Cop Caught Slamming Cyclist To The Ground On YouTube Indicted

from the fighting-back dept

Wed, Dec 17th 2008 5:16am — Mike Masnick

Over the summer, you may have seen the video that got passed around quite a bit of a NYC police officer going out of his way to slam a Critical Mass cyclist to the ground. As you may have heard, the officer wrote up a report claiming that the cyclist ignored his commands to stop and tried to steer his bike into the him. From the video, that's obviously false, though the cyclist ended up having to spend a day in jail based on the report:

The good news is that the officer, Patrick Pogan, has now been indicted and charged both with a misdemeanor assault and felony counts for falsifying his report. Obviously, none of this would have transpired if it weren't for the tourist filming what happened and then putting the video up on YouTube. We talk about abuses of power via technology quite often, but it's good to see an abuse of power stopped thanks to technology as well.

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Filed Under: critical mass, new york, police, police violence, youtube

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Anonymous Coward, 17 Dec 2008 @ 5:52am

If one plays the video to the end one finds additional videos which show what cops really are about.
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sniperdoc (profile), 17 Dec 2008 @ 6:10am

And you wonder...
Why people can't stand cops. Just recently I went back to a community college to get some night classes. It was daytime, and I'd just signed up for the new class. I was heading back to the lot which was relatively empty... I'd say like 80% empty. And traffic was just about non-existent. I got near my spot, and a girl that was parked next to me drove forward to get out of her parking space, completely ignoring the fact that she had the curb to the road in front of her along with a parking block. Tore up the bottom of her car really good. She was so embarrased when she noticed that I saw the whole thing, she sped off through the parking lot at about 20 - 30mph.

Well, laughing a little I got into my car, and drove in the same direction as her since she drove the same route I needed to take. The way the lot is set up, it has a stop sign at every parking row entrance. I happened to be right at the parking lot entrance row, which had another stop sign. There was NO traffic around, other than an ego bruised female driver, and she was already long gone. Well, I decided skip the first stop sign, and stopped at the main road entrance stop sign. I drove through that, and started heading home. I saw that a community college cop pulled in right behind me, and I honestly thought I didn't do anything major here.

Wrong... that bastard pulled me over and when I asked politely what I did wrong, he told me that I ran a stop sign. I asked him for some leniency as there was no traffic and I didn't see where I could have caused a major incident. All that a$$hat told me, was "Does that make it right?"

Hell no it doesn't make it right, but I hadn't gotten a ticket in 3 years and even that one the cop confused me with another SUV that was speeding down the highway as I had my cruise control set to 75 in a 70. But I was being observant of traffic and kept safety in mind and I figured he'd come back with a warning, but I got slammed with 3 points and a $144 fine. I signed me ticket told him thank you very much and have a very Merry Christmas since he really contributed to my Christmas fund.

I hope that arse dies from AIDS.
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jsjohnson, 17 Dec 2008 @ 6:19am

Re: And you wonder...
Just curious....college cop and private property...how in the hell did you end up with points? Stop sign or not, if it's on a college it is private property and points shouldn't apply.
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Haywood, 17 Dec 2008 @ 6:19am

Re: And you wonder...
"I asked him for some leniency as there was no traffic and I didn't see where I could have caused a major incident."

You don't seriously think cops are out there to promote traffic safety do you? They are simply tax collectors, and fines are just another tax. They are lazy tax collectors so; picking off speeders and stop sign rollers is much easier than finding the truly dangerous drivers.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Dec 2008 @ 6:20am

Re: And you wonder...
Dude, that's totally like getting clotheslined by a random beat cop outta nowhere whilst bikeriding through Times Square.
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Nicholas Overstreet (profile), 17 Dec 2008 @ 6:21am

Re: And you wonder...
So you broke the law... then you're mad you got caught?! Completely insane. People like you are what is wrong with society.
The difference between you and what this article is actually about is that the person in the article didn't do anything wrong other then being in the wrong place at the wrong time (or maybe right since the video camera was rolling), and the officer committing a felony in falsifying his report. It looks like he will actually be brought to justice, which is refreshing as usually those in the good-ole-boys club are above the law most of the time.
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Haywood, 17 Dec 2008 @ 6:24am

1984 reversed
I've thought, ever since the Rodney King incident, that the reverse effect of 1984, that wasn't seen coming, was; camcorders in the hands of the public keeping track of the public officials.
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Twinrova, 17 Dec 2008 @ 6:28am

You're kidding, right?
"but it's good to see an abuse of power stopped"
Stopped?

