Brooklyn Unicyclist Sues Cops for "Unconstitutional" Ticket

The Parks police crack down on another dangerous unicyclist. (krugerlive's Flickr)

Unicyclist Kyle Peterson, who was ticketed two weeks ago for riding his unicycle on the sidewalk, is suing the NYPD for $3 million for a violation of his constitutional rights. "My plight," Peterson wrote in an email to us, "shows the extreme length the NYPD is going in their war against cyclists," evidently without regard for wheel number.

Peterson (AKA The Brooklyn Juggler) was originally handed a summons for riding on the sidewalk, but the violation was tossed out, because the NY law that bans sidewalk-biking states, "The term 'bicycle' shall mean a two or three wheeled device upon which a person or persons may ride," blatantly not applying to unicycles. When Peterson was stopped by cops on a sidewalk in Bed-Stuy to be ticketed a second time, he informed them of that bit of legal trivia that they should already have known.

Were they offended by his exposure of a gap in their legal knowledge? Did they just need one more ticket to meet their quota? We'll never know, but Peterson did not just ride away that day. He was slapped instead with a summons for "disrupting pedestrian traffic," even though, as Peterson said in an email to us, "there were no pedestrians in the vicinity."

In the suit, Peterson claims the cops also made fun of him for riding a unicycle, and "began singing circus music" at him. Yes, for the NYPD, High School never ends.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Zoe Schlanger in News on November 19, 2010 4:51 PM

Comments [rss]

BigUps

He's suing for how much?! This guy is way out of touch with reality. What a douchebag. He should take his act to the circus.

Got_Ham

Kyle (according to other articles) was riding late at night, and there were no pedestrians on the sidewalk to have been disturbed in the first place. The cops were dead wrong to give him a trumped up ticket.

That said, a three million dollar lawsuit is absurd, and can only give unicyclists (such as myself) a bad name. Constitutional rights? Nonsense. If the cops pushed him down to the ground and/or abused him viciously, that would be another matter. Singing the circus song? Like that deserves monetary damages of any kind? Pathetic.

The only result I expect is that this will catch the attention of lawmakers, who will indeed make riding a single wheel on sidewalks illegal. If I ride on a desolate sidewalk one day and get a ticket, I'll know just whom to thank.

OSN!

Awesome Kyles a ginger. Gingers have no soul.

marchug

remember after 9/11 when everyone cheered the firemen and firetrucks when they passed and no one cheered the police? ever?

dr zippy

Unicyclists do not conform to what my little mind thinks is normal, therefore I must fear and hate them.

gothman

best comment ive ever read on these ridiculous message boards

JacqueMehoff

I still have some unicycle bumper stickers when thought the cranks would work on my cheapo bike. if anyone needs a set of unicycle cranks....

calista

Actually, the average unicycle speed is pretty close to the average human running speed, so maybe we should outlaw running on the sidewalk.......................!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cannibal

How about retards who jog down Broadway between Houston and Canal on a saturday during the summer bumping into all the people with their gross sweat? BAN!!!

HalfMooner

One wheel beneath his junk has obviously affected his ability to grow a pair.

robindustry

All you fat mother fucking haters putting Kyle down. Fuck you! Get off your god-damned asses for a second and go get some fucking exercise. Better yet, learn to ride a unicycle. And fuck the cops. They're all fucking fat. Fuck fat people who drive and park and bike lane. And fuck people who hate Kyle. He's an awesome guy.

virgilstarkwell

can you please call me when the gothamist office gets broken into? i want to be there when you call the cops and they tell you to go f*** yourselves and call a unicyclist if you want to catch the burglar.

handsomedevil

Damn straight. And Gothamist would then be the only unsolved burglary case in all of Dumbo - haha, losers! Cause if it's one thing the NYPD is actually excellent at it's recovering stolen property.

I remember the last time I got burgled my licensed firearm helped me solve the crime. I whispered "OK, gun, which way did they go?" and it led me right to the burglars' lair.

JacqueMehoff

finished watching PBS's mini series on the Big Apple Circus. Great show. I wish I could help them stay around forever. More Circuses.

Cannibal

Is that a plate of Troll Nibbles I spy?

JacqueMehoff

If the space under the bridge fits.

but I do look forward to seeing the BAC every year.

nicemarmot

I can't believe I agree with the cops, but I don't trust any jerk who rides his unicycle on the sidewalk.

eflash

sorry, kyle, get the hell off the sidewalk with that contraption. if cyclists can ride in the street, so can you.

neuroradical

The Guinness World Record for top unicycle speed is 18 mph. That would be in an all out 100m sprint. Your average person using a unicycle for daily travel isn't likely to go much more than about 8 mph or so, and that's if they're working hard pretty consistently. In comparison an average walker goes about 3 mph, an average bicyclist goes around 16 mph and the speed limit for motor vehicles in the city is generally what? like 30 mph. It's arguably safe to allow cyclists in the street, which is why people advocate for bike lanes, so a unicyclist in the street would definitely be pretty dangerous. That's probably why the law defined bicycles as having two or more wheels specifically.

Actually, the average unicycle speed is pretty close to the average human running speed, so maybe we should outlaw running on the sidewalk.

Now if we had more bike lanes, we could argue for forcing unicyclists to use them, but until then, the street is the best place, at least if we don't outlaw unicycles completely.