Bicyclist assaults NYPD officer

[The Central Scrutinizer]

It is also interesting that the cop waits until there is almost zero bicycle traffic before picking out a lone rider to assault. One would have thought that a smarter cop looking to assault someone would have done it when a larger pack was nearby, because a collision could have actually appeared accidental.

As it stands, there are no mitigating circumstances for this attack at all.

I would wait for the rest of the story. Do we know what this guy did before, off camera? What if this was a take down, as in he was observed doing something illegal and this was the only way the cop could stop him. Did he punch someone? Did he vandalize a car? Who knows?

 

[Demigorgon]

Well, the guy is a member of Critical Mass, so I'm willing to cut the cop some slack.

QFT

They are nothing short of terrorist on bikes.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/04/BAGF7P12RN23.DTL

 

[NobbyNobbs]

I would wait for the rest of the story. Do we know what this guy did before, off camera? What if this was a take down, as in he was observed doing something illegal and this was the only way the cop could stop him. Did he punch someone? Did he vandalize a car? Who knows?

If this is the case, why did the cop say the bicyclist ran into him and knocked him to the ground, when this is obviously not the case?

The cop lied about his actions. He would not have had to do so if this were an honest take-down.

 

[davefoc]

From my perspective it is effectively certain the cop intentionally knocked the man off the bike.

If the man was told to stop and he didn't, I might question the police tactic and see some sort of administrative punishment justified but I would definitely not decide that the police officer was guilty of assault. Cops need to make split second decisions and they are occasionally going to make bad ones. Putting them in jail for being too aggressive in trying to stop a perpetrator seems too harsh to me, but this incident might serve as evidence that the cop needs to lose his job, IMO.

If the bicyclist wasn't ordered to stop, I would like not only to see the cop fired but I believe an assault conviction with at least a suspended sentence was justified. That was a serious act of violence that would reasonably be expected to significantly harm another.

The fact that charges were filed against the rider should be seriously investigated and anybody that contributed to the false reports should be dealt with harshly.

 

[BPSCG]

Actually, to me it looks like an accident. I can understand why someone would think it wasn't, but that's just due to ignorance of how biker/walker encounters often happen.

Sorry, I just don't see it. The cop is standing still when you first see him, and he has to move faster and faster just to get into the biker's path - watch his legs. It looks both deliberate and unprovoked to me.

 

[fuelair]

Yeppers, I'd call that an assault. On the part of the officer. And as shemp noted, absolutely amazing that any officer would perform such a blatant offense in public.

Note that "Critical Mass" is an in-your-face bicycle "advocacy" group, which since the 70s has staged these large-scale "rides" planned specifically to disrupt vehicle traffic and call attention to the superiority of bike transport.
Perhaps the officer got fed up with constant traffic disruptions? Who knows. A stupid act.
Smile and wave, that's what I would do; smile and wave.

I have a plan for in your face advocates who disrupt. It's called heavy jail time. That would ALMOST be enough to make me play tag with a cyclist (otherwise, I am fine with them, by the by).

 

[fuelair]

The bicyclist was obviously innocent of anything requiring being assaulted by a police officer. Your attempt to justify a criminal act and to attack citizen groups is pathetic. I don't care if the bicyclist in question was a member of ANY organization, the police don't have the right to assault people. Maybe you want to live in a world where you and your loved ones can be beaten up by cops, because other people like you will find a way to absolve the police of any wrongdoing... but that's not a world that any right-thinking person supports.

Not a world where they can go after people randomly, but no problem at all with one where they can fix the problems of purposefully interferring with traffic movement to push some rectum-brather agenda. I do not react well to free flow/movement disruption under almost any condition and because some jack-off has a political agenda even less.

 

[geni]

Sorry, I just don't see it. The cop is standing still when you first see him, and he has to move faster and faster just to get into the biker's path - watch his legs. It looks both deliberate and unprovoked to me.

Yes and no. People seem to have a tendancy to underestimate bike speeds which can cause issues but not I think to this extent. The interesting bit is guessing how they will react to their mistake. Getting that wrong can result in some close calls.

 

[geni]

Not a world where they can go after people randomly, but no problem at all with one where they can fix the problems of purposefully interferring with traffic movement to push some rectum-brather agenda. I do not react well to free flow/movement disruption under almost any condition and because some jack-off has a political agenda even less.

They would conter that by argueing they are traffic (strictly correct) and you equaly have no right to disrupt their movement.

I admit I don't get a lot of of the diver cycleist tension. The near misses and collisions I've had were due to errors rather than active malice.

