Video: Bicyclist Attacks Man With Lock on LES

Here in Toronto, we btdt years ago. This is nothing original, really. The only "original" thing here is a video was captured, rather than a sequence of shots in quick succession.

And our women bike messengers also don't take crap from large, thuggy men, either. We like to keep our city streets clean, even during a garbage strike.

All these comments that say stuff like, "yet another example of why all bikers are assholes" makes me want to start whaling on someone's grandpa with my lock.

After reading my post and watching the video again, I disagree with my comment. Bike Bitch should have just ridden away. What a pussy.

That old dude followed the biker and pushed him - I would have hit back, too. Probably not with a fucking u-lock, but the old guy did have it coming.

I don't know a single messenger in NYC that would dare use a u-lock to protect their bicycle (that's what's up with the chains around eveyone's waist). Yet everyone sees a bag and a bike and assumes "bike messenger".

I wonder if the genius filming even bothered to call 911 from the pay phone he was standing next to the whole time.

It's a shame that this happenned. Cyclist are already frowned upon and this makes things worse for cyclists. The next pedestrian or motorist will take it out on the next cyclist.

I consider myself one for the cyclists in nearly all situations, but...

Anyone who says that the Fixie Boy was ok to do what he did needs to get a u lock smack down themselves.

Sorry but people defending the cyclist are straight up out of their minds...bashing an unarmed guy with a ULock...? Justified? F*cking insane....this is what is wrong with a large proportion of society in general...violence to solve everything. The punk had a chance to ride away and be a real man...he took the sissy way out and bashed the guy and THEN rode away...punk. You can maim someone with 2-3 hits ...for crissake. "Yeah it's OK ...he tried (unarmed) to touch me"...gimmie a break. Fantasyland nonsense that he was defending himself... I am a cyclist do ALOT of city riding but am not stupid enough to think this was warranted and WON'T jump on the cyclists side as a knee jerk reaction....I could get into how freaking stupid it is to ride sans helmet in the city...on single speed in the city and without brakes...in the city. Kid is an all around moron ....don't be surprised if this older guy finds out about the clip and turns him in.

Really can't believe anyone needs to explain how stupid this action really was. Get a clue people; we live in a world of laws...not random violence...like some video game.

Exactly. If he continued beating the guy until he was knocked unconscious, then continued beating him till his brains fell out of his head, then I think it might be called an overreaction. But a few well placed hits until the guy decides to walk away, not so much.

why is it apparently shocking to so many people on this board that someone would defend themselves on the streets of New York City? is this complicated?

the pedestrian kept after the biker -- three times -- invading his personal space and generally being threatening -- so the biker defended himself. who wouldn't?

the biker was a model of civility -- i would have been so amped up that someone was attacking me i wouldn't have stopped until my attacker was on the ground and no longer a threat to me. bike dude deserves an award for exhibiting some serious restraint.

also, the attacker was a few inches taller and fifty pounds heavier than the kid with the bike. and the biker had his hands full, so was unable to defend himself with anything other than what was in his hands. seeing as how a bike is rather tough to swing, he was left with only his U-lock to defend himself.

George Foreman won the heavyweight title when he was 45. by some folks definition here, Foreman was an 'old man', and if he was to be walking on the streets of New York City, he should be granted all sorts of liberties to harass, attack, and threaten people. makes sense.

liberals.

My read: both wrong. While the phone obscures the initial contact, the ped violated a basic rule: If you're in a conflict, watch the "space". Follow if you want, but stay a leg-length away. If you follow, expect response. If you follow too close, expect it to get physical. Looks like the biker tried, initially, to keep the distance. Behind the phone, somebody made first contact. Have no problem with the first lock whack or two, but the re-approach for a few more is wrong. Duty to retreat and all. Lucky they weren't in Texas. Now carry it a step further. The ped has a blade and reapproaches & shivs the biker. Biker then caps the ped. Discuss...

if someone grabs on to you, you can smack them til they let go. that looks like what this guy did. that one smack with the lock wasn't enough to shake him is evidence that he needed more smacking.

