Police Officer knocks down bicyclist at Critical Mass Demonstration

[Mikey]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10001149-93.html

July 28, 2008 5:00 PM PDT

A New York City police officer was stripped of his gun and badge after a video posted on YouTube showed him body-checking a bicyclist during Friday's Critical Mass bicycle ride.

The video (see below), which was shot by a tourist and posted on the video-sharing site Sunday, shows bicyclists whizzing past uniformed officers during the Times Square protest. One officer begins to stride across the street, picking up speed and violently tackling a bicyclist into a crowded sidewalk.

The video sparked an immediate public outcry and led the department to place the officer, identified by several news agencies as Patrick Pogan, 22, on desk duty pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

The bicyclist, Christopher Long, 29, was charged with blocking traffic, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and assault, prosecutors said.

Critical Mass is a leaderless mass bicycle ride typically held on the last Friday of each month in cities around the world. The event, which originated in San Francisco in 1992, is alternately referred to as a celebration and a protest against automobile-choked streets.

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

 

[combsbt]

Wow, I just watched this a second before checking in with sott. I can't seem to find any other information on this story. There's a bit of a debate about what went on off camera to warrant this action by the officer. But I think even if it was in response to some crime, he made no effort to notify the rider that he needed to stop. In fact he seemed to avoid letting the rider know so he could get the cheap shot.

 

[Rabelais]

UPDATE:

Officer Stripped of Badge and Gun

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. '

snip

Full story and video here:
_http://www.nypost.com/seven/07272008/news/regionalnews/cop_shoves_bicyclist_121984.htm

 

[dave613]

This actually isn't an update... It's just a rewrite. No progress has been made, they immediately took him off the streets in order to investigate once the video surfaced. This time the headline used big words like "Officer Stripped of Badge, Gun" but that only means that he's off the streets at a desk job but still with the force. What I expect to happen is for him to get eventually get a punishment along the lines of a suspension, with pats on the back from everybody he works with, but the investigation will take long enough that most people won't raise a big stink about it by the time it's over, and outrage will be marginalized.