NY Cop body slams bicyclist then lies about it
 

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07272008/news/regionalnews/cop_shoves_bicyclist_121984.htm

I dunno, I frequently defend cops but this one is in the wrong line of work. Just 3 weeks on the force.

I saw that on tv. I couldn't believe it. He said the bicyclist was trying to run into him. What a liar!!

The Critical Mass rides are intended to be provocative. Desired effect secured. An impotent loser with far-r-r-r too much time on his hands hops on a bike in order to become intoxicated by the power of a mob and encounters another loser who happens to be wearing a badge. One loser will sue the other and probably prevail in court. The other loser will be riding a desk for a few years. Happy ending for all.

Watch: Someday some pickup truck driver stuck in a CM-generated traffic jam will lose his s*it and turn some of these Schwinn-riding fools into a hood ornament.

Yeah, I saw this on youtube the other day. Not a smart move by the cop. I'm with PaulC on the stupidity of the Critical Mass rides, though -- not an effective was to make the general population sympathetic to your cause.

this cyclist had attacked a bystander on the previous block who diodn't agree with him!

There was another incident recently in Seattle when I was up there last friday where Critical Mass had corked a driver into a paking spot while he had a pregnant woman with him and slashed his tires with knives, broke out his windows and put him in the hospital after giving him a concusssion with a bike lock!

I heard someone say in the crowd and I quote "Today we took our knives and slashed your tires and if you try to stop us we'll take our knives and slash your throats!"

Yeah, I ride a bike too, but it's time bikes were required to have license plates because the only reason that these guys get away with this is because they are anonymous!

Interesting to note that they claim to have slashed his tires to keep him from getting away and then fled themselves when the police arrived!

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008074874_webcriticalmass26m.html

I used to ride CM rides once in awhile. It's cool when you're young, nowadays though it's not worth getting arrested over such a pithy little thing.

Let the kids have their day, most of us grow out of it.

From that posted link:

Yeah, like CM is an organization! LOL! Smart reporter.

Did I miss the point or did these guys beat a man, destroy his car, put him in the hospital and threaten to kill others? This is not cool!

They belong behind bars! I think anyone driving in Seattle needs to spend the $60 bucks and get concealed weapons permit! These "kids" need to be taught a lesson since their liberal parents didn't do it!

Oh, the pregnant woman might miscarry from this incident! I hope these guys get charged with infanticide if the baby is stillborn. That is a life sentence with death penalty possibilities and that would be a good first step!

Of course it's not cool that people get beat up and crap. Are we supposed to express extra outrage over the fact that there are jerks all around us? I don't think it's an isolated incident. Carjackings, murders, rapes, and beheadings occur everyday. (Ok maybe not beheadings)

I wonder how badly the cyclist "attacked" the person who disagreed with him? And the officer certainly could have collared him less violently than he did.

I lived in Seattle for years and it can be a sweet town but there does seem to be a particularly virulent strain of junior anarchists there.

I agree the CM people are frequently out of line. Mob mentality at its worst. Way too many bicyclists flaunt (or is it flout?) the obeying of courteous rules of traffic. I mean, I'll run red lights now and then too, but only if no one else is anywhere close to me --ditto for stop signs which I always slow for at the very least, and I'll behave just as if I were in a car if actual cars are present.

Too many of those strident about pedestrian and cyclist rights seem to forget that it's a human behind the wheel of the car, trying his or her best to keep their wits about them so they don't hit someone.

I wonder how badly he "attacked" the person who disagreed with him? And the officer certainly could have collared him less violently than he did.

Where did you read this? The witnesses the NYTimes interviewed contradict that.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/nyregion/29critical.html?scp=1&sq=Officer%20Patrick%20Pogan,&st=cse

What is critical mass?

It's a loose knit coalition of bicyclists who tacitly agree on a course through a city and a time of meeting (usually the same time once a month) and then they swarm the streets, ignoring traffic laws and autos en masse. Some are small -- the one is SF is rather big. I accidentally happened upon one while on my bike in SF (I'd not heard of it before that) and I joined in for a while. Drivers unfortunate enough to get caught up behind the wrong intersections would have to wait 5 or 10 minutes, perhaps more.

Look at the vid in the OP. That's part of a critical mass.

buncha douche bags on bikes...

Agreed. I have a bike and ride frequently, but those guys DO NOT represent me or my views. I don't break any more traffic laws on my bike than I do in my cars, ride defensively, and use common (or is it uncommon now?) courtesy with cars and other bikes.

I live in NY and can tell you NYC bikers are a bunch of organized thugs on loose. Generally its the couriers who are among the worse offenders knocking down pedestrains and making driving in the city a hell of an experience.