New York, New York (The Weekly Vice) -- A New York Police Department officer has been re-assigned to desk duty, pending an investigation, after a You Tube video showed the officer body checking a Critical Mass bicyclist off of his bike.
Critical Mass, a bicycle ride normally held on the last Friday of each month as a form of protest against reliance on vehicles and bicyclist/motorist relations, has been a long standing irritation to the New York Police Department.
Although attempts by New York City to ban the event have failed in court, the tradition has created a somewhat adversarial relationship between the riders and NYPD officers who detest the event.
This past Friday, witnesses say a NYPD officer (now identified as 22 year old Officer Patrick Pogan) attacked rider Christopher Long at random, body checking the rider off his bike.
Reportedly, Long was arrested and charged with attempted assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. According to the arrest affidavit, Long "deliberately steered his bicycle into the officer, causing both of them to fall to the ground."
A bystander however had a video camera and posted the incident on You Tube. While the officer has been relieved of his gun and has been reassigned to desk duty pending the outcome of an investigation - charges against the rider have not been dropped.
We have a bone to pick with the New York district attorney's office
The Weekly Vice Opinion:
It's quite simple really. If this video isn't compelling enough proof that the 'unnamed' officer abused his position and then lied about it in an arrest affidavit, then we're going to have to add corruption of the prosecutor's office to the growing list of concerns in this case.
Furthermore, why is the officer uncharged ? If Officer Pogue were not on duty, he'd quite easily qualify for assault charges here.
It's pretty apparent - unless you're severely cross-eyed, that the rider slowed down and tried to go around the officer. As the officer lunged towards the rider, he continued to veer leftward in an attempt to stay clear of the officer. It's really pretty dumbfoundingly clear who assaulted who.
To the New York City prosecutor's office I ask: How many times do you have to watch the video before it dawns on you something isn't right here? Put the prostitute down, watch the video and get this issue effectively resolved before New York tax payers have to pay for the lawsuit that this rider could legitimately file against the city. Duh!
Danny Vice
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24 comments:
It's crazy to think any kind of investigation into this matter would need to take more than the 20 seconds it takes for the video to play.
Cops know that random violent arrests will deter citizens.
Citizens have forgotten that the threat of public violence is essential to controlling cop violence...a mutual deterrence effect...nonviolence results in cops beating up whoever they want with no consequences.
Just hanging the cop by his balls in time square ought to be a good deterrant too. Is that too much to wish for? lol. If I were that biker, I'd be sewing and charges would be the last thing they had to worry about
It's obvious that the cop just picked him out of the crowd and wanted to hurt the man. He was turned around until moments before... and then chased the guy down for no reason.
If there wasn't a camera that just happened to be there, this idiot cop would have gotten away with the whole thing.
That's messed up. Heck yeah he should be suing
this is a big wig detective's son who obviously thinks he has some kind of special power over people because of his daddy's position.
He should be fired and then personally sued. There's no excuse for what he did to that guy. None.
Yeah, well, the cop's been put on paid leave pending an investigation. (Why is that the usual protocol?) Paid leave is like getting a paid vacation for having done something wrong, and in this case, it's at the taxpayer's expense! - Jay
I'm alright with the paid leave during an investigation, since it only take a minute to watch the video. What the hell more evidence does one need after you watch it and the read the arrest report the guy wrote up. It doesn't take days and days to determine that the guy brutalized an innocent person and then lied about it.
This COP needs to get put in jail for about 6 months where he will get checked... Punk
The bike ride protest WAS upheld in court, however Critical Mass riders have abused that privelege by creating a nightmare for motorists and cops alike. It's a massive drain on city resources and takes cops away from investigating crimes to pull traffic duty. I fully understand why the cops have run out of patience with these riders. I'm not excusing what this rookie cop did - but if the cops give up really trying to control this, then motorists are going to start taking their anger out on the riders. Better to be tackled off your bike than to have bikers run over by cars. Perhaps then, these riders will stop abusing others by hogging the road like they do. Perhaps if a few of these riders get clobbered, they'll be more respectful of others.
I wonder if this flabby cop was jealous of ( or attracted to? ) the youthful, fit young man - and then shoved him off his bike ( a way of touching him ).
Hmm... Could be!
Thug says that the ride is a "massive drain on city resources." The combined security cost for the Democrat and Republican conventions is estimated to be $100 million. New York often tries to convince to parties to hold their conventions in the city. I don't think waste was on this creep cop's mind.
I am not surprised. We saw something just like this happen in Times Square a month ago. The saddest part was when my 13 yr old said "mom, that officer is not telling the other officers what really happened". How do you explain that to anyone, especially a child?
I'm not surprised this happened, we saw the same thing happen in a recent visit to Times Sq. The saddest part was when my 13 yr old daughter said "Mom, that officer is not telling the other officer what really happened." How do explain abuse of power like that to a 13 yr old child?
