I'm not crazy about critical mass. Infact, I don't even know the point of it all.
But by now, you must have all seen this, floating around the web on many sites.
My intuition is that the bicyclist, while out of the frame and riding towards the cop, must have yelled out some obscenity or even given the finger to the officer, Mr. Pogan.
I don't know.
The cyclist also rides a similar type of bike and come from the general direction as the other cyclists. So why was just he targeted?
Perhaps the answer is : The clip is too short and doesn't show other arrests, only one spectacular one.
While we don't quite know what may have been the real provoking element, it is quite obvious that Mr. Pogan's actions towards the cyclist was a little ridiculous and uncalled for.
A straight out, hard cold elbow at the cyclist, Chris Long, that eventually sent Long flying long over the curb at probably 10 or 15 mph.
Whack!
Not only must the rider have sustained a good amount of bruises, but the officer must have also gotten hurt since in the scuffle, it may have been hard to avoid the sharp components of the bicycle, like a pedal hitting the cop's urinary system or something...
The biggest surprise of the day though, was the officer's statement against the cyclist, produced in county court.
Check it out. I've circled some statements that may or will look pretty inconsistent to a viewer of the video above.
Being neutral, I certainly was surprised and slightly entertained by the punch but what I ended up enjoying on the other hand as well was the alleged prophetic message of the cyclist during arrest.
YOU ARE PAWNS IN THE GAME. I'M GONNA HAVE YOUR JOB.
Woo hooo...
That turned into humiliation over the weekend when the officer was stripped of his badge and gun on Monday.
Whether Mr. Long will be given the cop's badge and gun remains yet to be seen.
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Excuse me, but the only source for the quote from Mr. Long, "YOU ARE PAWNS IN THE GAME. I'LL HAVE YOUR JOB, (LOSER)..." is the cop who has been shown to be a liar.
ReplyDeleteWhy would you dignify this hearsay as "fact?"
I'll restate my sentence.
ReplyDeleteur right repack...i cant even hear that in the video...nor do i see the exaggerated resistance to arrest as stated by the cop.
ReplyDeleteThe quote may be false but it hit back as pure irony.
ReplyDeleteApparently, he was a rookie cop, on he job for 2 or 3 weeks.
ReplyDeleteHere's what is meant by Third Degree Assault in the New York Penal Code Section 120.00
ReplyDelete§ 120.00 Assault in the third degree.
A person is guilty of assault in the third degree when:
1. With intent to cause physical injury to another person, he causes
such injury to such person or to a third person; or
2. He recklessly causes physical injury to another person; or
3. With criminal negligence, he causes physical injury to another
person by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument.
Assault in the third degree is a class A misdemeanor.
I dont see a place for third degree assault after watching the video.
Oh well, the story is a little old now anyway, but I guess this could be a lesson against stupidity.
I don't mind people protesting in a respectful way, but when it starts to harm and hurt people then it's not right, like these riders throwing beer cans at people, slapping road side folks etc.
ReplyDeleteAnon : All true, but I also hear NYPD harassment towards rally cyclists has been a persistent issue. I guess you can argue vehemently for both parties... I just choose to be neutral here.
ReplyDeleteI try to be neutral also, but the bike was trying to avoid the officer, and I doubt that he did anything different that the other bikes that past the officer in the video. Violent additudes towards cycles by drivers, ER doctors in LA and officers can not be tolerated.
ReplyDelete