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Surprising no one, the cyclist who was captured on videotape being violently slammed off his bike by a rookie cop during a July Critical Mass ride plans to sue the city. In his first interview, Christopher Long also tells Chelsea Now that after Officer Patrick Pogan knocked him to the curb, he stood over Long and asked, "Do you wanna try that again?" Long also says he thinks Pogan "is going to be a scapegoat in this situation because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time...I think that the department really helped him do what he did, because he felt safe to act that way. He felt entitled to act that way. That’s the department, culturally. The department set him up for failure. He committed a crime, he assaulted me. He didn’t do that by himself." Long spent 27 hours in the Tombs after his arrest and was charged with attempted assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. The D.A. finally dropped the charges earlier this month; Pogan is still under investigation.
Bodyslammed Cyclist Says He's Suing
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Will the suit increase violence in the NYPD by breeding resentment, or make them a tad more, umm, civil liberty-minded?
Good for you Mr. Long and I hope you WIN and WIN BIG!! I predict a bright shiny future in mall security for this thug Pogan.
I hope that it sparks an investigation in how the department as a whole handles things. I think Long is right in that the problem is bigger than this one incident.
All the time, money, planning and manpower that the NYPD spends on CM rides results in this -- a waste of NYPD resources and a subsequent lawsuit.
Im sure the Reno Sheriff's Dept. could use a strapping brute like officer Pogan.
after he sues the city you can bet he'll sue Pogan in a civil suit.
News flash: cops are violent and fck people up given the chance.
Supposing that Mr. Long wins the case against the city, John Q. Taxpayer (you & I) are the ones who must pick up the tab, not any of the criminal gang writ large. It is sad, because such a lawsuit will not change any attitudes in the ranks of the blue-uniformed mafia and will not discourage such behaviour in the future.
Perhaps the taxpayer needs to vote for a mayor with the balls to stop increasing police brutality.
He should win. But How much should he win? this looks like 5 g's tops.
Patrick Pogan and Wayne Simoes should be cellmates.
He should get millions. The only way beaurocracy's ever get the point is to get hit hard in the pocket. I hope he sues Pogan personally as well.
This is a no win situation. The taxpayer gets hosed for more legal fees, the police aren't going to change their procedures (can they really?), and Critical Mass Rides are going to continue.
All I can see coming out of this is legislation to further criminalize aspects of bike riding on the streets. Or perhaps require registration or licensing.
Long has some decent sense in that he looks at the bigger situation, but still fails to get it. Imagine 1000 of us got together with out cars and staged a Critical Mass Drive right through Times Square. Do you think that the police or the City would be particularly happy about it?
Maybe the officer thought Long was riding Lt. Dangle's stolen bicycle.
For those of you too young to remember when Rudy was governor, there was a shitload more lawsuits against the NYPD for brutality, and a shitload more $$$$ being spent out by his administration than Manor Nanny's.
@GM: "the police aren't going to change their procedures (can they really?)"
yeah, actually, they could. create manditory monthly "CPR" seminars (you know, courtesy, professionalism, etc.) where they review their own video footage of interaction with the public. include civilian psychologists and stuff, and try to get officers to critique each other from the civilian point of view. this could create a real culture of respect instead of the "always back up your brethren in blue" culture they have now.
5 G's BH? Are you nucking futz?
He should sue for 20 mil and settle for 5 or 6. Make sure he gets at least 2-3 after the lawyers get their cut.
And then sue Pogan and move him and his dad back to the trailer park on SI where they belong.
All bicycles should be registered and licensed with a license plate. I remember back in the early fifties we all had to register our bikes at city hall and get a real license plate, a metal license plate attached to the bottom edge of the seat. That way all the non cyclists can report the idiots on bicycles that try to run them over.
More dollars for the city. Hooray!
GM, you fail to comprehend the basic reason critcal mass exists. Thousands of cars already DO roll through Times Sq and every other street in the city. They do this without fear of a negligent and ignorant driver of a tank, 10x their size, running them over.
Imagine 1000 of us got together with out cars and staged a Critical Mass Drive right through Times Square. Do you think that the police or the City would be particularly happy about it?
It wouldn't matter whether they're happy about it. If you did Critical Drive, you're saying it would be okay for a cop to yank you out of your car for a beating before arresting you? This is supposed to be a government of laws, not of men. Snoopy was fine with the way cops and others used unlawful force back during the civil rights marches and anti-draft demonstrations, in fact he probably thinks the kids at Kent State deserved what they got, but we're not in the ignorant 1950s and 60s anymore.
For everyone who wants this cyclist to get money, don't you realize YOU will be the one paying for it?
If this guy asked you for money right now, how much would you give him?
I see Spirit was up late last night. He must be working the 12 to 8 shift at Dunkin' Donuts. Or is he moonlighting as a bicycle messenger?
Imagine 1000 of us got together with out cars and staged a Critical Mass Drive right through Times Square. Do you think that the police or the City would be particularly happy about it?
We don't have to imagine this since about 1000 cars pass through Times Square every 20 minutes (and this isn't convenient for anyone--pedestrians, cops, cyclists, or even the motorists). Once a week, it's bikes instead. If we're all paying taxes, all sharing the city and it's roadways, why should this be a problem.
You're not even anything approaching clever anymore, you feeble-minded old man, when all you can come up with are silly guesses about what people do for work. Snoopy or Stoopid?
"Snoopy, you're like a baboon, but less clever." - Novanglus 8/22/08