Police have made an arrest in the extraordinary case of a gang of bikers who terrorized a family of Alexian Lien, 33, in New York City. One of the bikers filmed the entire chase and attack and then posted it on YouTube. He may have succeeded in incriminating his colleagues, including Christopher Cruz, 28. Cruz was charged with reckless endangerment, menacing, reckless driving and acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17. (Update: A second suspect — Allen Edwards, 42, of Queens, charged with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and menacing. He is believed to be the man seen on video below striking the Range Rover windows with his fists.).
One jacket has been identified as belonging to a New Rochelle motorcycle club. Moreover the videographer is identified but has not responded to inquiries. The bikers were engaged in a rally that they call “Hollywood Stuntz” in which they engage in obnoxious road stunts and generally harass drivers. The police arrested 15 people, confiscated 55 motorcycles and issued 68 summonses for the stunts starting in Times Square unconnected to the Lien attack.
The video shows Lien and his wife and child being stopped by the group. The bikers reportedly started denting the SUV with their helmets and may have slashed its tires. Lien is shown trying to escape by running over motorcycles and hitting at least one person. That person Edwin Mieses may be left a paraplegic after surgery for injuries to his heart, lungs and ribs.
The video shows the bikers pursuing the fleeing SUV and making an attempt to enter it when stopped in traffic. Ultimately, bikers catch the SUV a third time and shatter the windows and attack Lien in front of his wife and daughter. Lien was pulled out of his car and slashed and beaten by the bikers.
A person attacking in self-defense is afforded some leeway in flight. In torts, Lien would not have been able to use the vehicle to hit Mieses or others to protect the vehicle from property damage. You are not allowed to use force calculated to cause serious bodily injury or death in defense of property. However, the attack on the vehicle can be viewed as a threat to the family and thus the broader privilege of self-defense would apply. It is not clear that Mieses was attacking Lien but his motorcycle appears to be one of those blocking his escape. While the bikers can claim that the physical assault only came after they were attacked, it lends credence to Lien’s fear for his family. Moreover, even if responding to an attack on them, the common law does not extend the privilege of self-defense for the bikers to cover retaliation (which is involved in the pursuit and trapping of the family before the attack). The bikers may clearly seek a citizen arrest in blocking the SUV but the attack escalated such an effort into an unprivileged assault. At that point, the SUV does not appear to be moving or threatening the bikers.
The criminal and tort liability of the bikers could be based on their participation in trapping the family like fleeing game. The thuggish conduct of the rally before the attack could be cited as evidence of their culpability and modus operandi. As for the family, Mieses and other could sue by claiming that they are not part of those threatening the family and were negligently run over by Lien. In other words, this could be a complete mess with over-lapping and conflicting claims.
I would have ran them all over! F,en scum cowards try this s on me
White male with Asian wife
@randyjet so far we have that the bikers can “claim rage” and have a “right to be incensed.” What legal system are we operating under here?
Pure stupidity. I am a motorcyclist and am appalled at the actions of some in this club. Thanks for another black mark on motorcyclists in general. Defend yourself…the aggressive bullies tragically get what they deserve for escalating the situation from a minor incident. Forget your Vin Diesel movies and Ultimate fighting, one punch can kill and 10 punches from a gang most likely will. I probably would have done the same under similar circumstances but they never would have succeeded in dragging me out of the car…well at least not without a 9mm in the leaders kneecap as soon as he broke through the window.
—–It is quite clear that the riders were doing wrong by stopping traffic on the road. Lien reminds me of George Wallace who famously said that he would run over any protestor if they got in his way when he was driving. It is also clear that Lien was NOT being assaulted or threatened before he ran over the biker. After that, Lien became a fleeing felon who lost his rights by his own actions.
The bikers can claim immediate rage caused by the crime Lien committed against one of their members who were engaged in harmless pranks, which while illegal, did not require the use of deadly force to be used.
I hope Lien gets some heavy prison time for his crimes.——–
I almost went into a coma trying to reduce my higher brain functions to the point where this kind of reasoning would make sense in the real world.
Truth Teller,
“Kauten, that’s the best you can do, suggesting that I plagiarized my views from someone else?”
No, Truthiness, that’s far from the best I can do. I was doing my best to be civil.
In my defense, I’d like to point out that I did NOT, in my reply to your rant, use the pejoratives “racist,” “redneck,” “cracker,” “honkey,” or “white trash.”
I have far too much respect for you to characterize you in that way, and I respect the civility rules of this forum too much to use those words.
Well, maybe I could make an exception, and use the word “racist.” I doubt that you’d be offended by that characterization.
