Critical Mass bicyclist knocked over by NYPD

"Pogan (Officer) accused Long (cyclist) of purposely swerving his bicycle to block traffic and then using it as a weapon to run down the officer, knocking him off his feet and causing a "laceration"

The cyclist (Long), as reported in Officer Pogan's own police report, didn't do anything prior to getting assaulted.

that makes me so fucking angry. new york cops are bastards at the best of times... rude, beligerant, and outright racist. they're an absolute disgrace. thank fucking god someone was there to film this.

Jeebus christ.

And now you know why nobody with half a brain rides NYC critical mass. Well that and hippies. Yeah there's only one proper response to that cops actions.

YouTube - Cop Killer

I reckon the office thought he could knock anyone off, make up some story about them swerving to try and hit him, and get away with it. Good to hear some jumped up cop on a power trip get their come-upence.

You can see him clearly kicking his foot out to catch the wheel. No excuse can explain his body movement in that video.

awesome check by the cop, +1 for effort, -10 for stupidity

It kinda looked like he was gonna tell him to slow down. He was going faster than the rest of the riders. But yes the policeman is CUNT

No excuse for what that copper did and i hope they take him to the cleaners, but IMO Critical Mass does more harm than good as far as promoting cycling goes, since it just seems to piss off everyone else so much that it makes other road users despise bikes more than ever

he is the reason there are cop killers in the world..

looks to me like the cop was looking out for him, it 100% was a planned attack.
he sped up to take out the cyclist. no way was he dodging him.
bastard.

lol from the link

"#9 posted by ill lich , July 28, 2008 11:53 AM

    I believe NWA had a song that expresses how I feel about this footage."

And from youtube

"My family is filled with decent, hard working police officers. So, I know a pig when I see one."

It looks like the copper has decided to walk to the kerb, misjudged the speed of the oncoming cyclist, then decided he still deserves to cross in front of the cyclist, who has already committed quite sensibly to passing the copper on left, and the copper's violent uptight bastard instincts have kicked in.

I see it slightly differently, I think the copper had every intention of checking a cyclist, he's watching the oncoming traffic at all times and even takes a couple of paces to get some weight behind him.

Having said that I'm not anti-Police by any means, it's just some of them are jobsworth, violent, chinless cunts.

Without that video the cyclist's future would be looking very very bad right now.

According to his police report of the incident, officer Pogan was attacked, lacerated and thrown to the ground in the attack on him (obviously this is a lie - as the video shows Long, the cyclist, as the one who is thrown to the ground and Pogan remaining on his feet) - along with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assaulting an officer (in the 3rd degree) - enough to see Long face a possible custodial sentence.

Long, who has been released without bail (after being detained for 26 hours for his 'attack') still has to go to court on August the 8th to defend himself against these charges.

If you were to reverse the roles, put the police officer on the bike and place Long in the middle of the road, rewind the tape and hit play again and watch Long throw Pogan off his police bike - it would be an open and shut case. If it were this way around Long would face a custodial sentence without doubt.

26 hours.

Roughly the right amount of time for bruises to start receeding.

I would have thought that it was all the more reason to go on one.

No excuse for what that copper did and i hope they take him to the cleaners, but IMO Critical Mass does more harm than good as far as promoting cycling goes, since it just seems to piss off everyone else so much that it makes other road users despise bikes more than ever

Said it better than I could.

Also what someone said about not being anti-cop. I've had some interactions with the police in my time (on both the wrong and right sides of the law) and everytime the Police have been professional and honest and sometimes even quite nice. I don't doubt bad policing goes on (that video demonstrates it) I've just not ever been subject to any.

Rossas in the US are a different cup of tea to over here . . our Police force are by and large a good bunck of people looking out for our interests, in the US, particularilly small towns still view themselves as judge jury and executioner. Check this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFUpa0OwlyU

phuc

New York Post Article

A rookie cop - the son of a highly respected New York City detective - has been stripped of his badge and gun after being caught on video viciously attacking a bicyclist who was part of a Times Square demonstration.

