Video of Cop Assaulting Cyclist at Critical Mass Ride

Whoa!

Pretty damning evidence. I hope they got his badge number and name.

wow!

critical mass: shouldn't need a permit but should obey traffic lights.

cop: should be fired and charged.

you: digg this story, this is a REALLY bad sight to see no matter what your politics are.

Courtesy, professionalism...respect.

Maybe the cop was pissed about the CM ride in DC.

longacre - there's "doing something about it" and then there's obviously going way, way too far. I want cops to stop people from parking or pulling over in bicycle-lanes, but I don't want them ramming their squad-cars into offending drivers in order to do so.

Whatever happened to holding up your hand and staying "Stop". Chances are the cyclist would have stopped.

I smell a major lawsuit. This cop is going to spend a lot of time in court, and hopefully anger-management classes.

joeb - you're right on. During the rt, I thought perhaps the cop misjudged his step and accidentally ran into the guy.

But no way, he used the lunge and his shoulder like a line backer!

Hope the guy is dishonorably discharged!

I might be wrong but it seems to me that entire group of riders ran a red light at the previous intersection. Someone educate me, isn't that sort of civil disobedience a hallmark of these events?

The traffic in the cross street is stopped as is the traffic travelling in the same directions as the bikes. Am I wrong? There seem to be walkers stuck in the cross walk as bikes go by.

I bet a lot of people would support cops aggressively pursuing and stopping anyone who runs red lights. Drivers (especially) or cyclists. I for one think it is too bad you can't hip check taxis.

Headline should read "CM rider, looking for trouble, finds it."

Not that the cop isn't an a-hole, but thats what those guys are doing - provoking.

Ok now wait a minute.

Whatever it is the NYPD is trying to enforce...the best they can come up with is to trounce a rider to the curb?

Wake the fuck up, NYPD. There has GOT to be a better way to go about this, regardless of what the rider's presumed infraction is.

Are you kidding me? The cop's intent was OBVIOUSLY to knock the rider down with brutal force. From what we see on the tape the rider swerves way out to avoid the cop, showed no intention of confrontation, and demonstrated no outstanding wrong doing in relation to the dozens of other riders with him.

"Critical mass bikers can be assholes"

True to some extent, but what happened in the video is unjustifiable. The charges will be dropped and the cop will be disciplined accordingly. I hope Gothamist follows up on this story. Its far more interesting then that subway romance BS.

This cop is going to spend a lot of time in court...

This cop from what I can see from the video lunged at the bicyclist. What we can't see, is if the bicyclist had anything that endangered the cop.

What I can assess, is the bicyclist was already passing the cop and was in NOT endangering the officer . The officer used excessive force, which in the case of this situation, the officer assaulted the bicyclist and should be arrested and charged with assault. The officer is guilty.

the cops don't care, they'll still get their pension, their placard, their off duty/retirement carry license etc.
it's not coming out of their paycheck and they know the brass would support them no matter what.

Another reason why you should always wear a helmet.

@edEx
"The officer is guilty."

So you're convicting him based on a 80-second clip with no context? Out of curiosity, how did you feel about Bill Frist's diagnosis of Terry Schiavo based on similar evidence?

Everybody wants to NAIL this cop, but it seems worrisome that there's such a rush to judgement without any facts surrounding the incident.

somebody wake me up when the NYPD comments on this or we have some explanation for the events surrounding this incident. Until then this video is salacious but completely uninformative.

Given that this is the NYPD we're talking about, ANYTHING is possible. You have a point about the video being out of context, but even if the police wanted to stop the biker in question, its still overly harsh.

There is no way a reasonable person can defend the cop's assault on the cyclist.

Speaking as someone who often gets tagged around here as "anti-cyclist" because I, you know, want them to actually obey a few laws ... I still think this is way, way, way out of line on the NYPD's part.

I don't always approve of the way Critical Mass and its attendees handle themselves, but I believe in their right to protest without getting the shit kicked out of them by some jackass.

Dugg, and I hope the cop loses his job. I'm not interested in being "protected and served" by thugs.

Weird, Looks like he targeted that guy.

at least he didn't get the taser!

mrguy - PO has NO EXCUSE for using a linebacker's move to get someone off their bike. PERIOD. This would be the equivalent of cops smashing their patrol car into someone who just ran a red light.

What we do see is a critical mass rider apparently doing exactly what dozens of other riders before and after him were doing: Riding around the POs.

Personally I think the cop singled this guy out because there weren't many riders directly behind him. If you watch the video again, there are almost no riders that come after the rider. The few that followed were on the other side of the street. So using this theory, the PO merely picked the easiest guy to knock off the bike without being in danger of getting run over afterward.

It also baffles me how dense this PO is to do this with cameras (from peds, CM riders, and surveillance) recording what he's doing. Perhaps it's an indication of how well protected he feels from complaints and lawsuits even with damning evidence.

That was spite. Pure. Unrestrained spite. The assault was disgusting, the charges are straight up Gestapo.

Once again, thank god camera technology can help meet out justice.

Times Up has my support. Tell us where the protest against this will be, 'cause I'm coming.

True, we're not seeing something that might have justified the police in stopping and arresting this cyclist, but what we also do not see is any attempt by the police to stop this cyclist properly. The officer makes no attempt to signal the cyclist to stop and seems to blindside him with a violent shove.

