Police Union Defends Cop Who Knocked Cyclist Down

VIOLET SALAD LEAF PUSHER ATTACKS

ARMED POLICE OFFICER , Don't think so.

Are you actually comparing this incident to Diallo or are you citing a similarity in the PBA's bullshit statements? Might want to be more careful to say what it is you mean....

Jerky-

There are lots who are in the NYPD who aren't lying corrupt douchebags. Sadly, they haven't figured out that they are not doing themselves any favors protecting their lying corrupt douchebag brothers.

I don't understand that mentality. When I was a kid, my father was the first person to line up to kick my ass when I did something wrong to other people (people he didn't even know, just because I embarassed my family). Is there no sense of shame in the NYPD that these few thugs bring upon the department?

Wow, is there anyone who is involved in NYPD law enforcement who is NOT a lying corrupt douchebag?? I can't believe we used to send money to the PBA....

Officer Pogan didn't belong there. Few of his fellow officers did. Why were they there? to prevent calamities or to cause them? That's the question Ray Kelly should answer. As it stands, "public safety" means keeping cops away from the public.

Most of my cousins are cops. And most cops are asses. I don't think my cousins are asses, but a few might be. Why is it that all the losers and troublemakers and bullies in my old high school class are now cops?

Thing is...it takes a hell of a strong character to be a cop and not abuse your power. To use restraint, negotiation, peacekeeping skills. Those are cops that deserve our serious respect. Unfortunately, since we have to respect every person in a uniform, when some ass steps over the line and uses brutal force to get stop someone from riding his bicycle away - it chips away at that respect.

So the guy on the bike rode away. So what? This cop could've easily radioed another cop ahead to grab him. Or he could have just let this 'troublemaker' pass - was he going to kill anyone? But no, his personal pride was injured and he snapped and attacked the biker. This cop was definitely an ass.

Remember, all. The city of New York decided this guy was responsible enough to own a gun. You are not.

[44] That's a weakness in Movable Type I noticed a long time ago. It does not like interparagraph spaces. If you want to do multi-paragraph italics, strip out all spaces between paragraphs and insert a br html tag between each paragraph.

As for the argument that the cyclist leans into the thug, yes he does. This is a defensive manoevre and is basic physics. We do this naturally without thought. Remaining upright or leaning away would mean being thrust to the ground with greater force. By leaning in, some energy from the blow is used in returning the cyclist to the upright position before he is flung to the ground.

Watch soccer players when the 'shoulder' each other. Generally one player will initiate the 'shoulder', but both will lean in against teh other - one is being defensive, the other offensive.

This tape clearly shows the cyclist trying to avoid hitting the policeman, until seeing that he has 2 options:

1) cycle into the innocent crowd and potentially injure someone

2) act defensively to minimise injury to onlookers and protect himself by dipping his shoulder.

The policeman is a thug and a criminal. The Police Union is sickening. There may be some good cops out there. I'd like to see them, but until they speak out against the corruption, your best bet is to steer clear of all police. You can't tell the good from the bad.

Chronology

Policeman No 1 assualts a cyclist.

Policeman No 2 assists in assault.

Policeman No 1 issues a false arrest report.

The Police Union supports the both policemen.

Are the police to be trusted in this country? It seems to me (I'm from Europe) that the answer is no.

Since coming to NY I have seen the Sean Bell murder (police acquitted) and bizarrely, no files charged against an off duty policeman who fired his gun at a fellow motorist in a road rage incident where the civilian motorist would not give way (the motorist was not obligated to). The police appear to be above the law.

I will now cross the street rather than walk by a policeman. Without knowing it, the US seems to have become a police state - a relatively benign one, but a police state nonetheless.

@interlard

There is speculation that Kelly is being groomed for mayor despite his week denials (Klein is such a loser that's not a serious speculation). I think that's the only reason he can't understand what happened. Otherwise, he'd being backing up Pogon too.

Let's keep the pressure up and make sure those at the top are called on the carpet for fostering a culture of brutality within the NYPD.

The Jets could use a guy like him on their defense.

Oh yeah, and the kid does look like a dweeb meathead. Shouldn't have hired him in the first place.

I'm glad Boomberg disapproves of the police brutality. But since there is so much of it in New York City and the problem has obviously infected the entire NYPD, Commissioner Ray Kelly needs to be fired (or jailed--along with all the offending thugs) and the whole force needs to be educated on the difference between law enforcement and attacking innocent people.

