If Peterson were black he would have been arrested.

The police would have left him alone if he were being beaten and robbed by a group of thugs.

"He also didn't have any problem with the officers making shit up on the police report, which is what really troubles Peterson."

Funny. Now let's talk about what the ruling really says, because there's no mention it of any allegation of the cops "making shit up.".

The judge said that the cops were wrong; neither ticket should have been written. However, he said that it wasn't unreasonable that they may have believed, in the case of the first ticket, that the law banning bicycles from the sidewalks also applies to unicycles. As it's written, it does not.

In the case of the second ticket, the judge said, it's not unreasonable that they believed that the potential of a disruption of sidewalk would be enough to write the citation. The statute is vaguely written, and there is no case law to really answer the question of whether it is or not. The judge also mentioned that the cops could have simply followed him in their car until he encountered a pedestrian, then "Bingo! Disorderly Conduct!" (my words there, not Judge Cogan's).

Simply put, it all came down to the fact that the tickets shouldn't have been written, but under the principle of qualified immunity individual police officers can not be held civilly liable for a constitutional rights violation under 42U.S.C.§1983 if "the officers mistakenly (but reasonably) thought the plaintiff violated the law."

There's also an interesting comment early in the written decision where Judge Cogan muses about whether "a statute originally enacted to protect African-Americans from the most heinous deprivations of life and liberty in the Reconstruction Era had devolved into permitting circus performers to recover money from the public fisc for having wrongfully received two minor summonses for riding on the sidewalk instead of the bike lane."

All in all, it's an interesting read. Highly recommended to anyone interested in writing about the story.

The officers stated in the summons that I was "observed riding unicycle on sidewalk, obstructing pedestrian traffic". They didn't cite me for potentially creating a dangerous situation. They cited me for actually obstructing invisible pedestrians that didn't exist. This is the definition of making shit up, in my humble opinion at least. Gotta commend you for reading the whole thing though... I understand the argument you're making, but I don't think it was reasonable for the police to write a dishonest police report for the sake of issuing me a summons when I was engaging in legal behavior.

Reading comprehension,  my single-wheeled friend! I made no comment on whether the cops actually did "make shit up"; I haven't seen the summons so can't comment on what may be written there. My factual statement, though, was that "making shit up" was not addressed in the court's decision. 

"I understand the argument you're making,"

I am not Judge Cogan. I made no arguments at all in that comment; I simply summarized the ruling.

You are correct in pointing out that I did not read your comment carefully. I'm not used to intellectual discourse on the gothamist comment section so I guess I was a little taken aback. Thank you for your apt summary of Judge Cogan's decision.

You obviously don't know jaycjay. That filing is light reading for him.

Ugh but it's 10 pages long! But I thank you none the less for the summary. 

"Justice is the whim of a judge, check his chest density,

It leaves much room for error, and the rest left to destiny"

- sage francis

I always thought ignorance of the law was no excuse? I guess that's meant for US and not THEM...

 He should follow the rules for bikes.  Pedestrians are foot traffic, and own the sidewalk and are generally given priority.  A unicycle is a vehicle.  It's just that simple.    

Cyclists claim the same things he does ("An expert cyclist is no more dangerous to pedestrians than a fellow pedestrian").  Just because there isn't a specific law regarding unicycles doesn't mean that he shouldn't use common sense.  

And the fact that the sidewalks were empty doesn't mean that he can't be an obstruction.  If I left a pile of sandbags on the sidewalk at 3am, the cops could still ticket me for obstructing pedestrian traffic.  It's not a specifically illegal activity (no sandbags on the sidewalk!) and it's not currently blocking anyone, but I have indeed created an obstacle.  Legally, the guy had no case anyway.

We must start ticketing wheelchairs now! 

The current laws in this state do not describe a unicycle as a vehicle... so it isn't.

A unicycle is not a bicycle, by its very definition. In fact, it's no more a bicycle than a pedestrian is. 

Technically belt driven bicycles aren't bicycles in new york.  a unicycle is clearly closer to a bicycle than a pair of shoes.  The police have made ti clear to him they don't want him on sidewalks and he keeps doing it.

Well a judge just made it clear to the cops that it's not illegal to unicycle on the sidewalk. 

 you can get a ticket at any time from a police officer.  Only recently they courts said they can;t give a person on foot a dis-con on the sidewalk for obstructing pedestrian traffic.  I've seen several unicyclists around and they have all been on the street, not the sidewalk.

Most people have learned to pick their battles.  Adults aren't aloud to ride things with wheels on the sidewalk.  You are certainly violating the spirit of the law and repeatedly defying the orders of a police officer.

Cops are violating the spirit of the law by repeatedly defying the orders of a judge...

 there is so much stupidity in your comment, i can't even begin to respond.

Actually, it's illegal to leave a pile of sandbags on a sidewalk:"It shall be unlawful for any person, their agent, employee, or any person under their control to suffer or permit any dirt, sand, gravel, clay, stone rocks, rubbish, building rubbish, sawdust, shavings or trade or household waste, refuse, ashes, manure, garbage, rubbish or debris of any sort or any other organic or non-organic material or thing other offensive matter being transported in a dump truck or other vehicle to be dumped, deposited or otherwise disposed of in any street, lot, park, publicity or privately owned."   -Section 16-119 of the Administrative Code   of the City of New York

 There has to be an appeal here only to address the assumption that cops can just make up laws as they go along.