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Whew! This one's not in LA, but with all the bicycle drama happening around town, it's worth noting that it is a national issue. This weekend in New York City, a cyclist was knocked to the ground by a NYPD officer. "The cyclist in this video was arrested, held for 26 hours, and charged with attempted assault and resisting arrest," according to LAist sister site, Gothamist.
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Clearly the person committing assault was the cop. I notice the bicyclist was trying to avoid him and the curb at the same time. The cop sure didn't slow down (he should have) and I sure don't see the cyclist throwing a punch or acting aggressively.
And how the hell does one "attempt assault?"
So, when are we just going to declare an all-out war?
And, since I drive and ride, which side do I choose?
This is getting retarded.
The cop had to justify the act of agression by trying to blame it on the cyclist. It's a good thing they didn't see the camera or there would have been two people roughed up and charged with assault.
Bingos,
Nothing is clear. It's a 1 minute amateur video clip. You don't know what happened before or after the video was taken.
But if it makes you feel better to lash out against authority, go for it.
(The same comment goes for whomever added the "Bicyclist Assaulted by NYPD" slate before the video.)
RyZig,
True, nothing is clear on what happened before the clip was taken, but that action seemed a bit unneccessary.
The attempted assault charges have been getting thrown around a lot lately as well......
"You don't know what happened before or after the video was taken."
I can clearly see the policeman did not hold up his hand or in anyway indicate verbally or otherwise that he wanted the cyclist to halt.
All I see is authority lashing out, and I've seen it before.
I would pay 20 bucks to have a cyclist let me do that to him.
Sorry, video was *awesome*.
There is nothing that biker could have done while riding to have waranted getting knocked down like that.
I'm at work so I can't have the volume up, hahaha. Can you hear the cop yelling or anything, telling him to stop?
Here's 8 minutes more heavy handedness by NY's finest...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IORuR5iRuxs
this is why you should always wear your helmet.
it looks like he may have run a red light, but thats is no reason for a shoulder check to the ground.
that is blatant abuse of of power.
RyZiggity:
>Nothing is clear. It's a 1 minute amateur video clip. You don't know what happened before or after the video was taken.
So you are saying this bicyclist circled around the block and this was his second ride past the officer? Seems YOU are the one making assumptions; not I.
You know some years ago Peter Gabriel proposed putting video cameras in the hands of thousands in an attempt to validate and verify the real truth. I think it's still a good idea.
The camera phone seems to have made that unnecessary.
So what was the cop's justification RyZiggity?
I'm sure you can create a good reason.
I'll bet money the biker did something wrong earlier in the ride, ran from cops and tried to hide among the mass of other bikers. Cops radioed ahead and he was taken down.
You obviously aren't aware that critical mass rides usually do not back track. I doubt this guy passed by the same place twice. Plus when you are riding a bike you usually do not have much opportunity to "do something wrong".
James
Johnny,
"ran from cops and tried to hide among the mass of other bikers. Cops radioed ahead and he was taken down."
If you've been on any crit mass rides, you know how absurd this sounds.
"uh yeah jim, theres some scrawny hipster on a fixie with a messenger bag, he's wearing knickers. you'll know who i'm talking about when he gets up there."
I see. And how does that explain all the other riders after the one knocked down. Did they run the light too? I can easily count at least three other riders coming up to the "stopped" bicyclist after the "encounter." Naturally, the vantage point of the videographer doesn't allow the viewer to see how many other cyclists continued down the street due to the change in angle. Nor does it show a traffic light.
Interesting how the cop defenders can come up with bigger leaps of the imagination than I in denouncing my original post.
Reactionary much?
Bingos,
I am not making an assumption of any kind. Suppose the guy on the bike just raped someone. Murdered someone. Stole something. Maybe he threw something at an old lady. Would you still be this upset?
Sure, maybe the police officer was having a bad day and decided to just knock over a biker for fun. Equally possible. Equally implausible.
i wish that cop would move out here
maybe if LAist would replace the friendly-sounding "cyclist" with "assailant" or "suspect," people would react differently to a video like this.
It looked like he felt teased by the other zooming bikes. He acted like my cat does when it's choosing prey or a baseball player estimating the speed of a ball before he goes for that one.
I don't have to have been in a CM ride to know there are idiots in the world. I'm not saying CM riders are idiots but all it takes is one idiot that may not represent the group to cause problems.
Ry:
>I am not making an assumption of any kind. Suppose the guy on the bike just raped someone. Murdered someone. Stole something. Maybe he threw something at an old lady. Would you still be this upset?
This is the most laughable thing I've read in month. You aren't assuming anything, yet posit that the rider might have comitted rape or murder.
Amazing.
As I said before; "reactionary much?"
>Sure, maybe the police officer was having a bad day and decided to just knock over a biker for fun. Equally possible. Equally implausible.
A cop having a bad day is no excuse for acting above and beyond the law. Or don't you know that?
Cornballer: We have enough cops out here like that. Or don't you remember the MayDay incident a few years back?
"Suppose the guy on the bike just raped someone. Murdered someone. Stole something."
Well then I think the cop would have had a gun out, and the cyclist would have been acting like he was guilty of something and riding in the opposite direction.
whoa.. I was only trying to envision a reason why the cop may have acted so agressivley towards that particular biker, though completley out of line, when I mentioned running the light. I was not trying to rationalize his actions what so ever. It seemed like he was one of the last of the mass, and in the video you see other bikers stoping at the light..(?). This may have given the cop enough reason in his twisted mind to take action against this criminal threat. But the video angle does make it hard to really tell what the case is.
Believe me, I hope this pig gets dealt with severly and swiftly.
and whoa, I severely butchered that post...
***"criminal threat" used in sarcasm...fyi
Bingo,
My point is that *I* am saying "I don't know." YOU are being reactionary by ASSUMING this officer made a move for no better reason than he was having a bad day.
And this...
"A cop having a bad day is no excuse for acting above and beyond the law. Or don't you know that?"
... literally proves you weren't able to grasp what I was saying.
I think you have trouble processing information.
"My point is that *I* am saying "I don't know."
If the guy on the bike had just raped someone, murdered someone, or stole something, why would he be riding TOWARDS the cop?
Cause he wanted to be knocked to the curb?
>literally proves you weren't able to grasp what I was saying.
Cognitive dissonance. Shocking! Ry you aren't the brightest crayon in the box are you?
"... ASSUMING this officer made a move for no better reason than he was having a bad day."
Actually Ry I've been to more than a few non-violent demonstrations where the police got violent for no othert reason than they enjoyed beating on someone, and who better than someone safe, who doesn't carry a gun, and who won't hit back.
He was having a WONDERFUL day!
Both nytimes.com (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/nyregion/29critical.html)
and gothamist (http://gothamist.com/2008/07/28/cop_caught_on_video_assaulting_cycl.php)
now have more info on the incident.
The officer has been stripped of gun and badge and is assigned to desk duty pending an investigation by the police department. Eyewitness accounts seem to support the cyclist's innocence.
It's starting to sound like the officer was an extreme a-hole. Too bad no one took me up on my bet. :-)
"The officer has been stripped of gun and badge and is assigned to desk duty pending an investigation by the police department."
Good news 2majia.
I hope they get his partner too. That old police custom of backing each other up regardless of the level of wrong doing needs to be punished as well.