Unbelievable! Unless that rider was about to cause harm to someone else there is no reason for that cop to do what he did. Do we live in some third world police state? No! CM vs. the police has been escalating for years. The cops feel the need to show their power so they don't appear weak or submissive to the activists.

I got a bullshit ticket during CM for not using a bikelane, which I beat in court because the cop didn't even know the full details of the law. The bikers run red lights and sing out there chants, but does anyone get hurt? No. Cops try to impose fear by giving out tickets, OK, but tackling a guy to the curb? Come on!

It's a disgusting act on that video and all of you who feel it was justified, you're all a bunch of slaves already.

interesting debate here, but based on this video, there really isn't much more to say. either you think there's no way that biker could have done something to justify being knocked down like that (and i'd be curious to hear other ideas for getting a biker to stop who clearly has no intention of doing so), and ergo this cop is guilty of assault, or you think (like i do) that there is a major part of this story that we have not yet heard that would exonerate the cop.

hopefully gothamist will update us when there is some kind of development.

I agree: "Spite--pure, unrestrained spite."

That video made me feel sick to my stomach. Hope that cyclist sues.

Any info on who the cyclist was? Surely he is saying something somewhere about what happened...

I can't believe the level of rationalization in the comments here. "The rider may have committed a crime before and wouldn't have stopped." NYPD generally has lots of motor scooters at Critical Mass and if they want to catch someone riding a bicycle, they can. This jerk could have killed the guy with that move. It doesn't take a bike moving very fast for a head hitting the pavement to be fatal.

The cop should get a medal. These retarded bycycle pot heads dont even know why theyre riding. They just do it to be a rebel, at least once in their lifetime. everytime these losers block traffic I wish I had the balls to kick one of these worthless retards off their bikes.
This critical mass ride is completely useless and serves absolutely no purpose except to annoy people who actually work for a living.

this cyclist definitely did something wrong - ride his bike in New York City. he should have stayed home, and done some internet activism, like digging articles, posting comments, and conjecturing how no "reasonable" NYPD officer would do something so brutal.

get real. critical mass has its problems, and so does the NYPD, but have any of you ever fallen off a bike, or been shoved off?

unless this cyclist was pointing a gun, or getting ready to sling shit [laced with anthrax] out of his bicycle spokes, there is no reason to be assaulted like that. context or no context.

for those thinking, "He deserved it," consider for a moment if this was your fun-loving friend, cousin, or other relative.

this is gross, and no justification for this kind of police brutality. we should not be so complacent as to be able to justify citizens (reckless or not) being assaulted like this.

:"It doesn't take a bike moving very fast for a head hitting the pavement to be fatal."

This all brings up a salient point about the importance of bike helmets.

climbgod - while i agree with you that CM serves no real positive purpose, your characterization of CM riders is pretty off base. have you ever witnessed a ride or spoken to riders? There are many doctors, lawyers, teachers, families, and all other sorts of people riding in them. this is less true since the crack down has lead to participants having to fear for their own safety and livelihood, but it is still a diverse crowd. when you make baseless judgments and ill founded assumptions you just exacerbate the problem.

markedman-
every cyclist runs red lights and generally rides based on what he/she feels is safe, not what the lights say. If you can run a red with no less danger to anybody else than a pedestrian jaywalking, i say go for it.

But I think the cop didn't do this to the biker just for running a red light. there's more to this story.

ClimbGod, come on, these sweeping generalizations and insults don't do anyone any good, you retarded kitten-molester.

Oh Climbgod, get back on your Segway and get the hell out of the road.

And give me a break. I don't understand how anyone can defend the cop's actions. Sadly, the most prominent vacation memory in the minds of Times Square tourists will be of New York's "finest" overzealously defending the city from the threats of the villainous cyclists. It's called Brutality, plain and simple, and it should never happen in this country.

What the NYPD really needs to do is double their starting pay to attract more worthy recruits and start to seriously weed out incompetent ogres.

Seems to me as if the biker can see the hit coming as he tucks his shoulder in while he continues to speed into the cop.

Now I'm not saying the cop was justified as that hit was brutal, but it does seem as if there's more to this situation than we can see in this video.

That said, I'm a bike rider here in the city and I never have problems with the cops. It just seems that Critical Mass, while a great idea, is not the best way to communicate a clear message to politicians in New York regarding the needs of cyclists in the city. Transportation Alternatives seems to do a much better job of communicating a clear message without putting its members in a position where they have to face off against aggressive cops.

Wow. A lunging take-down. I think the professional thing to do would be to tell the biker to stop first. Unless the biker was attempting to assault someone else, that is complete bullshit.

Maybe the cyclist said something to the cop which made him knock him down? Until more developments come from this story I don't know if it was the cop to blame or the cyclist. According to the video it looks more like it was the cop.

haha so saying something is acceptable provocation for being tackled?

That video just made me sick to my stomach. I really hope we get an update on this one, and if not what's the best way to bring some official attention to it/ or complaint?

Markedman,

let me know when you come back to reality. It seems it has been a while since you took some time off.
Of course I've seen the retards riding along the way with the only intention of blocking the ENTIRE STREET so traffic GETS STOPPED.
It is really cute that doctors and lawyers participate, I am quite touched. What I saw with my own eyes were pothead NYU students that never worked in their life and do not know why they have to block the streets. I say it again (as ignorant as it sounds), the cop should get a medal. Good for him.