One would think the Rodney King video would have "stopped" abuse.

See you on the next abuse blog.
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Greg, 17 Dec 2008 @ 6:32am

Cops
Hmm Guess the first 2 posters have had bad luck with cops.

I'm a cyclist and I know the rules of the road and I obey them (mainly because I don't want to be flattened by a car or truck) but also because I ride in some of the small municipalities around the city and don't want some gung-ho cop ticketing me for anything.

I haven't seen the video (can't view youtube @ wk,) but it seems like the aforementioned cop got what he deserved. He must have had problems with cyclists to begin with.
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rad, 17 Dec 2008 @ 6:37am

To JSJOHNSON
If it is a community college more than likely it is run the by state thus it is not private property and the police that patrol are state police. Very few community colleges are private and if they are they too can be patrolled by city or county police if requested.
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BTR1701, 17 Dec 2008 @ 6:39am

Re: Re: And you wonder...
> if it's on a college it is private property
> and points shouldn't apply

Not if it's a state-run university like the University of Texas or UCLA. Not only are the campuses public property but the university cops are sworn state law enforcement officers.
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Phillip, 17 Dec 2008 @ 6:41am

Re: And you wonder...
While I agree you got some very strict cops, you don't really have much of a right to complain. You broke the law (however minor) and got caught. Don't whine about getting punished for it.
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BTR1701, 17 Dec 2008 @ 6:50am

Re: Re: And you wonder...
> the person in the article didn't do anything
> wrong other then being in the wrong place at
> the wrong time

Well, not exactly. If the person was a member of Critical Mass, as the article claims, then he most likely *was* doing something wrong. Critical Mass is a bicycle protest group that delights in causing gridlock in major cities by jamming intersections with hundreds of bike riders. And they usually strike right at rush hour in order to maximize the grief among commuters.

Does this excuse the cop's actions? Of course not. But let's not pretend this was just some innocent person out for a bike ride, either. If he was really a member of Critical Mass, he's the type of person who delights in making others miserable, so there was little bit of karma at play here on his part as well.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Dec 2008 @ 6:59am

Re: And you wonder...
I hope you get run over by a retard that doesn't stop at a stop sign, idiot.
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DS, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:04am

Re: Re: Re: And you wonder...
Thank you. Yes, the cop's actions were a flat out intent to knock someone over on a bicycle. But we can't forget that the Critical Mass participants are there to try to CAUSE problems. They are LOOKING and BATING people for something like this to happen. It's not the first time there's been an 'incident' at a Critical Mass ride, and as long as they can intimidate people to do things like this, there will always be Critical Mass rides.
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DS, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:05am

Re: You're kidding, right?
Yes, how DARE the police not try to hug someone who's high on PCP lashing out.

Shame on them.
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seabrin, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:07am

Re: Re: Re: And you wonder...
Karma?! You're not a buddhist, are you? Peaceful protesting, even if it does cause gridlock, is not quite the same as body-checking someone onto the concrete.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:13am

Wish I'd seen the video. It'd be nice to see those Critical Mass @ssholes get their @sses handed to them for a change.
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Fates, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:18am

Re: And you wonder...
I agree with the above posters, if you break the law and get caught, then expect to be punished. We have laws for a reason, and people like you are the ones that cause car accidents.

Does it really hurt you to stop for 5 seconds at the stop sign? Clearly there was some traffic if there a police officer there, should've looked before you drove.

Finally, why the heck did you include the entire first paragraph. The entire segment with the women had nothing to do with you getting a ticket.
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BTR1701, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:20am

Re: Re: Re: Re: And you wonder...
> Peaceful protesting, even if it does cause
> gridlock, is not quite the same as body-checking
> someone onto the concrete.

Which is why I clearly said it doesn't excuse the cop's actions. Perhaps you should read slower and sound out the words and you wouldn't miss key bits of information like that.

