Cop Caught On Tape Body-Checking Cyclist

(AP)  Police stripped a New York City officer of his badge and gun Monday after a video posted on YouTube showed him body-checking a bicyclist who was part of a Times Square demonstration.

The video was recorded Friday at the Critical Mass ride, a monthly protest of urban reliance on motor vehicles.

The video, posted anonymously, shows the officer standing in the street as bikes whiz past. He moves toward a cyclist and violently knocks him to the ground in front of crowds of people.

The officer in the video was placed on desk duty pending the outcome of a police department investigation, chief police spokesman Paul Browne said. The officer's name wasn't released.

The biker, Christopher Long, of Hoboken, N.J., was arrested because he was obstructing traffic in the heart of Times Square, a criminal complaint said. He was charged with attempted assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

The complaint said Long, 29, deliberately steered his bicycle into the officer, causing both of them to fall to the ground.

During his arrest, Long squirmed and kicked, saying to the officers, "You are pawns in the game. I'm gonna have your job," the complaint said.

There were no other arrests during the ride.

Long's lawyer, David Rankin, said he hopes the Manhattan district attorney's office will drop the charges. The district attorney's office said it was investigating.

Long's next court date was set for Sept. 5.

[toolmangler-2009]

The first duty of a good cop should be the removal of bad cops.
Posted by Nancy_Naive at 11:51 AM : Jul 30, 2008


Well said

Regards.

[honestabe8]

patriot12346: i agree

[patriot12436]

honestabe8
I know about the distrust between police and communities. That is why i went back to school and finished my degree. I wanted to help correct this situation. I found it most evident in the ghetto neighborhoods, and not always without a reason. But i also saw where these people would not help themselves by helping the police and leaving themselves open to the crimials then still wanting to blame the police. If they want their neighborhoods cleaned up and crime free they also have to make an effort. The police cannot do it when every time they go there they are met with a wall of silence.

[patriot12436]

t

[honestabe8]

patriot12346: i can only speak for myself, but here is my issue with police. police used to be constables, keeping the peace. at some point they started dressing in swat team uniforms, looking more like an occupying force than peace keepers. also, it seems that "to fine and collect" should be on the side of the cars, rather than "to protect and serve". much of this is at the foot of the drug wars.

[patriot12436]

kazadodan
I don''t want to shut anyine up. I want to find out what the problems are between the public and police and then work on changing them.

[patriot12436]

vnveeran72
I am sorry to hear your opinion of police. I have just the opposite opinion and experience. I always liked helping people. I did become bitter over time with the way the justice system seemed not to work, but i am still pro police.

[patriot12436]

rushlimpdrug
With a screen name like yours and you call me stupid ? Look i also think this cop was wrong and should be held accountable for his actions like anyone else. But i do not believe the majority of police ar bad. I am retired law enforcement and i would never have tolerated a fellow officer abusing his position. After 15 years i never saw any who did. I think they are underpaid and overworked for the most part. When i was working i never received a pay raise other than being promoted the whole time because the state said they couldn''t afford pay raises. With the economy the way it was qwe were more worried abiout hacving jobs than pay raises, but we did our jobs honestly. Hold police accountable but also give credit where due. They do a lot of good for their communities.

[patriot12436]

t

[kansas1946]

Are there others out there who feel terribly disappointed by our "finest"?


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Posted by LMartinK at 10:37 PM : Jul 29, 2008
+ report abuse
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It is the drug war. They have been given more and more and more power for decades in the supposed war on drugs, and you know "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."