I also want to point out that you did not mention what the critical mass ride is about.
Say hello to the lawyers and the doctors. I hate every single one of them. The lawyers are probably ACLU-pedophile defenders. I hope they will burn in hell.

I used to be very liberal but boy, do you airheads piss me off.

Can somebody explain what Critical Mass' goal is? Seems that whatever it is, their method of getting it is rather like a child throwing a tantrum- annoying, disruptive, and ultimately counter-productive. Even more so when you read about what happened recently in Seattle at a CM ride.

robingee, would you like to debate this outrage at the starbucks around your corner? oh, youre there all the time, my bad.
we can also discuss about the deviousness of corporate america, while you can show off your new iphone. get lost.

Unless we hear that this guy had just pistol whipped a tourist, burned a kitten in the intersection, or murdered someone - this is absolutely, positively, 100% against all NYPD departmental rules of conduct. I'll take it even further and say that if the cyclist had done all 3 of those things the jackass cop still is not justified in acting that way. There was zero attempt to stop the rider, no hand gestures, no verbal confrontation. The guy on the bike was simply trying to ride around the cop - AS WAS EVER OTHER RIDER.

Why are people saying he made no attempt to stop???? Did he have any reason to?

It scares me to think how many people here are trying to rationalize this behavior - THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO YOU SOMEDAY. Unless you are goose-stepping right along with the fascist state we are quickly becoming. What will you think then?

Most of y'all need to fuck off back to streetsblog.

ClimbGod - did you have an emergency or something you couldn't get to Friday night? Did that ride ruin your night?

I agree that there is no point for the ride and many of the people who ride are tools - but who gives a shit??? Make a list of things you like to do and I guarantee that myself and many other people will pick out some of them and comment on how retarded it is. WHO GIVES A FUCK??

1 night a month a bunch of people(some drs, some lawyers, lots of jackasses) like to ride the streets in a big group. Oooooooh - sunsabitches - send them home in body bags.

As someone commented earlier - you seem to be one of the enslaved and are happy being so - how bout you stay home and don't come out and read Mein Kampf or some shit. You'd be much happier

It's literally insane how something as simple as cycling pisses people off to the extreme. Unless the person on the bicycle had actually committed a crime he didn't deserve to be pummeled to the curb.

ClimbGod, I get the impression you're not a very smart person. The more you ramble on the more rediculous you sound. Average Joe? Normal people? What, do you think there's two groups of people out there, Critical Mass riders and everyone else?

Intolerence is the real culprit here. Intolerence breeds anger and thwarts reason. Even if there was no purpose to a Critical Mass rally the riders would still have a right to assemble.

CM does have a purpose however. The purpose is to not be complacent about bicycle rights and safety in NYC, and to use many voices to bring awareness to those things. Is it the best way to achieve those things? I'll admit there might be other ways to do it better, but that's why organizations like Trans Alt exist. There has to be multiple groups that to fight for those rights, and whether you like it or not, those rights are ours to exercise.

Oh ClimbGod, I have been in a Starbuck's exactly once in my life. Silly. And I don't have an iPhone. Must be rough trying to peg people with your narrow view.

You're still a kitten molester though. =^..^=

#103- In the end, it's always the pedestrians who obey traffic laws who end up the worst for wear.

I worry more about asshole cyclists than asshole drivers. Why? It's easier for a cyclist to get away redhanded than it is a driver, so fuck you very much.

Everyone else has already said it: this is unbelievable. I commute by bicycle and I'm starting to wonder - how pervasively does the animus that the police harbor toward Critical Mass riders extend to the bicycle riding population in general?

It's not just examples like the above, which appears on it's face to be police brutality. I'm talking about: looking the other way when cars are double parked in bike lanes, reporting accidents in biased ways ('bike swerved in front of car'), and so on - little things that add up.

From now on, I'll be taking a lot less for granted when I'm on my bike.

Wow, there's a lot of bicycle hating out there! Can't believe the justification for police brutality for running a red light. Riding a bike is not a criminal activity. Neither is running a red light - it's a traffic infraction. What would happen if that was a pedestrian jay walking?

the edge - "I worry more about asshole cyclists than asshole drivers. Why? It's easier for a cyclist to get away redhanded than it is a driver, so fuck you very much."

seriously? try looking up the number of hit and runs cars have been involved in that have resulted in severe injuries and death recently. they are in the news paper just about every day.

#103- In the end, it's always the pedestrians who obey traffic laws who end up the worst for wear.

i agree. it's a bit off-topic, but sometimes when i try to cross at the stop sign near my apt, cars try to hit me. they stop, i begin walking, they go. makes no sense.

"CM does have a purpose however. The purpose is to not be complacent about bicycle rights and safety in NYC, and to use many voices to bring awareness to those things."

If it's purpose is to not be complacent about bicycle rights and safety, why the hell is this douche riding his bike without a helmet?

#110- What makes a better story? Someone gets run over by a car or someone who eats a shoulder in the face from a cyclist?