As for it being a "peaceful protest", that's a matter of opinion. But there's no question that the Critical Mass riders *were* doing something wrong. Snarling traffic all through mid-town by blocking intersections with bicyclists *is* a violation of law, so the people who were doing it *were* doing something wrong.

And these "protest" actions don't merely cause inconvenience to commuters. People's lives are endangered when ambulances can't get to medical calls, police can't get to crime calls and fire trucks can't get to burning buildings all because a bunch of "activists" decided to protest George Bush or global warming or whatever the hell by blocking traffic.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:25am

Re: Re: And you wonder...
Yeah those stop signs are actually property of the college. So in reality you dont have to stop at them.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:27am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: And you wonder...
George Bush's fault...at some point someone links any misdeed to George...someone get with program and connect the dots- I am getting impatient here.
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hegemon13, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:30am

Re: Re: And you wonder...
In many cities, campus police for state-funded universities are a legal police force empowered to arrest, press charges, etc. I know that was the case at the University of Nebraska when I went there. They carried guns, could take you to jail (they used the city facilities), anything that a city officer could do. I knew a guy who went to jail for a day for unpaid fines at the campus library. No joke.
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hegemon13, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:32am

Re: Re: And you wonder...
Sounds like a pretty lame self-justification for doing whatever you feel like. No need for accountability when you can just blame those "crooked" cops. I'd like to see what most cities would descend into without law enforcement.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:33am

Re: And you wonder...
People tend to forget that cops are just people like anyone else. Just like you may encounter some jerk who owns a Deli throw a sandwich and hot coffee on you because he doesnt care for you, You can also find cops act the same way. But cops generally are not bad people.. I have seen some cops perform CPR, rescue people with jaws of life, take incoming fire, to just protect and serve.

Pogan (The cop)in video certainly has some problems. Here is what Pogans Lawyer said:

"Pogan's union lawyer, Stuart London, countered that "the video doesn't show what happened in full context."

Despite all charges being dropped against Long, London said the bicyclist's unruly behavior caught Pogan's attention.

He [Long] was riding with his hands up in the air, screaming, yelling and disrupting traffic,"

Anyone see that? Because I certainly didnt. Pogan is a rookie cop with little experience. I seriously think this guy needs to consider a new career path. Because he does not have the temperment for that job. (Heck, I even seen one cop get punched right in the face once. The cop didnt over react when his nose was broken! All he did was run the guy down and cuff him- I Probably would have been so mad I would have wanted to thump his skull a couple times (Which is why I am not a cop). So before you get all anti-cop I wouldnt let one bad one ruin the many good ones out there doing their job.

Here is what wound up happening:

Pogan, who has been suspended from the force without pay, refused to comment. He tried to sneak out of the courthouse to avoid photographers.
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hegemon13, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:35am

Re: Re: Re: Re: And you wonder...
Baiting or not, officers must be held to a higher standard due to the power they possess. And, frankly, it is not illegal. A bike IS a street-legal vehicle that can be ticketed for the same offenses as an automobile. So, maybe they cause problems, but it is a perfectly legal protest protected by the right to demonstrate.
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hegemon13, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:39am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: And you wonder...
HOW is it a violation of law? A bike is a street legal vehicle. Sure, their intent may be to cause problems, but intent does not matter if the activity is legal.
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Tom, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:40am

Re: Re: Re: And you wonder...
He was riding a bike. Not breaking the law. You sir/mam are a fool.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:42am

One question. Is there one person posting here under 40 besides myself?
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chris (profile), 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:44am

what was critical mass protesting?
i have seen the video a bunch of places, but not a lot of mention about what they were protesting.

the whole thing sounds like something Anonymous would do, only on bikes.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:45am

Gotta love the police sycophants in this thread. "You broke the law!!!1".

Retards. Cops serve the public, not the other way around.
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Your Gawd and Master, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:46am

Re: Re: You're kidding, right?
Nice strawman there. Too bad there's no mention of PCP in any of this. Does DS stand for dick sucker?
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Dec 2008 @ 7:47am

Glad to see the cop get what he deserves. Should lose his job too... become another anonymous cop apologist posting here.
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UNKN, 17 Dec 2008 @ 8:01am

Did we see everything?
Did we see what the guy was doing up the street? Hell no we didn't, how do we know the guy wasn't weaving around and being fairly wreckless? Should the cop have knocked him down like that? Of course not, but then again, what if that guy had ridden into the crowd and hurt someone, or several someones?