 

[Texas]

Well Critical Mass may bring this kind of thing on itself:

http://www.blog.joelx.com/seattle-critical-mass-bicyclists-assaults-motorist/1182/

Critical Mass Assaults Motorist in Seattle
At 7 pm on Friday, July 25th 2008, Critical Mass was moving through Capitol Hill and performing their corking maneuver to block traffic when a guy and his girlfriend in a Subaru tried to pull out of a parking spot. The Critical Mass bicyclists immediately moved to prevent him from getting out and a bunch of the cyclists jumped on his car and were banging on it. The man, becoming fearful that he was about to be further assaulted by the cyclists, tried to back up but bumped into a cyclist who was parked behind him. A bunch of the Critical Mass participants became very enraged according to witnesses and they started to bash on the Subaru, shattering the poor mans front & rear windows. The driver was now scared absolutely poo-less and tried to drive away, but the bicyclists followed him down about a block before the Critical Mass riders cornered his car and started spitting on him and hitting him and his girlfriend through their open windows. The bicyclists than slashed his tires and when the driver got out, he was hit in the back of the head and suffered a large head wound. The police arrived shortly after that and witnesses identified two of the assailants who were then arrested. The driver was taken to a hospital and his injuries were not life threatening.

I am seriously concerned that something like what happened to this poor driver and his girlfriend might happen to me at the next Critical Mass. Critical Mass is making Seattle unsafe for ordinary citizens. I have put a can of pepper spray and a golf club in the back seat of my car for self-defense against these criminals. Seattle police and mayor Greg Nickels need to ENFORCE THE LAW and put an end to Critical Mass bike rides.

 

[TX50]

What was he "arresting" him for when he barged into him?

No idea. We do not see the cyclist until he careers into shot and is robustly
stopped by the policeman. For all we know, he could have perpetrated all
sorts of iniquities just out of view of the camera.

 

[Ian Osborne]

Do you have a credible cite for this incident, or just a blog?

 

[Walter Ego]

Critical Massholes: Bikers Run Wild!

Massholes Harass Pedestrian For Crossing The Street



Masshole Edited Video Of Confrontation With Elderly Motorists



What You Didn't See In the Masshole Edit



“Critical Massholes - Saving the planet, one sociopathic gesture at a time.”

http://www.joeydevilla.com/2008/06/01/critical-massholes-strike-again/

Critical Massholes (or: Why I No Longer Ride with Critical Mass)

http://www.joeydevilla.com/2006/09/29/critical-massholes-or-why-i-no-longer-ride-with-critical-mass/

 

[Ian Osborne]

No idea. We do not see the cyclist until he careers into shot and is robustly stopped by the policeman. For all we know, he could have perpetrated all sorts of iniquities just out of view of the camera.

If all we had to go on was the video you'd have a point, but it isn't. If the cyclist was guilty of 'all sorts of iniquities just out of view of the camera', why didn't the policeman list them instead of telling blatant lies? It really does look like a bored cop picked out a cyclist at random and made up a fistful of charges on the spot.

 

[Texas]

Do you have a credible cite for this incident, or just a blog?

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008074874_webcriticalmass26m.html

 

[Modified]

Well Critical Mass may bring this kind of thing on itself:

Dealing with troublemakers and jerks like these in a fair and reasonable manner would inspire trust in the police. Knocking them off their bikes and falsifying reports has the opposite effect.

 

[JoeEllison]

I do not react well to free flow/movement disruption under almost any condition and because some jack-off has a political agenda even less.

Meditation, yoga, or a couple of Xanax might help with your issues.

 

[ponderingturtle]

Sorry, I just don't see it. The cop is standing still when you first see him, and he has to move faster and faster just to get into the biker's path - watch his legs. It looks both deliberate and unprovoked to me.

Yea, the cop tackeled him more or less. Now if he needed to be stopped that would be entirely apropriate, but there do not seem to be any charges filed against the biker that would indicate that he needed to be stoped.

 

[ponderingturtle]

They would conter that by argueing they are traffic (strictly correct) and you equaly have no right to disrupt their movement.

I admit I don't get a lot of of the diver cycleist tension. The near misses and collisions I've had were due to errors rather than active malice.

And cycleists are funny to watch when they forget which hand is holding their cell phone and go over their handle bars at a stop light.

 

[BPSCG]

Not a world where they can go after people randomly, but no problem at all with one where they can fix the problems of purposefully interferring with traffic movement to push some rectum-brather agenda. I do not react well to free flow/movement disruption under almost any condition and because some jack-off has a political agenda even less.

Meditation, yoga, or a couple of Xanax might help with your issues.

People deliberately disrupt traffic and the guy who gets upset about it is the one with "issues," in the wonderful fantasy world called JoeEllisonLand.

Edited by Lisa Simpson: 

Edited to remove personal attack.

Please keep in mind the Membership Agreement and do not use personal attacks to argue your point.

Replying to this modbox in thread will be off topic  Posted By: Lisa Simpson