The Edge - How about stories about how often a cyclist hits a pedestrian who is jay walking and walks out in the street in front of a cyclist without looking? Happens all the time, because pedestrians look out for cars but not bikes. I'm not saying it doesn't happen that cyclists are at fault for hitting pedestrians. I know it does. I know cyclists who intentionally aim to scare pedestrians. I know some who love brushing a pedestrian back onto the curb.

I also know that riding a bike in Manhattan is a block by block battle to avoid pedestrians crossing against the light and absolutely paying no attention to cyclists, then getting upset at the cyclist when they almost get hit. My point however is that it is ridiculous to say you're more concerned about cyclists, who may startle or at worst bruise you, than cars which kill and maim people regularly.

since this has turned into a big free-for-all of complaning about cyclists, drivers, and pedestrians, i'd like to address another dick move that i call pedestrian creep. You're driving across an avenue with a green light, of course, and at the intersection on the other side, people who CANNOT SPARE 2 SECONDS have stepped off of the sidewalk and into the street, forming an excruciatingly tight fence of people through which you must navigate you car or be held responsible for killing a pedestrian (who was 4 feet into the road when he didn't have the light). This is of course worst in population-dense parts of the city with heavy foot traffic such as midtown and washington heights. this drives me UP A WALL.

I'd also be willing to bet that a lot of bicycle accidents happen in a situation like this: you're crossing sixth avenue around 46th street. The wave of cars goes by and a mass of dozens of people begin the jaywalk across the street. HOwever, as typically happens, there is a cyclist that lags slightly behind the last car in the wave, but still has the right of way. He has to navigate a huge group of people who are all jaywalking. if he's going fast, he may have his head down for a second, not realizing that despite his green light, it's AS IF he is running a red.

in short, drivers, bikers, and pedestrians all do inconsiderate things, and there's little point in arguing about who's worst.

OK mrguy, now you're talking. Well said.

thankfully Pb is still cheap. your 9mm vs. my whatever. smooth and crunchy with bananas.

Best comment goes to Jerk Store...right on the money

Headless Governor Found Nude in Subway Sewage

Print it!

While we're off-topic on traffic peeves, there should be a special fine for this scenario:

A: Pedestrians in crosswalk, crossing with light

B: Car 1 waiting for them to pass before turning right

C: Dingbat behind Car 1, honking like a dingbat

Apparently the cop in question is indeed suspended.

http://www.myfoxny.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7080407&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

@ Tkaisen:

who cares if he did call him a swine? does that justify the cops reaction? have you not lived in the city long enough to see people screaming obscenitites at cops all the time? does the cop usually beat them violently to the ground?

120, your dead on, people jay walk across a green light without even looking over if they know there are no more cars coming. When I'm walking around I make it a point to watch for cars and bikes. Also I'm glad there is an update to this story. After the investigation I hope the fire his ass.

"Guilty until proven innocent."

yeah, edEx, that's pretty much what the cop was thinking. endanger first, ask questions later.

edEx, you've seen the video. What else do you think this investigation needs to consist of?

Hahaha, suspended..... I hope that cop's wife is very, very proud of him....

Officer identified! Patrick Pogan, a rookie.
Way to start off on the right foot there...

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/07/28/2008-07-28_video_shows_nypd_cop_assaulting_cyclist.html

One way or another, the NYPD policy toward Critical Mass is going to change. They can keep doing what they're doing or even ramp it up, and the city will continue to lose money on police pay, gas, legal bills and lawsuit settlements. The more NYPD pushes, the more the bicyclists will work around them. They can't win. Or they can calm down and try to work with Critical Mass, even if nobody is officially in charge of the event. Imagine how much easier it could be for everybody if the cops just calmly directed traffic with no bad attitude. Bystanders are less inconvenienced, bicyclists will be happier and cops won't look like total pricks. It's a win-win-win solution.

-edEx

seriously. would you want a cop like that patrolling the very streets you walk on?

Cop: "You walked funny" *WHAMMMM*.

everyone should dig this article as much as they can. this needs to see the light of day.

mr. bloomberg, do you seriously want cops like this guy patrolling the streets of NYC?

i hope the biker gets a lawyer and sues the living pants off the NYPD.

Virgil (130) said: "While we're off-topic on traffic peeves, there should be a special fine for this scenario:

A: Pedestrians in crosswalk, crossing with light

B: Car 1 waiting for them to pass before turning right

C: Dingbat behind Car 1, honking like a dingbat"

D: Traffic cop motioning and screaming at car 1 to turn, in spite of numerous pedestrians currently crossing in the crosswalk.

Sadly, it's a situation I see nearly every day as I cross West Side Highway in Lower Manhattan.

"Do you think viewing him from the front, and because the cyclist was moving, the cop thought it was a gun and asked him to stop, and the guy didn't for whatever reason (maybe he couldn't hear or it was too fast, or he didn't want to stop)"

Nope, I don't that's possible. It looks pretty clearly like what someone suggested earlier: the cops are in the middle of the street talking, he started walking over to the sidewalk as most of the group had passed. A few stragglers going by, he was irritated that they were going in front of him (though leaving him plenty of room), and just decided to exert his "authority" on one of those who were offending him.

Why? Probably just because he was sent out there to keep tabs on these people, therefore they are the enemy.

=)

I don't think this story can be sweep under the rug like most other similiar cases. =)

I am being attacked for what exactly?