We want more! More blood! More bread and circuses!

gothamist please find out if there are charges pending against this biker prick

also regardless of whose fault it was, I cannot believe the chinaman got (c)locked in the face and didn't walk away! watching the video, it's kinda as if he ENJOYED IT

yeah I thought that was bizzare too! Maybe he was all wired up, Rodney King-style? Didn't feel the pain?

yeah I wonder how this sounds before the judge

So you beat him with your Ulock?

What weapon did he have?

Nothing he was getting in my face

So you hit an unarmed man on the head in broad daylight in front of witnesses because he got in your face?

Yes

I like how the cyclist asks, "Are you crazy bro?" while he's pummeling the dude with a U-lock. Yes, bro, he's the crazy one, not you?

I just watched it like 4 times... gotta say, I think the ped got was he was lookin' for. Looks to me like he probably made the first quick aggessive move (the one you can't really see). Mid-ruckus, he took a sorta fight stance. Then WHAM! Fuck him.

If you look really closely (at .23) you can see the asian guy pull out a butterfly knife and (listen close) he whispers "lung tickle"

so yeah then at (.26) the biker is all "this is gonna hurt me worse than it hurts you" and if then you pause at the exact right moment and zoom into the fixster's face (and initiate the computer enhancement toggle) you'll notice a small emo tear running down his face. So sad yet so poignant.

snort!

+200

Comment of the day!

i will politely disagree as endsim used (.)s instead of (:)s to indicate time

anyone ever consider the pedestrian could've been really drunk, or on drugs?

it's impossible to judge what happened based on this video...it's just a video of a fight, and it's impossible to tell who was more justified for being in the fight.

It's pretty easy to tell who's dumb: the guy who wasn't armed and therefore got his ass kicked.

I don't understand why is everyone so concerned about whose fault it is? Trust me, people: there is a lot more dangerous fucks in this city than you have bones in your noses to be broken by them, even if it is all their fault.

There is only one thing to learn from this: just walk away.

If you have any brains at all, you should be able to pick a good moment to walk away from stupid random street shit BEFORE getting your ass kicked.

Agreed. I've been on both sides of similar situations (pre beatdown) as a pedestrian and as a cyclist. In the moment, you get heated up, but you have to take a mental step back and realize it's not worth it, and it's better to move on.

Once I got into an argument with a cyclist, and as we were yelling more and more, I realized, "Who really cares?", so I stopped, told the cyclist I was having a bad day, as was he likely, and I apologized for escalating the matter. He then apologized for getting into it as well, and we both went on our ways. These two guys are obviously idiots, and one or both should have been enough of an adult to walk away.

Shit this guy got messed upppp

I once exchanged words with a woman who was in her car (when I was on my bike)... so she raced up past me and jumped out of my car and chased me in the street to try to beat me up. I just kept riding -- she wasn't a very fast runner.

But then she got back into her car and tried to hit me with it. I managed to evade her, though.

Point is, there are a lot of crazy people with weapons (kryptonite locks, cars, etc) in this town. I don't know what sparked this incident -- it's obviously entirely possible that the cyclist cut the pedestrian off when the latter had the right of way -- but that didn't give the pedestrian the right to go after the cyclist and try to attack him physically. He kinda got what was coming to him, although if I'd been in the cyclist's shoes, I would've just ridden away like I did in the above incident.

wow... 112 comments and only 3 guys to blame (the biker, the pedo, and the cameraman)... i think they were all justified and it was really the fault of the cops. and the jews. and most likely the liberal media had no small part in this.

was your u-lock handy? i always keep mine within arm's reach.

Ha. No. I'm a lover, not a fighter.

That bike rider needs to be locked up and put away.

Even if the pedestrian followed him (the video does not show who started it) You don't hit someone in the head with a bike lock 6-7 times.

From the video, it looks like it started when the bike rider ran into the Pedestrian. I hope the Police nail the bike rider.

These type of scuffles happen all the time around town. Why is this news?

Why does this cause such a comment uproar?

