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Don Broderick, a one-time New York Post reporter and current Fox News staffer, won't face charges related to his June 1st altercation with Central Park cyclist Brian Dooda. Dooda's accusations are pretty sensational; he says that after he pulled in front of Broderick at a red light to admonish him for cutting him off, Broderick gunned his SUV into him, knocking him down. Then, when Dooda tried to block the SUV so Broderick couldn't leave the scene, he allegedly rammed Dooda onto the hood and drove some 200 feet with Dooda clinging to the vehicle, pleading for him to stop. Now the Manhattan DA tells Gawker they've dropped the case because they could not prove Dooda suffered any injuries in the incident. (Dooda insists he did sustain minor injuries from the death ride, including a scrape on his elbow.) Broderick, who was once forced to take anger management classes after he threatened to tear a subordinate's head off, says, "The DA's action speaks for itself. There's nothing further to say." Dooda couldn't be reached for comment, and the DA's spokesperson declined to comment on why they didn't file lesser charges against Broderick based on damage to Dooda's bike.
Fox Newsman Won't Be Charged In Cyclist Road Rage Ramming
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So if I understand correctly, it's legal to hit someone with a car so long as you don't hurt them?
Oh, silly me, I forgot it's legal to kill someone with a car so long as you're not a raving drunk.
it's not what you know, it's what you can prove.
There were witnesses. So they should be able to prove that he did deliberately drive into the biker.
There shouldn't be anything else required.
the city sides with drivers once again. sickening.
Ditto what Politburo said.
Pitchforks and fire sticks Simpson's style anyone?
Maybe there'll be a civil suit? We can only hope that this jack ass suffers SOME punishment.
Hey, DA's office... NY Penal Law section 100.00 provides that attempting to commit a crime is itself a crime. And, if you thought you could prove injury in the first place, then you should have charged it as Assault in the Third Degree (PL 120.00: "with intent to cause injury a person causes injury") or Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree (PL 120.20: "recklessly engages in conduct which creates a substantial risk of serious injury") or Menacing in the Third Degree (PL 120.15: "by physical menace . . . intentionally places or attempts to place another person in fear or . . . physical injury.").
I would like to know who the assistant was who wrote up this complaint and failed to understand all the possible charges.
Oh, please!
He got knocked down with an SUV; A 2,000 to 4,000 lb vehicle? He was also "rammed" by that same metal monster, knocking him up on the hood and driven 200 feet? And after all that, all Pinochio can show is a scraped elbow?
I'm with the DA on this one, only an idiot would believe this particular tall tale, which says a lot about the biases and gullibility of Gothamist readers (at least so far).
'they could not prove Dooda suffered any injuries in the incident'
In other words, he had none. File a civil suit, and get $5 for some fucking neosporin and some bandaids for your alleged scrape on your elbow.
Sounds like more anti-SUV hysterics.
Wish I could sue every cyclist I see menacing pedestrians as they whip down the street the wrong way.
Yeah, damn those cyclists killing hundreds of pedestrians every year.
Wait, no, that's not cyclists. It's drivers.
Maybe the DA should make them take anger management classes TOGETHER.
Assault in the Third Degree (PL 120.00: "with intent to cause injury a person causes injury")
Read that closely. You're making a common misinterpretation.
"With intent to cause injury, a person causes injury."
That is, it's not Assault 3 if you accidentally injure someone, but can be if you intentionally injure someone. Both elements are required: intent and injury.
The definition of assault in NYS differs from that in common law in that it only applies if the victim is injured.
I'm not making any mistake at all. If the DA thought there were injuries in the first place (hence, the charge of leaving the scene/personal injury) then they could have charged this and let the defendant show it wasn't intentional.
Intent is an element, and lack of intent is a defense.
The other charges seem more appropriate, but that isn't to say that the assault charge would have been unthinkable.
Someone screwed up with the charge. It should have been attempted murder.
This is ridiculous. Morgenthau's retirement can't come soon enough.
SUVS ROOL! They should widen all the streets in manhattan, eliminate the sidewalk, so we can fit more on the streets. com on its not fair texans get to have all the fun. driving an suv however you see fit is every americans right
That's what he gets for standing in front of a FUCKING CAR to prevent it from leaving. He was probably like, "What's he going to do, hit me?" Nice.
That doesn't give the driver the right to ACTUALLY FUCKING HIT HIM. That's not actually how it works, you know.
Im thinking the same thing EMTNYC.
Only an arrogant fool could possibly think he/she can win a road rage confrontation using a bicycle. Kudos to the DA for seeing Dooda for the whiny jerkoff he appears to be.
BTW... Dooda isn't an officer of the law. He isn't entitled to restrain anyone.
I'm not a lawyer, but I believe a citizen only has the right to ask someone to stay around. I saw a judge make this point to a guy who restrained someone who was stealing his car radio.
Right,
So it would have been far better for Dooda to shoot the asshole on the spot?
Seriously, does Morgenthau want a return to the old "Bernie Goetz" system of justice? I know I don't.