"Why didn't the cops try to stop him or try to keep him in line?"

That's exactly what we'd hear. I don't think this guy should be charged with anything serious but he certainly doesn't need to be an police officer. Everyone gets up in arms when cops do bad things but when cops do good things it's just their job. I think people need to unpucker their a-holes a little bit and relax.

If the cop had gone apeshit and beat the holy hell out of the guy, being up in arms is fair enough, but he knocked him down, there isn't an easy way to stop someone on a bike, so maybe he should have just let it go.

It's all about judgement calls, people get angry when the cops tazer/shoot someone they think has a gun. I'm not talking about the kid with a phone that gets tag 26 times in the back, that's dereliction of duty.

I'm talking about the guy who is trying to arrest someone and the person breaks free, tries to flee and turns around or does something else stupid.

I seriously doubt some of the folks that post these up in arms replies about how the cop is a pig and such could do the job that these men/women do, seriously. Some would end up getting shot or beat up because they decided using force of any kind wasn't really needed even if the person was unruly.
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BTR1701, 17 Dec 2008 @ 8:05am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: And you wonder...
> HOW is it a violation of law? A bike is a
> street legal vehicle.

Doesn't matter if the vehicle is street legal or not. A car or a truck is street legal also, but it would still be an illegal act to take one and park it the middle of an intersection and block traffic. Intentionally impeding the flow of traffic is a violation in every jurisdiction I've ever worked.

Especially in NYC which has all those special "don't block the box" ordinances (the box being the intersections themselves).
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BTR1701, 17 Dec 2008 @ 8:06am

Re: Re: Re: Re: And you wonder...
> He was riding a bike. Not breaking the law.

The two are not mutually exclusive, your puerile name-calling notwithstanding.
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Bob, 17 Dec 2008 @ 8:08am

Where to start?
First, let's get the plain facts out of the way. There are MORE hardworking, non-law breaking Police Officers out in Society, then there are like Pogan. You don't hear about these hard-working people, because they are doing their job like they should be doing. So, let's not lump ALL Police Officers with the law-breaking idiot Police Officers.

Second, "you have to wonder", are you freaking nuts? There is NO EXCUSE for what this Police Officer did. I don't care if the guy was riding naked and masturbating in front of the crowd, throwing a Body Block to stop a Bicyclist is NOT RIGHT. This is ABUSE of power and Pogan needs to not just lose his job, but serve some time, just like if some private citizen would if they had done this.

Third, for you that break the law and complain about getting caught. Here's an idea, DON'T BREAK THE LAW. Whether you agree with the law or not, you don't have the right to break it. At the same time, even if you do break the law, you still have the right to be treated in a fair and just manner. If you run a stop sign, on a bike or in a car, the Police Officer does not have the right to body slam you or pull you out through the window without some sort of other provocation.

Fourth, let's not forget the MOST IMPORTANT thing here, Police Officers are people. Their job is to protect and serve the Public Interest. They don't need to be held to a "higher example", but instead, need to be held to the same HIGH STANDARDS as everyone is held to when doing a job. This idea that Police Officers should be held to a higher example is just ridiculous. When you do your job, do you think you should be held to a lower example because your job isn't as important? When the President does his job, do you think he/she should be held to a higher example just because he's the President? Seriously, everyone should be doing their level best at whatever job they have and everyone should therefore be judge by that and that alone. We already have too damn many fractions in our society because we want to hold one group to a different standard then the other, do we really need to fraction our Society even more by some stupid out-dated idea? If everyone did their best at everything they did, we'd be a whole lot better off, and we'd have no reason to have different standards. When you set up different standards of judgements for different people then you immediately setup a class of people and that class of people will, by the standard they are judged, be classified as a lower class, because they are being judged by a lower standard. If you put that in reverse, you set up a higher class of people who think they deserve more because their standard of judgment is greater then others. There should be no standard other then the GOLD STANDARD and everyone should strive to do their best to meet that standard. People tend to rise to meet the standard, or not rise to meet the lower standard, so let's put the bar up there and have everyone reach for it.