I have said in numerous posts above, #26, #43 and #63 that the cop is guilty, in my opinion. My last post, prior to this one, #137, states guilty until proven innocent what that means is, he has been charged, tried and convicted on this thread. Even the NYPD stripped him of his badge and gun. In this world, that is all guilty until proven innocent. He will be tried, and more or less quietly removed from the force or put on a probation.

Most of us here know he's guilty, he is. 80 seconds of video proves this. He is guilty of excessive force. He wasn't about to be run over, he gained momentum and rammed the bicyclist and now he's paying for it. His name will be tarnished and since he's a rookie, there's no loss, he has no long standing credentials and I'm sure there will be a good reporter who investigates his past life, which is probably filled with anger and fighting and quite possibly trouble with the law in his younger pre 18-years-old years.

I'll say it again, he's cooked.

#148, I think I have been clear in my previous posts (did you read the whole thread?) that I do not want douche bag cops like this one patrolling the streets.

If the same video existed where Joe Q. Citizen did the exact same thing to a NYPD bike cop, at minimum he would be charged with assault. I don't think people realize how dangerous pushing someone off a bike is, it's pretty easy to crack your skull that way. I'm glad this was caught on video, because that officer does not have the correct temperament for this job.

@Spirit of 76 - That's one of the most reasonable things in this thread. The police were absolutely great at the pre RNC Critical Mass rides, then after the protest ride things went downhill very quickly. I stopped riding at CM shortly after that because of all the dangerous shenanigans going on. They were friendly, helped out with traffic and some of them thought it was a pretty cool event. How we went from that to this in a few years is scary.

The traffic calming rides in BK are a pleasure and the cops are great, and there are no major issues.

The problem Novanglus is that, just as emilydickinson said:

The police were absolutely great at the pre RNC Critical Mass rides, then after the protest ride things went downhill very quickly. I stopped riding at CM shortly after that because of all the dangerous shenanigans going on. They were friendly, helped out with traffic and some of them thought it was a pretty cool event. How we went from that to this in a few years is scary.

I think that what the cop did is VERY wrong and he should be punished, but there is NO case where pushing someone off of a bike deserves to die.

For that, I would like to shoot YOU, Jimmydodam.

I also don't see why these guys would need a permit for riding their bikes legally.

I'm quite amused by the people here trying to find an excuse for the cop's behavior. Let me give you a better one: this stuff comes from the top, or it would have been stopped a long time ago.

Same thing with such crimes as Driving While Black, or Walking While Latino.

The cop's only mistake, as far as his "superiors" are concerned, was getting caught on camera.

Nice NYPD! That one's gonna cost you another few million, at least.
And the NYPD wonders why people hate their guts???

as finally mentioned above, this comes from the top.
finally the press is pointing out the resources spent every month on this and only to have charges dismissed. Only now this is going to cost us again.
hey, city comptroller, do an audit on costs related to Critical Mass.

And what about the other cop who witnessed the assault and STILL helped to charge and falsely imprison the victim? We keep HOPING that corrupt, thug cops are in the minority but "New York's finest" stick together like the stinking shit they are made from.

I feel physically sick that this happened and that I even live in this city. Bloomberg will do nothing as usual.

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? If you want it to stop, write to Bloomberg and the New York papers. If you want it to happen to you, do nothing.

I have no sympathy for critical mass bikers. I support their cause but mob-mentality breaks out in the best of groups. They can be ruthless to anything in their path. As a pedestrian i have been hit by a bike before during their romps around the city. Let it be known that I've also been a part of the ride also. Most people are very nice, but there are definitely some aggro people in the mix.

Despite some people who believe the officer would never act in such a way without reason, clearly, he had no idea that he was being filmed, or else he wouldn't have lied thusly:

The (criminal) complaint said Long, 29, deliberately steered his bicycle into the officer, causing both of them to fall to the ground.

This, obviously, would not hold up given the video...

#175 - the cops and CM riders peacefully coexist in many cities, and even do so in Brooklyn. The second Friday of each month CM meets at Grand Army Plaza and receives a police escort.

That's good to know. The cops and cyclists in Manhattan obviously need to calm down, have a couple beers together, and work out their differences.

That's why they are called PIGS!

This pig he’s a big punk
And I know that he can’t stand the sight of me
’cause pigs don’t like it when ya act smart
And when ya tell ’em that you’re a group from society

This might be a photo of Patrick Pogan and his fiance on her private myspace account:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=12235023

Some more googling reveals that he played a bit of football for CW Post. Now we know where he learned how to be an a**hole...that and his old man of course.

Oh this story gets better, the biker was a US Army veteran according to his boss at the green market!

I don't get it. These guys do not follow traffic laws, and are riding extremely fast with no regards for pedestrians.

Maybe the office shouldn't have pushed him to the ground. Just take out the nightstick, hold it at the level of the cyclist's neck, and let velocity do the rest.

The officers take down a lawbreaker. Big deal. What else is new? Now you're going to get that fat (no curses!) Al Sharpton involved. Great.

spiritof76
you say "Imagine how much easier it could be for everybody if the cops just calmly directed traffic with no bad attitude. Bystanders are less inconvenienced, bicyclists will be happier and cops won't look like total pricks."