I'm sorry Jen but news; no. Entertainment; yes.

Wow, "lucky for us he filmed it" with a link to Kryptonite? It's amusing how low Gothamist has sunk.

This Bike Messenger should be charged with assault. Just cause some guy mouths off at you, doesn't give you the right to hit first with a metal club - potentially killing the guy or giving him brain damage. Send that kid to Rikers' and see how tough he is without the metal. What a loser that kid is. Also, Carlson - very lame post, I'm sure you can muster up better as you've been there clearly too long.

Exactly Deb that is my sentiment

Obviously the big guy started some shit with the wrong person.

Whaaat? How the hell is that obvious?

More than likely the biker clipped the the guy or rode over his feet but who can say because that is not on the tape.

This little pussy on that bike did not have his life threatened Get real

All I am saying is let's not congratulate this guy for being an idiot. End of story.

From the second viewing it looks like the messenger kept going at him. He took it too far. But in the long run we don't know what exactly happened in the beginning.

Come on. I'd be willing to be that none of you has ever been involved in an altercation like this before. Maybe the kid reads Gothamist and knows full well what happens to cyclists in this city who try to walk away from one.


This is an arrestable offense for sure, but let's be real. Obviously the big guy started some shit with the wrong person. How can you feel bad for him?

Quote

"but he kept on coming."

Are you for real ? All he did was run his mouth he didn't even take a swing, then he stood there while this little wanker wailed at him with the lock

Love all the armchair quarterbacking. Bike messenger or not, if you get into a random fight on the streets of NYC, you're obviously going to swing whatever you have until you feel safe. In the thick of things you're just reacting and trying to save your ass. The ped had plenty of chances to walk away, but he kept on coming.

Where was the fight? I must have missed something. I see some dude following a midget walking with his bike. Then I see the midget bashing the guy on the head with a lock. Not a fight, but an assault with a weapon...

Bike guy is major puss. Beating an old man with a chain? He should've just took off. He's on a bike after all. It has nothing to do with self defense when he had an opportunity and the means of egress.

Would have liked to seen the Asian guy pull a Kung Fu move and lock that bikers neck to a sign post...

What a couple of SCUMBAGS

You are a DICK.

cyclists are assholes, pedestrians are assholes, and so are you, and so am i. but it doesn't negate the fact that this video is fully fucking awesome. i was very entertained. very.

Gothamist comment of the decade.

I know i'm a little late for this story but yea this is pretty awesome.

This is probably how all cyclists act!

A U-lock to the head is what should have happened to Gus Gonzalez.

A portion of the bikers who ride off the Williamsburg are assholes. They often blow through red lights and miss pedestrians by inches and sometimes don't miss at all. I have even seen men punch ladies for blocking their path. I walk past a messenger store on the way to work and they often block the entire sidewalk with their vagrancy but god forbid if you ever get in their way. By the way, seems like the biker threw the first punch if you look through between the phone and building. Regardless, I'd like to see how his fighting skills are without a Kryptonite.

articles about bikes always garner so much attention and dissent.

You cannot see who went after who first but at the 17-18 second point the bike msg has his lock in hand and his arm looks to be mid-swing or at least flailing around the ped. Then @ 22 seconds after the ped gets nailed with a loud shot to the dome the biker comes back to whack him again. At that point the ped was not looking for more but ended up getting 3-4 more face/head shots for his trouble.

Biker overreacted.

Remember, pedestrians have the right of way until they are in the way!

Again, nothing to do with bikes..

stranger lays his hands on you, you fight back.

Next..

Correct-it has nothing to do with bikes. It has plenty to do with some fucking midget who figured he could wail on some dude because he ruffled his fucking feathers.

I love how the initial reaction is that:

1) the guy is a bike messenger

2) that the other guy is old

3) that cyclists main goal in NYC is to go out and ride into pedestrians and be jerks.

1) just cause you ride a fixed gear and have a messenger style pack back does not make one a messenger

2) the guy crossing the streets looks asian and probably in his mid 30's.