He "can't understand why it happended?" I can understand. It doesn't take any kind of genius to know that our cops are turning into unchecked thugs again. There is a new story every weeek. These cops are OUR employees, hired BY US to protect US. This is the USA, not Iran, so let's get a grip and take our city back.

Criminal prosecution is important not so much for the assault on the cyclist (not sure if the guy was hurt), but for the false arrest and false reporting by the policeman. It is vital that the public have confidence in the testimony and reporting of police, and when it can be demonstrated that a police officer is lying, they have to be made accountable. That sort of thing can't be let go.

I pulled #57, above, from the aforementioned police blog. This officer appears to be claiming not to know that pulling a woman who is already cuffed into a car FROM BEHIND, BY SURPRISE, and BY HER HAIR is a problem. Fucking A he was sued!

"The biker should have tried to slow down" HA !

All the bikes were moveing the same speed past the cops who was standing there RELAXED... the guy who got pushed was just the target closest to the Facist Pig who decided to show his true colors and knock someone down like the THUG he is.

You know ... the people defending this tool do not respect honest sane policemen or they would be calling for his ouster. Nope they WANT a police state .... remember in Spain some people still praise and MISS Facist Dictator Franco because he brought Law and Order by killing thousands and thousands of LIBERALS who wanted freedom.

I would buy this guy a beer and that goes for the other guy on Delancy Street where I worked many years ago too. This job will never tell you how to do something they will just tell how not to do it after you already did it. My partner and I had a woman in handcuffs who was refusing to get into the back seat of the RMP on Pitt Street and we were quickly getting surrounded by a large crowd so I open the door to the back seat on the other side of the RMP crawled across the seat and from behind her grabbed her by the hair and one arm and pulled in before she knew what happen and got out of their. Of course I got sue and treated like +%+% by the ADA and the Corporation Counsel. I'm just glad their weren't all these cameras around when I was getting into fights with the the shitheads in the 7th back in the 80s. I still have my slapper, but it sits in draw in my house now.

Agreed about Lynch. Even Randi Weingarten admits that there are bad teachers out there, and it's in everyone's interest to get them off the job.

hahaha that cop is overweight

Wow, that cop even looks like a douchebag. And not surprisingly, the idiots on NYPD Rant are defending him. How do we go about getting rid of all those meatheads and replacing them with intelligent human beings?

Regrettably this obnoxious act arrives also in France:

http://cpolitic.wordpress.com/2008/07/30/videos-bavure-policiere-a-new-york-et-chez-nous/

(this video and others)

Post in French but the last two Videos are explicit.

In France, we can become policeman (low level) with or without diplome to have a work for at least 3 years. (2 years old with a diplome)

Obviously the level of study does not prove everything but...

"I wish I could be a totally abusive douchebag at work and have my boss back me up like that."

Lynch isn't his boss, he's head of the union. If you work in any union shop and are a douchebag at work, your union will probably also defend you and make excuses for your behavior. That's what you pay them for.

Oh man, people will lie and lie, even when there is proof on video and by witnesses. They still keep lying. People suck.

So if the cop was acting under orders, does that mean the city is liable in the inevitable civil suit?

You know there is a problem when you aren't sure if you are safer without the police then with them.

Day 3 of this fiasco, and it's becoming very clear how much i underestimated the stupidity and callousness of this cop. Unbelievable. It scares me that they give guns to 22-year-olds who would behave like this. I certainly hope they prosecute.

Also, does the Policeman's union realize that it would REALLY HELP their credibility and image if they just admitted that an officer was in the wrong when the evidence is as clear as it is in this case? They sound like the Iraqi minister of information, "Baghdad Bob", when US forces were closing in in 2003. Why should we take them seriously when they continue to support a cop who obviously assaulted a civilian and then filed a false police report? And i don't mean they should do it out of altruism- it REALLY doesn't help them achieve any of their goals if everybody thinks of them as a bunch of stubborn, cliquey goons.

He should have juked out to the right at the last minute. I am totally on his side, the cop should never have done this, but still, bad riding skills. I could have avoided this pig.

At least Deca is consistently an asshole.