Have a great day!
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Gary, 17 Dec 2008 @ 8:10am

Notice to the Police
Cameras are small and everywhere. Just assume that someone is recording your move.

So, when you want to beat the hell out of a suspect--don't. Be professional even if the suspect deserves a beating.
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Neil (SM), 17 Dec 2008 @ 8:14am

I hope
I hope that cyclist sues the NYPD and this officer personally for this attack. The cyclist actually had to spend a night in jail for this unprovoked attack because the officer wrote that the cyclist tried to ram the officer with his bike.
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UNKN, 17 Dec 2008 @ 8:22am

Re: I hope
Another problem with this country, sue sue sue. The cop should get fired, maybe some time server for whatever he might get charged for, why the hell does this person deserve money? People are so concerned with money they are blind to wrong or right. So the guy got a few bruises and will have a night of jailtime under his belt, but not on his record, at least not for long. So why possibly ruin some cops ENTIRE life because he made a mistake? If he had killed the guy, broken some bones, etc, fine, sue for medical expenses and some time off work, but this society is entirely too libel in my opinion, and I know I share that opinion with others. It's not like the cop makes that much anyhow, so then what, he goes to prison forever almost and then guess who ends up paying, the dumbass that got knocked off his bike that sued the cop who couldn't pay.

I call that karma personally.

Oh, also, I laughed a little when the cop launched that guy off his bike. It's not like he was out having a ride on a nice day, the whole premise of these rides are to cause problems so someone will pay attention. I'm sure there's some greater good cause, but they're blocking traffic and causing headaches, good job helping society !!
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DCX2, 17 Dec 2008 @ 8:27am

Re:
Seriously. Getting ticketed for a stop sign when there's no one around? The intent of a stop sign is to prevent unnecessary collisions, if there's no one to collide with you should give a WARNING and if the person gets repeated warnings THEN you get a citation.

In court, they might refer to something called "mitigating circumstances".
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DCX2, 17 Dec 2008 @ 8:31am

Re: Where to start?
Third, for you that break the law and complain about getting caught. Here's an idea, DON'T BREAK THE LAW.

Strawman - most people aren't complaining about being caught, but rather that their punishment was unreasonable.

Do you believe that it's reasonable to give someone a significant fine and points on their license for blowing a stop sign when there was no one around? That's the sorta thing I imagine warnings are for. It's called a mitigating circumstance.

Just like blowing a stop sign when school lets out is an aggravating circumstance.
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Cipher-0, 17 Dec 2008 @ 8:35am

Re: Re:
In court, they might refer to something called "mitigating circumstances". Knowing stupidity isn't a mitigating circumstance.
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Michael, 17 Dec 2008 @ 8:43am

Ego
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Dec 2008 @ 9:13am

As to why this person "deserves money," it's not that the person who got hit necessarily deserves it. It's that the only thing which can change the behavior of organizations (corporate, governmental, etc) is getting hit in the pocketbook.

Remember Justin Volpe? All of the police in that tiny little department could hear that innocent man screaming when Volpe rammed a broomhandle up his backside. Volpe came out and, holding the bloody (amongst other things) stick aloft, said, "Today I broke a man."

They all protect each other.

Pogan's pals on the force are probably saying, "Tough luck, buddy" and passing the hat to help him out. They think they're in the right.

Hence, the only thing that they truly fear is the budgetary hit of a lawsuit.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Dec 2008 @ 9:59am

Re: And you wonder...
so you broke the law... twice, and wish horrible death on the cop that caught you. YOU BROKE THE LAW! The most you can reasonably complain about is that you didn't get only a warning.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Dec 2008 @ 10:50am

"Second, "you have to wonder", are you freaking nuts? There is NO EXCUSE for what this Police Officer did"

If one watches the video one sees a video of the take down.

Viewing the video it looks like this bike rider was targeted. Why?

What happened 1 to 2 blocks up the street?

Why was there a video camera where it was recording the take down?

Now knowing that the bike riders were engaged in an illegal protest designed to cause traffic gridlock one then should ask the question was there something that that that particular rider did that if disclosed would show that that particular rider deserved what he got?
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Dec 2008 @ 10:56am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: And you wonder...
Yeah. Peaceful protesters break the law to provoke overly drastic responces in order to get press.