Just another rookie pig practicing before taking on the task of harassing Motorcycle Clubs
And cops want to know why they don't get any respect? Not only does this reflect on that 22 yr. old punk with a gun, but also the cop standing right next to him who obviously did nothing to help the bicyclist, as well as the entire police department who apparently condone this type of behavior. That kid didn't hesitate he picked out his target. It didn't appear that he was worried not one bit about suffering any consequences and he hasn't. Shame on your chief of police in that city, what a bunch of low lifes.
I agree completely with the officer. You cannot see the biker on camera prior to coming into the field of vision. We don't know if the biker was antagonizing or insinuating that he was going to make contact with the officer or not. It is clear the officer was walking slowing in one direction, when the biker failed to slow down and effectively avoid a collision course with the officer, the officer was forced to deem the action as aggression and took the necessary actions to defend himself. Furthermore, its common sense not to whim past an officer on a bike, the biker was within inches of impact with the officer just as the officer shoved him off. The angles of this video make it possibly for easily swayed, anti-government, anti-authority opinionated people to see this as an act of aggression from the officer. You can't see what happened before the event, and you can't see what happened after the event, I hope this case got thrown out and that biker rots in jail.
Josh: You're easily swayed because you apparently are blind both physically and intellectually. You are pro-totalitarian government such as The Wuss used to bring the U.S. to absolute ruin; pro-authoritarian domination in a nation which has sunk to torturing humans as policy.
Your opinion of normal people witnessing right there in the video above (which you can download and break apart into individual files for further examination) a planned act of aggression from the pig has no value, as long as you continue to deny the crime that is obvious to anyone who can see.
These Critical Mass protests are protests. They are choreographed and approved, most times they are permitted as required and stick to the route because they are very vulnerable on bicycles.
They are PROTESTS against torture, war, greed, etc. Protesting can be inconvenient. Tough luck with that, cowards.
Um Allen, if you hate your country so bad, why are you even here?
You live in a land of make believe, where everyone hold's hands and sings kumbaya. Where terrorists gladly let you know who's head they are preparing to cut off.
I bet you are one of the whack-heads that think the US government planned 9-11 out.
Why don't you and Cindy Sheehan go rent a room and have your own pity party?
AND BTW, Critical Mass is not a war protest you troll, it's a promotion of using environmentally safe methods of transit. Like biking instead of driving everywhere in a car.
Hey, it's Allan not Allen, BTW. I don't hate OUR country, it's just been acting more despicably for eight years than it has in its entire history, that's all. So it's our country's so-called "sins" as perpetratrated by those in charge that I'm hating on, not our country.
Assuming I am telling the truth, I am an American (I'm assuming that's your basic question, not my 20) because I was born one and have maintained my citizenship, though it came close when my tour of duty in Germany was expiring. I almost became an early Eurotizen in West Germany in 1975.
Stop watching "24" so much, its basic premise is displaying torture. Nice. No wonder you're so frightened. Don't worry, people who know how to operate the defenses of this country will be back in charge in a few days. If we make it that far, those who failed to prevent 9-11 or stop it in progress will have their fingers removed from the "buttons".
BTW, we had the same military jets and radar systems (NORAD) available on Sep 11 2001 so that just as today we could have located a little plane flying on autopilot with no pilot on board because he parachuted out to fake his death, and we could have easily shadowed it with as many fighter jets as necessary until it ran out of gas and crashed.
But the same ill-conceived hesitation which The Wuss showed while sitting nearly frozen after being told the country was under attack, and his awkward, inappropriate responses to 9-11 (attacking Iraq), and Katrina (ignore the problem), etc., clearly place the failure and historical responsibility for 9/11 on The Wuss.
You've ticked off the list of liberal scarecrows to let us know you're a card-carrying GOPher. Good for you! Your little minority-view rants will be amusing for the next, oh... shall we say, 16 years?
Critical Mass participates in many protests which might not seem, to a novice, to not have much to do with improving public transportation and increasing and promoting its many forms, including bicycles. The anti-war protests they took part in come to mind.
And the multi-faceted GOPher and Democratic convention protests in which they participated.
AND, BTW, no-profile-having Vince, "trolls" don't set up profiles.
Allen, I have an idea.
Let's have this conversation in a few years when the country has had the chance to see what your buddy terrorists do when you hand them your olive branch. When the US gets to relearn what happens when you follow liberal principals.
Let's get back together in a few, when the Dems make excuses for the 200th scandal that's taken place during Obama's term in office. Heck, there's already a dozen of them brewing....and he's not even in office.
It's easy to talk smack, when all you know to do is whine and complain.
You live in a dream world and others will have to pay for your naive ignorance.
Pelosi is your queen. God help you.
I've seen this video before and it shocks me each time I've seen it. He randomly picked whoever crossed him and just viciously pushed. It's incredibly bold and violent. Just wrong!
Hey Critical Mass stomps on the rights of lots and lots of drivers and citizens. They intentionaly create confrontation, and then baby up when it goes the other way. I say enforce the law and knock em all down.
How come that it could happen the festival in Malaysia? So scandalous.
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