In a prior thread he wrote of the rider, Long, an Army veteran, "Once again, the cop haters are out, maybe not in force like when that queer on the bike who was speeding and put other people's lives in danger got shoved, but they are out nonetheless." (emphasis added)

http://gothamist.com/2008/07/30/video_of_cop_beating_man_with_baton.php#comment-1422635

Pogan needs to be fired and prosecuted both for the assault as well as making false statements in his sworn statement (see The Smoking Gun link).

41/44, that explanation would make sense if that's what actually happened. Long did not "Buzz him". If anything, he slowed and swerved to avoid the Pogan. There was a rider in the moments before Long passed the cop that did seem to buzz the officer, so maybe Pogan was pissed at that.

gromek, killerasp - you both need to watch that video yet again. Long was obviously swerving to get the hell out of Pogan's way. Pogan has to quick step it in order to reach Long, where he uses a lineman technique to slam Long to the ground.

Denial isn't a river in Egypt.

to be clear, my entire post #41 above was a quote from the officer in the blog (italics got stripped somehow). i was never a cop, and i certainly never gave anyone an "attitude adjustment"!

[41] i agree with you. the biker should have slowed down or at least try to change directions. But at the same time, if someone wants respect, they need to show it. Body checking someone isnt the best way to go about that.

the PBA can say all they want, "the officer defended himself, etc, etc". Whether the biker kicked a baby on the street or slapped a woman in the face while biking, the bottom line is...the cop LIED ON THE POLICE REPORT. He could have just said..."i witnessed the biker commit a crime, instead of signaling and telling the biker to stop, i decided to body check him. it was just easier then raising my hand to tell him to halt".

the cop blog mentioned above is eye-opening...one comment there from a retired officer provides a pretty plausible explanation for the behavior:

The Cop was in motion and walking towards the sidewalk, when the bicyclelist buzzed him. He did what a Cop should do, taught him some respect.

If I am riding a bike and a Cop is walking towards a sidewalk, I am going to slow down or stop. As a matter of fact I would slow down or stop for anyone walking towards a sidewalk.

Seeing this video reminds me of one of the reasons I did my 20 and got out. Thank God I was never caught on a video cam or cell phone. If I had been caught on video for every attitude adjustment I gave, I would be serving 3 consecutive life sentances by now.

I believe that Pogan was conditioned to use this kind of action. Conditioned by what? Years of football. No joking around, in the back of his mind, it's acceptable and even expected for him to hit people like that, because that's what he did for years and he was cheered for it.

As for the calls for better police recruits, it's not going to happen. Many if not most police departments don't want people that are too smart. Police work is usually tedious, not mentally challenging and is often thankless. Smart people wouldn't last long in such a job, and when they quit early, it's a waste of tens of thousands of dollars of academy training.

Is anyone surprised that Pat Lynch would support the P.O.?

He's the head of the PBA and he knows where his support comes from.

That false report is definitely what will do him in.

Yes the false report will do him in. As will 'public outrage.' They can't afford any more of it, and if it continues there will be major changes in the department coming from the politicians and they certainly don't want that. Whether closet cases who couldn't make it onto the force themselves like deca think he was justified or not will never matter.

The problem with Pat Lynch's comments is that the video clearly shows that Pogan lied when he submitted his official report.

The bicyclist was clearly going in the opposite direction of the officer and the officer did not fall to the ground. The bicyclist made an effort to avoid Pogan, while Pogan moved directly toward the bicyclist.

Additionally, Pogan had ample time to make a physical gesture for the bicyclist to stop (such as throwing up a "halt" signal). Instead, he kept his hands on his belt up until the moment he made physical contact with the bicyclist.

While we don't know what happened before the tape was rolling, other bicyclists shown in the video were traveling at higher speeds and making much more drastic weaving maneuvers.

At the end of the day, regardless of whether an infraction was committed by the bicyclist, Pogan's actions were extreme and not justified. It's no different than if a bicyclist ran a red light and a police officer used his car to knock the rider off the road.

What Pogan did was dangerous, disgusting and constitutes assault under the law.

This officer should be fired. End of story.

I wouldn't consider pogan to be a rookie, his father was a cop and he knew all the in's and out's but I guess there are some things he didn't teach him. Just you gotta do what you gotta do to make an arrest.

pogan made four steps focusing on one cyclist and used his forearms to try to get him airborne.

