Shock Video: Police Officer Under Investigation After Video Shows Him Body-Checking Bicyclist

A New York City officer is under investigation after the video below showed him body-checking a bicyclist at a Times Square demonstration called the Critical Mass Ride. What is astonishing is that 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 officer has now been identified as Patrick Pogan, a 22-year-old rookie cop. click here.

This video shows the officer knocked the bicyclist across the street in the incident. What is clear is that the other officer witnessed the whole the attack. The question is whether that official reported the incident as he is required to do. The controversy arose after the clip was posted on YouTube. If the partner did not report or accurately describe the incident, there should be two officers on desk duty.

The fact that Long, 29, was hit with so many charges only magnifies the abuse — and again raises the question of the other officer’s knowledge and collusion. At a minimum, this appears excessive force calculated to injure the suspect.

Reports indicate that Long may have “squirmed and kicked.” This would be the basis for the resisting arrest and attempted assault charges. The concern, however, is that we have seen unlawful arrests or abusive treatment of suspects were they have been hit with such charges to try to justify the conduct of the officers. The video does not show what Long was doing before passing the officers. However, there were dozens of bikers around him and it is hard to see how he was guilty of obstructing traffic where the others were not. That charge appears to be the justification for the arrest and the linchpin for the attempted assault, disorderly, and resisting charges.

For the full story, click here.