Funny you should bring that up. What you described is exactly what happens when you get a parade permit. Parade permits are a good idea when you are planning a large event which is likely to be disruptive to foot and auto traffic. However, critical mass doesn't like parade permits, and inasmuch as you can ascribe any philosophy to the random group of people that shows up for each one, we can probably say that critical mass is actively opposed to the idea of parade permits:
http://bikeblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/smolka-retires-and-nypd-publishes-new.html

i came out pretty strong asking people to withhold judgement until more facts were known about this case, mostly because i didn't think a cop could be that stupid and thuggish in front of so many people. it'm followingg the developments tonight with great interest.

"Even the NYPD striped him of his badge and gun. In this world, that is all guilty until proven innocent. He will be tried, and more or less quietly removed from the force or put on a probation."

Being "stripped of his badge and gun" is routine during an investigation, while a cop is on "modified duty." Basically it means he's working away from the public while IA determines what course to take.

If he's found to be in violation (which seems pretty likely) he won't be put on probation. He's a rookie, which means he's already on probation. He'll at the least be out of a job, and likely will face charges... because the PBA isn't too worried about a rookie taking some heat.

Ah, just saw the comment above that states that he's a third-generation cop. That could explain a Midtown North assignment... family has some NYPD juice.

Could explain the apparent sense of entitlement, too.

Well jibbly, you did say "might be..." but her calling herself somebody else's "future Mrs." makes me think it's unlikely.

Anyway, the comments from people who can't believe a cop would do this without provocation show me a real naivite about the police mindset. A cop's training brings a different view of violence from that of the average citizen. On the job you are dealing with violence every day... either it's directed at your, or you are dealing with the effects of it having been directed at someone else, or you're thinking about its potential in a particular situation, or you're deciding how to mete it out. It really becomes not that big a deal. In the cop mindset, violence is much like it is in the mindset of the typical thug. Just an unavoidable fact of life.

On top of that, anyone involved in demonstrations or civil disobedience is creating a problem. It doesn't matter what you might do or who you might be in the rest of your life, when you're committing civil disobedience you are someone who has to be dealt with, not just a regular citizen who can be ignored.

People talk about vets coming back from war and how it changes their thinking as compared to where it was when they were back home, and tend to recognize and accept it. Same thing happens in the police hivemind.

P.S. I should add that Critial Mass riders should obey traffic regulations, and have no problem with the cops ticketing any of the riders who don't.

That ain't what happened here. The cop in his own sworn testimony to the cyclist's arrest, didn't even claim it was.

What cops usually do when they assault someone is charge them with assault and "resisting arrest." Cops will beat up a person, and then charge them with assault. It's that simple, everything they did then becomes "self-defense." It's just that simple. Imagine if this video did not exist, how would Long defend himself against all the charges? Maybe one, but all of them? How can he prove he wasn't engaging in "disorderly conduct?" Read the posts, even with this video, people are going to blame him for what happened, because cops are always right. And, of course, the fact that this kind of thing happens time and time again NEVER impacts on the impression that cops are basically trustworthy. In a he-said-she-scenario the cop is still always going to win, but this kind of assault and arrest intimidation is a daily occurrence.

The next time you're being mugged, call a cyclist.

Well, as a city taxpayer, and a former underwriter of Police Liability, this clown should be fired. The city will be writing the cyclist a big check. As a taxpayer, I will be angry if the city legal dept contests this in anyway. Write him a check, and apologize. A brazen, hostile act of brutality. This clown, 3rd generation cop or not, should not be in any position of authority. He should be in jail for assault with intent to cause serious bodily harm. His father needs to shut up in the press, every time you open your mouth, you are hurting your punk kid. Thats right, retired Detective, your newly minted cop son is nothing but a punk.

NYPD cop vs. United States Veteran,
let's see how this pans out.

Don't be too quick to judge. Video does not show the whole story. This guy could have been flipping him off the entire way down the road, yell derogatory things. Video only shows what it shows...

"Video does not show the whole story. This guy could have been flipping him off the entire way down the road, yell derogatory things"

Apparently you haven't watched the video, because that's clearly not the case, but what if he was? Under what legal principle would that justify the resulting assault?

Yes, Bongo, what were you and your hipster friend waiting in line for on 73rd and Roosevelt?

What I see....is the video only shows the cop knocking the cyclist off the bike, and doesn't show what the cyclist did that led up to this incident.

The cyclist OBVIOUSLY did something wrong, and was told to stop. It's also obvious he KNEW he was supposed to stop, as he swerves completely to the left side of the street, trying to slip past the cop. This is called 'evasion', or 'failure to stop' and is another crime, in and of itself!

It only takes one bad apple to ruin the bunch, & people like this guy and those that support him, give the rest of us a bad name.

Many of you don't seem to know what a police officer is, so I'll explain it to you. Policmen enforce the law. If they have reasonable suspicion that you've committed a crime, they CAN STOP YOU, and have the legal authority to do so. If you refuse to stop, you're committing another crime!

Here's a tip: If you want your CM ride to be successful, make it a point amongst the riders to obey the laws, be non-confrontational, and treat the police and everyone else, the way you would want to be treated.

