the pavement.
Craig Radhuber was taking part in the ride, and witnessed the incident. “And the one spun around, saw a bicyclist and grabbed him off his bicycle. And then the other policeman jumped on top of him and the two were wrestling, wrestling this guy down trying to arrest him,” he told CBS 2. Radhuber had not yet seen the video until CBS 2 showed it to him. “Wow!” he said watching it for the first time. “I was so upset when I saw this thing happen.” Police have placed the officer, identified as Patrick Pogan, on desk duty pending the outcome of a department investigation. Pogan told officials that Long was obstructing traffic and that the biker was actually trying to run him down.
Long, 29, was charged with attempted assault, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.
Here’s a clue to the idiot cop: Cameras are EVERYWHERE MORON, and they can be used against you too! The fact that they can charge the rider with assault just shows how corrupt the system is.
Found by Pete.
#79, Miss,
Who said there was anything that happened off camera? The cop claimed the bicyclist tried to run him over.
Yes there are two sides. The cop has been shown to have lied with his side. Now what are you waiting for?
#81 Mr, Now what are YOU waiting for? I want to know what the biker did that caught the attention of the cop in the first place. Can you answer that with absolute certainty? No? Then wait until all the facts and lies are in before you come to a conclusion.
#26 Mister Mustard,
Guess I’ve missed the rest of this thread. Minneapolis sounds nice. I’m sticking with NYC though. Perhaps I’m just stubborn. NYC has a lot of other things to offer than just our wonderful subway system that moves 3.5 megapeople a day.
We have the same issue in Seattle. The “crazed bikers” assaulted a driver the last time they did this. The news reporters are now blaming the police dept for not doing anything to stop this.
As bad as what the cop did, I am more struck by the fact that bikes have no place in crowded cities.
The bicyclers in the video all drove like crap.
#82, Miss,
There was nothing that happened prior to the take down that warranted this act. Maybe if you had of read the article first before jumping to a conclusion that the cop didn’t do anything.
[the biker] was charged with attempted assault, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.
The cop should be charged with aggravated assault, perjury and both cops tossed from the force. The power of the video camera has once again brought shame upon another cop and cost the city a fortune.
Was the officer an idiot? Yes. If he’s going with the excuse and with the current information, he deserves the punishment he got, and maybe some more. That said, odds are we will never hear the full incident.
I do feel there is more to the story than what we know though. Critical Mass are known as entrapment experts. They take video on every ride, but because they don’t get permits yet act like it’s a parade (in other words, they should be unobstructed) they are bound to collide with someone or have a fight with a motorist. Incidents of shoving bikes under a moving motor vehicle so they can swarm the occupants are not unheard of. They then take their video, edit out all displays of provocation and post it so they seem like the victims.
Now forming in a city near YOU!
Critical Hit — an activist group for concerned citizens to take action against the hooligans and miscreants who are Critical Mass!
First on the agenda:
We infiltrate the groups, and gather intel. Setup ambushes and traps along the routes!
Set them up with actors on video portraying both CM and “victims”.
#87, Lord,
That said, odds are we will never hear the full incident.
Then please inform us plebeians what else the biker did to warrant the cop’s actions.
Since when does someone require a permit to ride a bike down the street?
Critical mass is a terrorist organization! They should all be clubbed like baby seals!
i think the cop needs to be tazed into submission like those paramilitary bastards do to us. they are here to protect and to serve not take out their anger from a bad childhood on us. i say put a dress on the citizen beater, and make him stand on the corner of a street with his thumb in his mouth, saying im sorry for being a citizen beater, while drooling the whole time for 24 hours straight.
and then fire his dumb ass