This isn't just about whether or not the biker was seriously injured. It includes bigger issues of civil liberties, police brutality and cover ups, and whether or not we as a society find it acceptable.

In order to send the police a clear message, the courts need to come down hard on Pogan. Law abiding citizens should not have to deal with being randomly assaulted (or killed) by cops who then falsify arrest reports to cover the act up, merely because they don't like a citizen's politics.

Dropping one's shoulder is something that every cyclist does when they believe they're about to make contact with someone or something (i.e. a lamp-post, a car door, mailbox, etc) - it's an attempt to minimize the impact, the damage - wheather said contact is wanted or unwanted. Long was simply defending himself. Hell, if you were jogging down the street and someone jumped into your way and you knew you contact unavoidable you would do the exact same thing.

It could also be argued that dropping his shoulder Long was trying to to "slide" by Pogan. The sliding part would be done to avoid Pogan from forcing Long into the curb at a high speed which would have sent him sailing through the air and onto the curb.

Lynch's comment is of course completely inane. Pogan was clearly "in motion" and had every intention of making contact with Long no matter what. His body language screams it: He selects his target, increases speed to make contact, crouches ("gets low") to spring at Long, and puts *his* shoulder into it.

At no point does Pogan make any sort of gesture that he wants Long to stop. As far as I can tell from the video he doesn't state it either (I turned the volume waaaaaaaay up on this one and couldn't discern anything of that nature).

I'm sure Long was "resisting arrest" - you would be writhering around it pain too if you were just thrown off a bicycle onto a curb where you landed on your ass. "Resisting arrest" is not a term I understand.

I'd love to see some photos of the lacerations on Pogan's arms. I'd really love to see video footage of the actual contact which the angle of the video is blocked by Long.

Watch the video closely. Contact is not made until the cyclist is beside the cop. If you are moving forwards, you cannot collide with someone standing next to you.

This rookie cop is trash - BOOK HIM! And don't let daddy bail him out.

It looked to me like the cyclist, who seemed to be going too fast to stop, was trying to veer around the officer.

Based on the speed of the bike, I'd find it difficult to believe that words were exchanged -- either an order by the cop to stop, or an insult by the cyclist-- that would explain, much less justify the cop's actions.

Again, I am not a fan of critical mass or the politics of bike riding, and if anything would probably be predisposed against them. Despite this, with the videotape showing the cop running up to hit the guy, it's pretty hard to believe the cop's side of the story.

Unless the cyclist was really injured, I don't agree that criminal prosecution is necessary. The negative publicity and the end of his intended career seem like punishment enough for this bit of unjustified aggression. Maybe a small settlement check for the cyclist and any damage to the bike.

The way things go, though, nothing is ever handled reasonably, and we can expect million dollar lawsuits and a lot of stupid posturing by everyone concerned.

edEx, I think he will be acting under direct orders, and I guarantee he will do every dishonest thing it takes to try to dig himself out, and he'll have plenty of help from his pig father and pig union and the rest of the pig herd (don't believe me? go read the pig blog http://theerant.yuku.com/topic/7789/t/Video-shows-NYPD-cop-assaulting-cyclist.html (thanks jibbly) and see for yourself).

Someone asked "who calls them pigs to their faces?" and I can proudly say "I do." I've found especially that black guys like it when I walk up and call the pigs "fucking racist pigs" repeatedly to their face when I see them hassle a black guy for being black (and yes, it happens, and often), and I admit it's kind of a form of amusement for me because I'm white and white pigs get a look on their face that's fun to watch--they know they're fucking guilty and it shows. It beats walking down the street or station *not speaking out* against their unjust bullshit all to hell, I've found.

Mr. Bloomberg, I applaud your speaking to those of us with common sense.

LARefugee, nice one.

Matty, I really have to disagree with you there. Long is clearly trying to avoid the officer and only lowers his shoulder to brace himself for impact. You can see Long steering towards the curb trying to loop around where the cop is. Pogan is not standing in Long's path but is making long quick strides to intercept him.

that's why the PBA Union dues are so high, the rank and file should be complaining about that bi-weekly deduction. lawyers aren't cheap.

I'm just glad we brought Godwin's Law into play as early as the 13th comment on this post.

It's the false report that's going to kill him ... You can speculate all you want about what was or wasn't said between the officer and the cyclist, but the video very clearly shows that the report as filed is a fabrication.