As a taxpaying citizen of the Big Apple, I feel cheated that after laying out the big bucks training this bright promising young rookie in the art of committing police brutality on the citizen(s) of his random choice, only 3 weeks outta graduation he goes and fergets the most important lesson of all: THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT THY TRANSGRESSIONS OF GRATUITOUS POLICE BRUTALITY IN FRONT OF A LIVE CAMERA, FOOL!... There goes all my hard earned tax payer investment pissed away in the blink of a camera's eye ... Now he's only qualified to serve society flapping flipjacks at Jack-in-the-Box. And neither do I cotton to shelling out for the 6 figure law suit he's just saddled all us lowly taxpayers with neither.
And hows about a great big hand for the quick thinking Critical-Mass cyclist swooping instantly down and opportunistically scooping up the fallen bike and casually peddling away with the hard criminal evidence right out from under the rookie's and his faithful sidekick's noses and 4 eyes.. DUH!!

Randomdilemma says: "This may be obvious to you, but I don't think that's something that can be ascertained from the video".

Then watch the video again.

Randomdolemma says: "The rookie should be fired for falsiflying (sic) a police report, plain and simple. Whatever led up to it is not relevant."

Are you kidding, me?? This incident occurred, BECAUSE of what led up to it!

In msg [223] City_Smasher sez:
"What I see....is the video only shows the cop knocking the cyclist off the bike, and doesn't show what the cyclist did that led up to this incident.
The cyclist OBVIOUSLY did something wrong, and was told to stop"

Dear City_Smasher,
Ye seems to have it all diametrically backwards. While the video does show the rookie knocking the cyclist off the bike, it Doth NOT show the cyclist doing anything leading up to this incident except peddling along with the flow. From the video, it is certainly NOT "OBVIOUSLY" that the cyclist did something wrong. That is only wild conjecture on the part your desperately fertile imagination.

From the very first frame in which the cyclist in question first appears, the video shows him doing nothing except lawfully peddling along with the flow. Contrary to what you claim is obvious, it is NOT obvious to me that the rookie told the cyclist to stop or attempted in any way to communicate with the approaching cyclist, neither by yelling, bellowing, arm waving, or finger gesturing. What I do see is the rookie, without any prior warning, deliberately barging recklessly right into the path of the closely approaching cyclist who attempts to steer a collision avoidance swerve away from the collision-intent rookie and towards the curb. But the nearing proximity of the curb forces the cyclist to swerve slightly back to parallel the road due to the need to avoid running smack into the impending curbside.

Though the rookie did not indicate so in his filed written report, it is conceivable that the rookie might've rcvd radio comm ordering ahead to stop and detain an approaching white cyclist, wearing white shirt, black shorts, no helmet, and of whatever facial features, if any. But the video shows several other preceding cyclists fitting that general description all of whom the rookie showed no interest in scrutinizing. It doesn't appear that the rookie and his pardner were scrutinizing the faces of the dozens and dozens of cyclists as they approached and whizzed by in the not well-illuminated street, not even the criminalized cyclist. In fact, the rookie appears to have firmly decided on precisely whom to violently bodyslam down to the pavement when the cherry picked cyclist is still quite a distance away for positive ID.

So, my dear rookie Sherlock City_Smasher,
tis obvious that tis NOT as obvious as ye have hastily jumped to concluding.

City Smasher: ok.. then take your ball home to mommy... waah!

You seem to selectively read what I say. I'm saying that everything you suggest could very well be true!! But true or not, it doesn't matter because what is clear as day is that the officer STILL PERJURED himself.

In post 223 you acknowledge that the cyclist serves "completely to the left side of the street, trying to slip past the cop". I think that's clear to anyone who watches the video.

In the police report, the officer alleges that the cyclist intentionally collided with him.

That is falsification. And it is an incredible liability to the police force to keep someone on that does that.

Gothical: You don't see the cops standing in the middle to right side of the street, while cyclist after cyclist after cyclist passes them by?

Yet when one specific cyclist comes down the street, you can see the cop on the left start moving toward him, OBVIOUSLY wanting him to stop. Then the cyclist tries to evade the cop, by veering all the way to the left side of the street, to slip by.

If he didn't do anything wrong, why didn't he just stop?? Hmmm!

Also, Thank you for the 'detective' compliment, I'm very flattered. Although I'm not a detective....I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night!

They hire pigs that meet a certain psych profile...that psych profile doesn't look for cops who will be like sherrif Taylor but rather they search for people like Barney Fife...bullies and people who get some sort of emotional/psychological thrill out of dominating people and imposing their will on others...

...cops in this country also are allowed to break nearly every law on the books in order to catch criminals...

Put these two things together and the resulting egregious, violent behavior is inevitable...its not just NYPD or LAPD...it happens all over the country in tiny towns where there are few video cameras and even fewer chances the pigs will be caught...

Pigs are pigs are pigs....fck the poe-leese...

reply to your msg [233]
dearest City_Smasher

Please describe for the jury, to the best of your ability,
precisely where and how in the video evidence
that thy heroic rookie cop didst order and communicate his
OBVIOUSLY lawful commandment to the oncoming,
OBVIOUSLY criminal, cyclist that
he "was OBVIOUSLY wanting him to STOP!!"