3) most cyclists be it messenger or not, don't want anything to do with hitting pedestrians or even getting near them. But yes, there are times when our two worlds collide. I see fights in NYC all the time. Does this surprise anyone?

3) Sometimes riding on the sidewalk gets you near pedestrians, go figure

From the looks of the first few seconds, seems like the biker cut the ped off while turning right. I think we can assume the biker was initially to blame. But yeah, the biker tries to walk away from the whole thing twice, at 0:09 and 0:13.

HOWEVER, after that it looks like the bike douche is the aggressor. If you look closely between the payphone and the wall at 0:16 you can see the bike rider take a swing (w/fist) at the Asian dude. When we get a clear view of the two again at 0:18 Asian dude is standing at least a full foot away from the biker and has his hands at his side.

It then seems as if the Asian guy lunges at the honkey's BIKE. Endangering a bike, to white people of the fixed wheel rider breed, is of course a crime worse than murder. It is only then that the insecure Wisconsin transplant begins his assault on the poor pedestrian.

Verdict: Asian guy should've let it go, so you were cut off, this is NYC, it happens. BUT the biker took it to a whole other level and instigated the violent portion of the altercation.

Sentence: Asian guy should be allowed to hit the hipster ALL DAY ALL NIGHT with a bike lock.

@xtonybaloneyx and captainblackout

I have to say, Police are super quick sometimetimes. I live a block away from the Rutgers Street Public Housing in Manhattan and I have called the police before on somebody whom I saw, from my window, breaking into cars on Rutgers street...within 5 minutes at most, 4 cop cars were there. The perp was long gone, but they actually found him within 10 minutes a few blocks away. I'm not a snitch, but I don't want somebody busting people's windows on my block either. I know cops are assholes alot/most of the time, but they can be quick to respond, so keep an open mind.

...In this story, I think both people were Assholes.

Moral to the story, if the cops show up quickly in the shittiest hood of Lower Manhattan, then there is hope for all!

What's a snitch? A person who reports a crime? Too much rap culture infestation in your brain.

That's because police monitor that area vigilantly. Haven't you noticed all of the cop cars just chilling in the area, both in the daytime and nighttime? And if you look closer, you can spot undercover cars as well. I actually feel safer in that neighborhood than I would anywhere else.

######### graveltech (and all others who have supported the cyclist): Are you sadistic, insecure, or cowardly? Or all four? He was an OLD MAN! He was an OLD MAN! He was an OLD MAN!

You are clearly okay with this sort of thing... So, do you beat on your girlfriends when they start bitching about the dishes? Do you shake your babies when they won't start crying?

I'm sorry mommy took you off your pacifiers before you were good and ready, but let your balls drop, you fucking twerps! You are not tough. Beating (and condoning the beating of) an old, much weaker man with a weapon does not make you tough. This is not a "peds vs. cyclist" issue. This is all about cowardice and insecurity, and the dangers thereof.

You fucking cowards...

First off, the cyclist appears to be the wronged party.

Second, that guy isn't old, or older or "old" unless you're about 12 years old yourself.

You're pretty whiny, aren't you?

I am. And, boy, am I cool with that.

And you're pretty tough aren't you? Talking about "street fights" and "fighting a little dirty" like you're Bruce fucking Lee... So you've been in a lot of fights have you? Video games don't count, toughy.

Oh, the internet avengers, bravely calling people out on their shit. I wasn't even trying to come off as a tough guy. I've seen some considerable shit go down in my few decades, and I'm not particularly interested in being involved in any violent confrontations. That said, if attacked, I really don't think I'd hesitate to, say, stab someone in the eye. Bruce Lee wouldn't stab a guy in the eye. Bruce Lee would use his speed and fists and feet to defeat his enemy. But I do not have Bruce Lee's skills. So I'd stab the eyeball.

How old do you think he is? From the video it looks like late 40s, at the latest... it's not like the bike messenger was beating on a senior citizen. It's too hard to tell exactly what went down based on just the video alone but it's clear that the older guy had no problem trying to mix it up with the biker. On top of it, I agree with the posters above who say it looks like something fishy happened to the biker's head at exactly 16 seconds in; it looks like his head whips back as if he's reeling from something, and he immediately grabs his lock and starts flailing around.

