think you're safe?

This thing is all over the net. Was cop wrong? Yes! He did not need to shove the guy to the curb. Was biker wrong? Lock the brakes if you are veering into a cop. Idiot!

The only unusual thing here like most Critical Mass events in other cities, it doesn't look like any bikers assaulted motorists. Pretty sure that's why the cops are there in the first place. Cops have a job to do. Cut them a wide berth....and find some stories in Seattle and Portland where the bikers attacked innocent motorists. Doubt you'll see the videos though.

Mob of bicyclists injure motorist in Seattle | KOMO News - Seattle, Washington | News
 
see I saw the biker dude trying to just go around the cop, the cop was targeted on the biker. you can see in the video how the cop takes a few steps, while watching the biker, as the biker swerves away even more, the cop moves faster to hit the biker. As it turns out later the cop lied on his arrest report.
 
Pablo said:
I said the cop was wrong. Not too much argument there.
Click to expand...

yeah, we both can see the cop was wrong, what I'm saying is, the biker was trying to avoid him, not veering into him.
I try to make it a practice to know what is going on around me, situational awareness, ya dig? Had I been the biker, seen the cop moving the way he was, I would have stopped before I got to him and had my hands all the way up. That is the only thing, in my mind, that the biker could have done differently. Yet I never saw the officer try to tell the biker to stop.

This is one of the reasons I try to avoid police officers. I take back streets and neighborhood routes whenever I ride, motor bike or regular bike.
 
The cops lately really scare me their has been allot of indents here in canasta lately of people killed by a taser that are being used by the police,
including a 15 year old youth this past week.


I think that police see ordinary citizen as the enemy
it is a very unfortunate trend
 
NunyaBidness said:
This is one of the reasons I try to avoid police officers.
Click to expand...

you know, i'm torn between respect and experience. i'm inclined to be respectful, but experience teaches me that i am a means to revenue by men with guns, so in the end, i avoid the police like the plague.
 
MarcPhotoMan said:
The cops lately really scare me their has been allot of indents here in canasta lately of people killed by a taser that are being used by the police..
Click to expand...

dang! i thought Canada was all peace, love, and understanding?

but yeah, in my city down here people are killed with tasers and local government keeps saying that they're safe.
 
Rule of thumb is that the pedestrian has the right of way....even when those pedestrians are in the wrong. Experience definately says, any person in uniform can make your day a bad day.
 
MarcPhotoMan said:
The cops lately really scare me their has been allot of indents here in canasta lately of people killed by a taser that are being used by the police,
including a 15 year old youth this past week.


I think that police see ordinary citizen as the enemy
it is a very unfortunate trend
Click to expand...

The problem with tasers is simple. Hit a person once with one, they will be incapacitated, fair enough, no problem.

5 cops with a taser each and a collective IQ of a zuchini will all taser the person at once - thats more than enough to fry someones CNS beyond help.

Its great in the UK. I am not allowed to protect myself with anything but my fists. No chemical, electrical, projectile or other weapons. Then you find out that in some areas of the UK 60% of rape cases with good evidence are thrown out summarily... or the police dont bother to show up when you call them (which has happened to me before)..
So what do I do? do I rely on the police to protect me and mine, when they are more concerned about how fast people are driving. Or do I get equipment to protect myself - and end up the one on trial when I was the one being assaulted?

If I see a police car in my town - specially the black and yellow battenberg traffic cars I hit the kill button - wait for them to pass and then start up again.

But I have to say on my experience so far... I dont like the Police and I dont trust them.

Jemma xx
 
I agree with many posts in this thread. Everytime I've had to deal with an officer of the law, I've gone out of my way to be respectful. They have a tough job to do, and someone has to do it. Unfortunately, respect does not go both ways many times, and I, too, have been treated like a piece of trash by a lot of cops without any provocation on my part.

Some people can't help looking "scary" on the surface, and cops are often so quick to jump to conclusions on the superficial. IMHO, there's nothing wrong with being defensive, but some of these guys jump like Frogger and will slam you into something facefirst for a facial expression. I've been tasered a few times, too, for resorting to questions and rhetoric the officer cannot understand when pushed past my threshold of silent tolerance. Why must so many officers of the law be so disrespectful?

No one wants to be harassed for merely living by those who are seemingly untouchable and ungoverned. When it comes down to your word vs. theirs, you will almost inevitably lose. I, too, do my best to avoid cops when I can, simply because I don't need any of the drama.
 
Here are some updates I found

NEW YORK - A judge dismissed charges Friday against the bicyclist who was body-checked and knocked to the pavement by a police officer in a widely viewed YouTube video.

At the prosecution's request, Criminal Court Judge James Burke dropped a charge of resisting arrest against Christopher Long, 29, of Hoboken, N.J.

Long was arrested July 25 during a Critical Mass bicycle ride through Times Square. The monthly bike rides are held around the world to draw attention to alternatives to motor vehicles.

Police said Long was arrested because he was obstructing traffic and deliberately steered his bicycle into an officer.

After the video emerged showing the policeman knocking Long to the ground, the officer, Patrick Pogan, was stripped of his badge and gun and assigned to desk duty. Police said Friday they were still investigating.

The video had been viewed some 1.5 million times since it was posted on YouTube soon after the incident. It shows Pogan shoving Long off his bike near Times Square as Long tried to steer out of the way.

As he left court, Long said he was happy not to be prosecuted and to have the case behind him. As for Pogan's account of events in the criminal complaint, he said, "The video speaks for itself."

Long's lawyer, David B. Rankin, said, "We're just very lucky this videotape surfaced, and we're very thankful the DA's office did the right thing in dropping these charges."

"This was a case where the officer's sworn testimony was contradicted by the videotape," Rankin said. "It raises serious questions about other cases that don't have the luxury of a videotape."

In the same week the Long video surfaced, videotape emerged of two other incidents showing police officers beating up civilians. Those cases were being investigated by the police and the district attorney's office.

Rankin said Long is considering a lawsuit against the city but had not yet decided.

Alicia Maxey Greene, spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney, said no decision had been made about whether to prosecute Pogan.

Arizona Search
.......................................................................................................

NEW YORK - 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.
NYC cop caught on YouTube, fired
 
Thanks for the update. I hope this cop gets everything he deserves, he is getting of easy with desk duty...Kelly
 
Here are a few of my rambling thoughts on power, abuse, violence and threatenings.

Pretty sad as the particular cop is not fit for what he was trained to do. Many people are corrupted by power, and the more you give some people the worse they get.

Fortunately checks and balances built into most communities do help keep things civil. In a free society where you can vote on lawmakers you have a duty to make sure good people are put in power. They go bad they need to be outed.

I have been in situations where I have felt threatened by police. I am threatened within inches of my life daily as I ride a bike. I can only control my actions and reactions to these situations. I choose to be a problem solver when ever I can, esaier said than done.
 
Pablo said:
... Lock the brakes if you are veering into a cop...
Click to expand...
Or, in this case, if a cop is veering into you!

Both cops were standing still, then suddenly started moving into the path of the oncoming bicycler then the bicycler tried to shoot around the outside of their path. I do not know if the cops had a legitimate reason to stop the bicycler or not and subsequent findings indicate the cops were wrong, but this video does not give the full story.

New York Post said:
...Pogan pick up his pace as he stares down Long before shoving the cyclist, slamming him to the pavement...
Click to expand...
Again, brakes might have been a prudent move
 
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