The startling YouTube video shows Officer Patrick Pogan, 22, apparently setting his sights on - then tackling - a bicyclist as he pedaled along Seventh Avenue as part of last Friday's controversial Critical Mass ride.

Christopher Long, 29, was among a throng of riders as he whizzed toward the corner of West 46th Street at 9:30 p.m., and appeared to try to swerve away from the officer.

But the video shows Pogan pick up his pace as he stares down Long before shoving the cyclist, slamming him to the pavement.
To the dismay of stunned pedestrians, Long, who was not wearing a helmet, was hurtled several feet as he flipped off the bicycle and landed on the curb.

Pogan and a second officer then lunged toward the prone cyclist, at which point the video fades to black. The footage, taken by a tourist and posted anon ymously on YouTube, sparked imme diate public outcry and prompted the NYPD to place Pogan on desk duty while the Internal Affairs Bureau investigates.

The NYPD declined to comment further.

What the video doesn't show is Pogan arresting Long for attempted assault in the third degree, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct - charges that kept the Bloomfield, NJ, man behind bars for 26 hours before his release late Saturday.

Adding insult to injury, the criminal complaint drafted by Pogan bears little resemblance to what was witnessed by onlookers and recorded on video.

In court papers, Pogan claimed that he wanted to issue Long a summons for failing to keep right, and then ordered Long to stop
The cop accused Long of purposely swerving his bicycle to block traffic and then using it as a weapon to run down the officer, knocking him off his feet and causing a "laceration" on his forearm.
"You are pawns in the game. I'm going to have your job," Long told Pogan, as he flailed and kicked his arms and legs, according to the complaint.

Pogan has been on the force for just three weeks since graduating from the Police Academy on July 2 and is assigned to Midtown South. A third-generation cop, Pogan lives at home with his father - Patrick Pogan Sr., a highly respected detective and biochemical and mass-destruction expert who is retired from the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
"He's my son. I'm proud of him. He's third-generation that's been serving the city," said Pogan Sr., 51, who was at home in Massapequa Park, LI, yesterday and said he had not seen the video. "These people are taking over the streets and impeding the flow of traffic. Then you gotta do what you gotta do."

Long declined comment through his lawyer.

"If it wasn't caught on video, people would not have believed it," said Christopher Ryan, who is filming the monthly protests for a documentary. "The video just shows what the cyclists have been saying all along: that the police are still harassing and intimidating them from doing group rides."

***And this is the Posts editorial on the subject

*** CRITICAL MENACE

                One of those cycling anarchists apparently was shoved off his bike by a cop in Times Square Friday night - but it could have been worse. Given the traffic havoc that Critical Mass regularly provokes, he might've been hit by a bus.

Now the cop is in trouble, and Critical Mass - which hates cars, and so makes a point to create monthly traffic jams all over New York, just for the hell of it - is in full chortle.
It was bound to happen, of course.

Over the last four years, the activists have aggressively fought the NYPD's attempts to keep the streets safe.
It looks like one thing led to another Friday, and the unidentified officer seemingly pushed a Critical Mass rider to the ground as the group snaked through Times Square.
Nobody was hurt.

And, since the rider got a traffic ticket and was cited for resisting arrest, there may be more to the story than what's on one online video.

Regardless, the officer has been placed on modified assignment pending an internal probe.
Such a display of temper is, of course, improper. But - given Critical Mass' casual provocations over the years - it was hardly surprising.

And Police Commissioner Ray Kelly will do the right thing. He usually does.

Contrast that with crazies who conspire to endanger the public every month and dare the police to stop them.

It's hard to root against the cops.

ffing NYpost talking shit.

Why would you name your son after yourself? 'Sake!

the ny post is the daily mail of new york media. i'm unsurprised by their stance on this.

new york cops have a long history of vigilantiness, disregarding the law, and unprovoked attacks. again, i'm unsurprised by this cop's antics.

There is a full page pro-cycling editorial in tonight's Evening Standard; calling Boris to be radical.

The Standard does lurch a bit, between Daily Nazi and Guardian territory...