Paterson May Intervene in Cop Cyclist Bodyslam Investigation

Governor Paterson is considering appointing a temporary special prosecutor to investigate last month's incident in which a cop was caught on video slamming a cyclist to the curb during a Critical Mass ride, and apparently falsifying his arrest report. In a lengthy article, the Villager reports that the governor could also make such a special prosecutor’s office permanent, granting it the power to replace the city’s five district attorneys in corruption cases. At a rally last week, Councilmember Charles Barron said, “Until the people rise up, people in power will not pay attention.” Some activists see Paterson, who as a state senator was arrested during a protest of the shooting of Amadou Diallo in 1999, as their best shot at reforming the so-called "blue wall of silence" in the NYPD.

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By John Del Signore in News on August 19, 2008 1:20 PM

Comments [rss]

BigRed

VanessaNYC,

No, I am not joking.

jaycjay

Pogon simply absorbed the culture and mind-set that he found around him when he entered the police force

Sure... unnecessary violence and flouting of the law should be forgiven, and individual accountability is unnecessary, as long as the person in question is only "a victim of his culture."

starrygordon

I think there is too much focus on Pogon. The problem starts at the top. Pogon simply absorbed the culture and mind-set that he found around him when he entered the police force, but made the mistake of expressing those values when a video camera was watching him.

nik13

Anarchists of Critical Mass should be used as traffic cones when Third World immigrants/Osama's poor cousins take their driving tests in order to become famous NYC cabbies.

ed_Extinct

very good news/

Spirit of 76

At least buy.com is tax free still.

Who told you that? Buy.com charges NYS sales tax. The only e-tailer who didn't kowtow to NYS Taxation and Finance is Overstock.com.

VanessaNYC

BigRed,

You're joking, right?

BigRed

I'm sick of Paterson pandering to Barron and the rest of the bleeding-heart liberals who want to give this city to the criminals. Let's open an investigation on Barron and all of the criminal things he's done.

Pull My Finger

What if two sexy female cops did it? Would everybody be complaining?

Steven

also appoint someone to repeal the amazon tax thanks!

I second that! At least buy.com is tax free still.

jaycjay

"strip him of any retirement benefits he had accrued"

Not much of an issue in this case. He'd been out of the academy just three weeks.

WestVillageVintage

Time for Quinn, Bloomberg's lackey, to get off the fence and get on board.

Gothamist_Cynic

^ NYPD confirmed.

zodak

i hope the prosecutor also determines how much money the city has wasted in harassing critical mass & in lawsuits that the city loses as a result.

mdow

Surprising, and promising.

I hope the investigation (which should take all of about five minutes) is done right...

catatonina

This is awesome news not just for bike riders but for civil rights in NYC too! Ever since the RNC the behavior of the police in reaction to any crowds assembling for any reason has been completely out of line. Anyone who has taken the time to watch this video can't deny what it is: unlawful assault on a civilian, plain and simple.

WorksInDUMBO

Yes: good!

Gothamist_Cynic

^ NYPD confirmed.

rcltrh

Good. The dept needs a total housecleaning. Begin by firing that worthless pig and strip him of any retirement benefits he had accrued - and don't pay him for the next 2 years while on leave appealing his case. If he were to win the appeal, then give him back pay. However, nothing prevaricates what he did. They need to learn what to protect and to serve really means, and if they can't do that then they need to go back to working manual labor somewhere and not waste our tax money on their pension benefits they should be reserved for officers who truly are out there for the benefit of the public.