Which, as others have pointed out, is not legal.

My own opinion: I don't believe the cyclist was told to stop. The officer never holds up his hands or anything, which is the automatic reaction of pretty much anyone telling someone else to stop. It very much looks like officer picks out the cyclist at random and angles toward him. The cyclist sees him coming and swerves to avoid him (the union's statement that the cyclist swerved into the officer is laughably false). But again, whether this is what went down or not doesn't actually matter - what matters is that a) the takedown was an inappropriate use of force for the situation and b) the officer lied on his report.

-- cdebris.com --

Cops lie every single day. I have no doubt that they're taught this at the academy. Pogan will cost taxpayers millions of dollars. And the cop defenders will cry about how cops aren't paid enough. How many cops could have been hired for the money that asshole Pogan just squandered?

D'oh. Who's the meathead now?

"Matty, watch it again. Read the police report again. Watch it again."

Well, I mean to play devil's advocate, the guy dips his shoulder into it and speeds up as he sees the officer coming for him.

I think they are both idiots.

By the way, no matter what your opinion is of what Long "might have done" before the video, everyone seems to be forgetting that the officer FILED A FALSE POLICE REPORT.

That's a crime.

actually, yakatori, 26 hours imprisonment is not sufficient for an assault of this nature, but i'm all for fining him in addition.

Matty, watch it again. Read the police report again. Watch it again.

The facts are too apparent on this one for doubt in anyone's mind except for those who blindly want to defend "one of their own".

By the way, no matter what your opinion is of what Long "might have done" before the video, everyone seems to be forgetting that the officer FILED A FALSE POLICE REPORT.

That's a crime.

What this cop did was assault someone who was breaking the law.

A badge does not allow a cop to just randomly assault people --- except in a Fascist Police State.

For those denying he lunged - we can SEE through that lie ...

For those justifying it because he "may have been called a PIG"

1) Being called a name does not allow anyone - badge or not - to assault someone. If you are a name while drinking in a bar and smash the perons in the face - you are guilty of assault. Just like this PIG.

douche bag thug.

typical football jagoff

Pogan is a scumbag and any cop who defends this jerkoff is a scumbag. Defending an idiot who ends up making your job of serving and protecting the people even harder is absolute lunacy. He should be thrown off the force and be made to pay some sort of fine after he is held in jail for the same amount of time his victim was.

Not a big fan of Mayor Bloomberg, but it's nice to see him speak out against this.

Following orders is a passe excuse used by Nazi's - heard of that "law and order" group?

I have.

deca,

the officer motioned for him to stop? really? are we watching the same video? i didn't see any motion to tell the rider to stop except a full bodycheck to the ground.

i believe what you are doing is called trolling. go away. kthxbye

Deca: Another typical response from a cop-defending meathead.

I hope you get beat up by a cop someday.

Oh second glance I kind of agree with the officer's union.

Both were in the wrong.

I wish I could be a totally abusive douchebag at work and have my boss back me up like that. Though at least now I know that if I want to be a douche at work, the NYPD is always hiring.

I just have to learn the proper way to wield a plunger.

This is starting to get good. Lynch is doing what he is paid to do, which is speak for his union employees, whether they are right or wrong. He is in a job that most don't admire, but he's got to do it, or be fired.

I'd like to see his book when he retires.

[1] Given the false police report the officer gave when compared to the Video of what actually happened, I very much doubt that.

Long is doing the right thing by laying low and let the PBA and the cop dig themselves deeper in the hole.

United States of America Veteran vs. Long Island NYPD Cop.

Patrick Lynch is a douchebag. Always has been. He's obviously watching a different version of the video than we've been watching.

When the 22-year-old NYPD rookie, Patrick Pogan lies to a Grand Jury will he also be acting "under direct orders?"

Another counterproductive defense from the union.. honestly, why can't they just let the process be carried out instead of jumping to an officer's defense no matter what the evidence is?

Firing Pogan is a good start, but insufficient. He must be prosecuted too.

It's good to see Pat Lynch actually standing up for rookie cops.

Officer Pogan was walking towards the cyclist, orders him to stop, and what does he do? He rides faster. Too bad Officer Pogan held back and didn't make use of his stick.

I believe Officer Pogan will be vindicated.