Oh yeah, and you should not hit someone with a U-lock, ever...unless they have a weapon of their own, and then you are probably screwed. Cyclist is a major dick with bike rage issues. Road rage > Bike rage > Pedestrian rage (whatever that looks like).

Cops wouldn't even show up for this one, over too quick.

5-0 never make it time 90% of the time anyways. Cops are useless

is it me or most of the commenters here miss this huge point which was... NO ONE DID ANYTHING.

people drove by. people walked by. cameraman took a video of the goddamned act and posted it on youtube.

but no one even bothered to stop and call the police.

both parties are wrong in this.

to all the commenters who blame either party, i hope that something terrible happens to you and it gets on youtube while spectators just walk on by without callin 5-0.

This is my point of view on this. Regardless of who was right and wrong in New York you never know what kind of person you may be dealing with

The ped follows the guy down the block, and continues to fight the guy even after the first hit upside his fat head. Kudos to the bike messenger. A quick 4-5 hits, then ride away. I guarantee that guy will not grab or attack another cyclist again. *NICE*

Completely excessive violence on the part of the messenger. I can't tell you how it started (maybe pedestrian was trying to restrain the messenger from leaving), but you can clearly see in the video that the pedestrian was backing off and the messenger goes right back in for some more. That's pretty horrible.

I'd say the cyclist is going to be identified from this video - somebody knows him.

Also, this is disturbing: no one yells out "hey! cut that out!" or a "hey! are you OK?"

some cock films this while the dude gets beaten-I sure hope that pussy didn't spill a drop of his macchiato... Fuckwad

Any self-respecting NYer knows you don't get in the middle of a streetfight. Besides, the bystanders probably saw something we couldn't see. It looked like self-defense to me. If the cyclist was really the aggressor, he wouldn't have stopped after the guy backed away.

STREETFIGHT? You must have been watching West Side Story sipping wine coolers recently. That was not a street fight. Any self respecting New Yorker, which there are few of mind you, would have said something and or tried to prevent this mauling. The cyclist was the aggressor-he beat the man bloody with a lock. Unless the man in the West Palm Beach attire was planning on using Sonny Chiba style Kung Fu on the midget bike rider, this was an assault...

Ease up my man. The dude is a second cousin of Geraldo Rivera.

the fucking midget bike rider must have felt real tough beating some dude across the face with his lock... Pussy

the crucial moment is blocked by the phone booth. who hit who first?

the ONLY conclusion one can make is that the asian ped caught a beatdown, NYC style.

Guilty as charged.

Next case bailiff.

Hypothesis: The biker got off his bike and took out the lock because he was at his delivery/pickup. He got back on the bike at the end because there was no way he was going to leave his bike/make that delivery at that time / with that guy standing there.

Discuss....

i think you've got it exactly right. asian dude follows him down the street, grabs/pushes the bike guy and he cracks him. and surprise the asian guy keeps coming at him so he keeps getting hit. as soon as the asian guy backs off and stops lunging he the bike dude rides off.

The King or Bunnies needed a delivery.

i am an city cylist, i wear a mess bag and stuff, some days i look more messenger than others, but i'm not a messenger. the guy looks like a cliche bike dude, so he may or may not be a messenger, and if he is one, he's is not part of the norm. messengers deal with worse every day, they wouldn't react like that.

that said, whoever he is or whatever his job is, i wanted to vomit after watching it. what he did, the violence, it was uncalled for. and it doesn't hello the cycling cause in the city either... god damn that sucks. what an idiot.

+1, this kid is a faux-messenger cliche crossing over from the Williamsburg Bridge - this corner is on Delancey BTW.

As a cyclist, I know that when shit like this goes down, the best way to deal is to ride the away. What this guy did was 100% wrong. You don't start smashing someone on the head with a u-lock unless he's brandishing a weapon himself.