It worked.

If you asked the biker, either he's an idot, he's lying, or he'll say he was expecting something like that to happen, was ready for it to happen eventualy, and that it was good press for his movement. He'll still say it was unpleasent. And what the officer did is still wrong.
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Lucretious, 17 Dec 2008 @ 11:11am

Re:
.....and I can play countless hours of blacks acting like animals on video but the fact is that such movies don't represent 100% of that group. Don't talk out of your ass.

The video isn't what "cops are all about". There's always going to be a minority of bad apples in whatever demographic you happen to pick. The fact is if cops weren't around society would resemble New Orleans in the days following Hurricane Katrina.

Try not to get overly emotional when watching this kind of thing. Using your brand mentality is the reason we still have rampant racism and bigotry. Try some common sense.
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CVPunk, 17 Dec 2008 @ 11:36am

Re: Re: Re: And you wonder...
Wrong. Critical Mass is the promotion of alternative transportation. Bicycles are considered vehicles on the road and have to obey the same laws as motor vehicles. Critical Mass is trying to bring that awareness to people so that they are able to bike without fear of getting flattened by jerks like yourself who find them nothing but an annoyance.
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CVPunk, 17 Dec 2008 @ 11:46am

Re:
I'm under 40, and one of those Critical Mass @ssholes, that everyone keeps portraying as criminals.
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ahhh, 17 Dec 2008 @ 11:51am

sniperdoc you really screwed up this thread up. You just wanted to rant.
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CVPunk, 17 Dec 2008 @ 11:59am

Re: Re: I hope
"the whole premise of these rides are to cause problems so someone will pay attention."

If you don't know what CM is about maybe you should STFU.
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UNKN, 17 Dec 2008 @ 12:13pm

Re: Re: Re: I hope
As stated above by someone explaining what it is, I'm still right in what I said.

What I said wasn't an attack on the rides, just a simple version of what any protest is, to cause problems so someone will pay attention.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Dec 2008 @ 12:57pm

Face it, they cop went overboard, but the cyclist was crazy, proven by the fact that riding a bike in NYC (outside of Central Park) is F'n insane.

I have had more close calls with bike riders when I walk the streets of Manhattan than I ever had with cars.
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Sean, 17 Dec 2008 @ 2:21pm

Oh that silly fixie-kid thinks he's so cool not having any brakes on his bike. Let this be a lesson to all of you brake-less fools, brakes aren't there for regular stopping - but they can just be there for emergencies - like a cop with a problem.

It just makes me chuckle inside that he probably thought he was all cool 'breaking' the no brake law - but law caught up with him in a very ironic sense.
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Sean, 17 Dec 2008 @ 2:24pm

Re: And you wonder...
Maybe you should have just stopped at the stop sign. Just because you didn't cause an accident is very poor logic for argument.

"Officer, you've caught me driving drunk but I'm now stopped and pulled over at my home, but I didn't kill anyone, so I guess no harm no foul?"

Just stop next time when you're the only car around.
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wonko the sane, 17 Dec 2008 @ 3:20pm

I'm seeing a disturbing amount of faith in the authorities here.

~"We didn't see what the cyclist did earlier that day! He might have run a stop sign, blocked the box, killed someone, spit on the sidewalk!"

The cop did file a report , which I read to get the other side of the story. The cop lied about everything I can make out in the video, so I don't believe the rest of the report either (except the bit about obstructing traffic, as I understand that's what CM does). He just depended on people to believe the cop, because a cop's word is better than a mere civilian's.

Even with video evidence and the police report (linked from the article), the majority of the posters are *still* trying to blame the victim or defend the assailant.

"Oh that silly fixie-kid thinks he's so cool not having any brakes on his bike"

Brakes don't help when the cop beside you tackles you, genius.
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BTR1701, 17 Dec 2008 @ 3:33pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: And you wonder...
> So, maybe they cause problems, but it
> is a perfectly legal protest protected
> by the right to demonstrate.

I don't know where you got your legal education but you should ask for your money back.