And please forgive my OBVIOUSLY distainful observation that thou art
OBVIOUSLY rather exceedingly loose and sloppy with thy
frivolous use of the adverb 'OBVIOUSLY'

Furthermore, if I may be so bold,
a word of OBVIOUSLY friendly advice:
Thank NOT those who would mock thee
for that twould OBVIOUSLY be evidence of pitiable self-loathing.
For density of IQ art not becoming.
And pity them who art so intellectually dense
that they canst so fail to perceive an
OBVIOUSLY sarcastic mockery of thy
OBVIOUSLY bumbling babble.

And verily, City_,
my llittle pair of talking parakeets often doth speaketh
more rationally than doth thou.

Bike riders are thought of as "kooks" by cops.

We lost the war protesters and now this.

Dear city_smashed,
My sincere apologies for inconsiderately
keeping you awaiting my belated reply but I had to go out
bicycling with friends. You weren't really glued to your
desktop breathlessly awaiting my reply were you? I do find that hard to believe.
Hmmm, perhaps it is you who should get a life?

Ahh but back to our friendly little chat, shall we?
Are you aware that your amusingly terse little
reply childishly avoided addressing the inconvenient question
for which you OBVIOUSLY have no facts, visual or otherwise,
to support your categorical
accusation that our cyclist is OBVIOUSLY guilty
of some criminal wrongdoing that you, and only you... and your
hero rookie, seem privy to?

So let me rephrase my question:
Please divulge to the jury of your peers, to the best of your
OBVIOUSLY limited ability, precisely where and how in the video,
evidence that thy heroic rookie cop did OBVIOUSLY order and
communicate his
OBVIOUSLY lawful command to the
OBVIOUSLY criminal cyclist that he "was
OBVIOUSLY wanting him to.. STOP!!"

Should you find yourself still incapable of addressing that
simple little question in support of your bold categorical declaration,
then I'm afraid you OBVIOUSLY have no choice but to consider yourself one who
shoots his OBVIOUSLY big mouth off before engaging his
OBVIOUSLY tiny little brain.. if it even not-so-OBVIOUSLY exists.

But frankly, City_,
though we're on a friendly first name basis,
your OBVIOUS total lack of intellect,
honest or otherwise,
is beginning to bore me to tears..
Perhaps we should say goodbye...
at least until you grow or
steal yourself an intellect implant.
Nonetheless, I shall forever be in your debt for introducing me
to the joys of inappropriately using your puerile little word
'OBVIOUSLY'.
That not withstanding, Shity,
don't call me, I'll call you.
Cain't say it ain't been fun.

The problem with City Smasher is he has drawn his own conclusion for the motive behind evasion.

Yes, it is clear the biker is trying to evade the cop. But wouldn't you try to evade anyone walking into your path. I do it everyday while walking. Often, I do it with police officers walking out of the precinct nearby. It one of them walks into my path, I walk around them. I guess according to City Smasher, it would be OBVIOUS that I did something wrong.

The cop issued no order to stop, why would the biker just not think he's trying to cross the street or get to the curb.

OBVIOUSLY, City Smasher is smoking a little something we aren't.

>Hmmm....are you trying to be evasive like the cyclist in the video?

Oh puh-leaze. The cop never once motions that he'd like the biker to stop. The biker is simply trying to go safely around a moving obstacle.

No doubt if he hadn't turned, the cop (and you), would be claiming that he was trying to run the cop over.

Every person on here who attempts to justify the cop's action - your smirk is apparent - even on here.

Let's cut the bullsh*t.

As someone else pointed out on here, this schmuck makes the job of all (good) cops harder.

This was "courtesy, professionalism, respect"?

The problem with most posters on this thread, like Rhonda718, is tunnel vision.

You're biased, and only see what you want to see in favor of the cyclist.

If you can't tell when someone is making eye contact with you, & intentionally cutting you off while wearing a police uniform, then tell me....are you always so stupid, or is today a special occasion for you?

Hmm...it's OBVIOUS, you're stupid!

Rarelement: Calling you stupid, would be an insult to stupid people!

and as far as being biased, yes, I admit that.

I am biased in favor of the police. My husband is one and my father-in-law is retired NYPD.

I will give the benefit of the doubt to the police over anyone. However, when common sense and simple observation show otherwise, I do not continue to blindly support them. You know what they say about a few bad apples.

Your husband isn't a cop, Rhonda. That's OBVIOUS

City_Smasher:

If he didn't do anything wrong, why didn't he just stop?? Hmmm!

If he did do something wrong, why was it not mentioned in the police report?

I can't wait for the NYPD to be trained to tell us to stop by mere telepathy. That will be useful. Of course, the telepathy will probably not work on minorities giving them the police the excuse "I told him telepathically to stop, he didn't, so I kicked the *#@$ out of him"

Maybe the tourists didn't want the rest of the their romp of NYC distributed to the general public?

I can't believe your unwillingness to believe your own eyes.

I'm not disagreeing with you completely. If the police wanted to, they are well within the law to ticket each and every one of them.

If that was their plan, all they need to do is give clear instructions to stop to the cyclists. Anyone who doesn't do that after being TOLD and signaled (this does not include their new telepathy nor eye contact methods), the NYPD can feel free to stop with more physical means. I think most reasonable persons would agree to that, and I'm pretty sure that NYPD standard operating procedure (giving everyone opportunity to stop after being clearly directed to do so)

WORLD'S WORST PERSON!