Real simple rule: Pedestrians ALWAYS have the right of way. They may be idiots and walking in the bike lane and jumping out from between parked cars, but peds ALWAYS have the right of way.

*it doesn't help the cycling cause...

There is nothing in this video that shows the pedestrian grabbing the bike or the bicycle rider. Instead of riding off, which was clearly an option for the bicyclist at any point of this video, the bicyclist chooses to confront the agitated man who is for some reason arguing with the cyclist and briefly following him. Nothing in the video shows what happened to begin the exchange of words. The bicyclist dismounts his bike, instead of riding off, and then walks a few steps probably because he is in the way of he honking cab. Note that the bicyclist is not holding the bike lock. At that point, while the pedestrian is not watching, the bicyclist removes the metal bike lock from his side and places it in his right hand. The video does not show who threw the first punch. And it definitely does not show the pedestrian grabbing or holding the bicyclist. It does show the pedestrian ducking away from the bicyclist trying to hit him with the lock. After that point the pedestrian is standing on the curb. If the cyclist's head swings back it's at the same time that he swings a punch with the bicycle lock at the guys face. Again the video simply does not show how the physical altercation began. At best the pedestrian throws one decent punch while getting hit in the head a couple times with a chunk of metal other than that it's not really a fight but some old guy getting smacked down. There are many points during the fight the cyclist could easily walk or ride away.

Look closely, and you can see him put his hand on the bike(r).

you start yelling shit at me and getting in my face the last thing i'm going to do is turn my back on you. throw a leg over a bike. at that point you've set yourself up to get pushed over and have the shit kicked out of you. i'm going to keep you where i can see you and both feet underneath me.

the thing you forgot to mention is that they're are just as many points where the pedestrian could have walked away. instead he followed the cyclist down the street.

Quite right. All these people who don't ride don't realize how vulnerable someone on a bike is, especially at low speed. Even if you're on foot, if someone is clearly belligerent, you don't turn your back on him. That would be asking to be sucker-punched or worse.

and there were plenty of points where the agro asian dude could have walked away too. the cyclist was walking off down the street and he follows him. who knows what happened behind the phone booth but the asian dude clearly had several chances to defuse the situation.

I think most bikers know a U-lock makes a nice weapon when needed. a friend was hit over the head with a 2x4 in almost this same area but at Bowery and Delancey in the mid 80's. his MSR helmet saved him and he got up swinging his krytonite lock.

watch the biker's head snap back as the camera rounds the corner, around 00:14 - seems like the ped punched/tried to punch him in the face, in which case he's totally justified in beating his ass.

Perhaps the ped had a good reason to take a swing at the dude. The vid doesn't show the reason for the altercation.

That's why when ever I drive, I never brake for bikers if I am in the right.

the biker appears to have never gotten into a fight before and was scared crapless running on adrenaline. (and entitlement)

now if he used a pen navy seal style...

the biker will get his equal justice. would be funny if he got run over by a bus right after this though.

Most of these issues arise out of bikers trying to cut through crosswalks and intersections when they don't have the right of way.

I was hit by one the other day. He was riding down a sidewalk, avoiding those pesky cars, and into a crosswalk that had the right of way. He rode right in front of me, cutting me off and hit me in the shoulder. Had I been a kid, elderly person, or not 6'2", I would have been laid out. As it was he lost his balance and had to stop trying to ride across the street (Which he should not have been doing, as he didn't have the light).

He got off the bike turned around and walked up the sidewalk after me (the only legal use of his bike that I witnessed). When he caught up to me he blocked my path with his bike and began to threaten me. Accusing me of trying to ram into him.

WTF?! I'm supposed to let a guy riding a bike across a crosswalk shove me out of the way? To hell with that. In retrospect, I wish I had laid into him with my shoulder and full weight...

On the other side, just 4 blocks north, I was waiting to cross the street and 2 bikers came along. A mother and her 12 year old kid. They were riding with the traffic, and obeying the rules.

If a 12 year old can follow the rules in midtown why the hell can't the rest of them?