The "right to protest" doesn't allow one to violate traffic ordinances; it doesn't allow one to endanger other people's health and safety by making it impossible for emergency vehicles to move through the city; and the fact that a vehicle is "street legal" is wholly irrelevant to the issue -- it certainly doesn't somehow make using it to block intersections an acceptable or legal action.
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Mark Regan, 17 Dec 2008 @ 6:13pm

More Cameras Needed
Sounds like an argument to me to have cameras everywhere (ala London, UK).

We could also launch a bunch more spy cameras to catch the cops pulling single women over for minor traffic violations way out in the countryside where there are no honest citizens around with cell phone cameras to document subsequent abuses.

And big brother could use the cameras to document all the crimes regular Americans commit every day, from spitting on the sidewalk to crossing over the white line at intersections, and parking a bit outside the designated space. Let us SPARE NO EXPENSE.

Meanwhile, let us IGNORE the FELONIES committed by our current presidential administration when they order or approve KIDNAPPING of citizens of other countries, then bring them to Guantanamo and deprive them of their rights to an attorney, speedy trial, and to confront witnesses against them. And while they spend 7 years in confinement, TORTURE them in an attempt to get them to admit to a past crimes, since our government cannot prove they committed one before (or after) they kidnapped them.

We can PRETEND that our country gives a CRAP about Constitutional Rights and International Law and the Geneva Convention and all such other blather, while we have a president who smiles while he kisses babies, praises God, and then praises his troops who invaded an independent country without good cause, and killed over a hundred thousand of their citizens for existing where our bombs happened to drop, EACH ONE OF WHOM HAS A FAMILY WHO NOW HATES THE US.

All in the name of Imperialism, Democracy, and Good Government, I suppose. Bush is likely to pardon the cop and designate him to lead one of his "kidnapping teams" that travels the world in chartered planes flying out of an airstrip in eastern North Carolina.

ONLY 33 MORE DAYS LEFT.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Dec 2008 @ 6:30am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: And you wonder...
"violate traffic ordinances; it doesn't allow one to endanger other people's health and safety by making it impossible for emergency vehicles to move through the city;"

And it was obvious that the guy on the bike was doing this, it was all caught on camera - he is sooo guilty. I say lynch em raaagt nooow.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Dec 2008 @ 10:16pm

Re: More Cameras Needed
Wow! It only took 59 comments for someone to get off on a paranoid delusional rant and blame the president. That's got to be a new record.
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BTR1701, 19 Dec 2008 @ 7:58am

Re: Re: Re: Re: And you wonder...
> Wrong. Critical Mass is the promotion of
> alternative transportation. Bicycles are
> considered vehicles on the road and have to
> obey the same laws as motor vehicles.

So they do this by breaking those very laws? Seems like a rather hypocritical and nonsensical position to take.

> Critical Mass is trying to bring that awareness
> to people so that they are able to bike without
> fear of getting flattened by jerks like yourself
> who find them nothing but an annoyance.

Ah, more ad hominem name-calling. The last refuge of the intellectually bankrupt.

Oh, and Critical Mass doesn't just promote "alternative transportation". I witnessed a Critical Mass demo in NYC two years ago during the U.N. General Assembly and the overwhemling majority of the bikers were staging an anti-war/anti-Bush protest. They were wearing anti-war/anti-Bush t-shirts and when they stopped in the intersections and blocked traffic, they were chanting anti-war/anti-Bush slogans.

Not one word was mentioned about "alternative transportation".
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DS, 28 Dec 2008 @ 7:40pm

Re: Re: Re: You're kidding, right?
"Nice strawman there. Too bad there's no mention of PCP in any of this."

Uh, wait, what?

"One would think the Rodney King video would have "stopped" abuse."

Rodney King video = guy on PCP.

"Does DS stand for dick sucker?"

Oh wait, I'm sorry, I thought I was talking to someone who didn't resort to random attacks to make a 'point'.

Or are you just trying to hit on me?
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DS, 28 Dec 2008 @ 7:44pm

Re: Re: Where to start?
Well, maybe a warning if the OP above didn't tell the cop that he should get off without a warning. OP sounds like a know it all kid, and if that's accurate, I'm sure that the officer in question didn't like his attitude.

That, and the fact that someone saw him means that someone else was around.
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