Glenn: “The question is even given the facts of them blocking the road, why did the driver of the SUV even get himself in the middle of them and then try to push them out of the way.”
*
Glenn, look at the video- the bikers were behind him and were passing him, He did’t get in the middle of them, that’s where he ended up as they passed.
Ha Ha, isn’t justice sweet?
How Could the driver only get one out of that whole crowd?
Someone, help him church up his driving skills !!
there will always be those who will see the situation the way they want to no matter what happens… they will always be the ones who will blame anyone but the real perps… lien did stop after the initial accident. and was attacked should have stayed there and let them kill him? will that make you feel better glenn and randy?
even with video evidence you’re still trying to twist it around. smfh oh and let me ask this.. why exactly did miese stop his bike directly in front of lien? i mean liens suv was stopped.
oh well if telling yourself lies allows you to sleep at night. so be it. just remember fate works on karma. and what goes around comes back around. they started it and now one of their own is permanently damaged because of it
and the video was posted by one of the bikers who was side by side with the suv when it all began…
One thing they all have in common, Oil-Qaeda …
Ever wonder about real issues?
For your consideration. Art made by Mr. Mieses (aka J MeeZee).
“DA: Bike assault thug ‘won’t be charged at this time’”
http://nypost.com/2013/10/02/da-wont-charge-bike-assault-thug-in-suv-beating/
Article:
The Manhattan DA’s office won’t press charges against one of the motorcycle thugs who allegedly terrorized and beat a man after a wild chase on the West Side Highway, and is reluctant to prosecute another, sources said Wednesday.
Allen Edwards, 43, of Queens, who allegedly smashed Alexian Lien’s rear driver’s side window with his fist, surrendered to cops Tuesday morning but will not be charged, the sources said.
“The DA declined to prosecute. Look at [The Post’s] front page [Tuesday]. He’s there on the motorcycle right next to [Lien] after he got his ass kicked,” an angry law enforcement source said.
Video shows Edwards pummeling the rear window of Lien’s Range Rover, near where his infant daughter was belted into a child seat, and Lien on the ground with Edwards next to him.
Another source said prosecutors were reluctant to charge a second biker, Christopher Cruz, 28, of Passaic, N.J., who brake-checked the SUV so the bikes could take over the road.
But the DA’s office relented because of pressure from the NYPD and widespread publicity about the case, and Cruz was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and reckless driving.
“The case is weak. It was too early to tell if he committed the crimes he was charged with. It needed much more investigation,” the second source said.
A rep for Manhattan DA Cy Vance’s office said Edwards “won’t be charged at this time. The entire case is still under investigation.“
Police, meanwhile, are zeroing in on two other suspects, including the one who slashed Lien, sending him to the hospital for stitches.
“They’re trying to ID two of the guys. One of them is the main guy. He’s the one that assaulted the victim. On the video, he was wearing the chrome helmet that has a logo of a bird,” a third source said late Tuesday.
“We have recovered a lot of video — new video — from bikers who videotaped the ride. One video shows the guy in the chrome helmet ripping the victim out of the SUV. The video then cuts off. [But] we also have a witness who filled in the gaps on what happened next.”
The video, the source said, shows the biker in the chrome helmet throwing the terrified dad to the ground and stomping on his head.
The second suspect being sought also smashed windows on the SUV, the source added.
“He’s wearing orange and he hit the window of the SUV,” the source said.
Cops have gotten photos of hundreds of license plates from bridge and tunnel cameras and are trying to identify more of the bikers, who first swarmed Lien, his wife and child on the West Side Highway in Harlem Sunday about 1:30 p.m.
But many of the plates are stolen or belong on different bikes, making it tougher to ID the motorcyclists.
The chase was caught on video by a helmet camera worn by one of the bikers — who later posted it on YouTube.
Early on in the chase, as Lien sped off to escape the pack, he ran over 26-year-old biker Jeremiah Mieses of Lawrence, Mass., whose spine was crushed
The gang eventually caught the fleeing Lien in Washington Heights, where he was dragged out of his car and beaten in front of his family.
End of article
Bourne flee.
Where these guys out of control? YES they were. Hell, not even 1%ers try to hog the whole road. The question is even given the facts of them blocking the road, why did the driver of the SUV even get himself in the middle of them and then try to push them out of the way. He’s at fault too. And the fact that he’s not charged with anything is wrong. I doubt he would have tried that crap with Harleys…..
After reading all of the comments here I’d like to award the most entertaining post to RANDYJET “The bikers can claim immediate rage” I would absolutely love to hear a judges response to that
My dad had a gas station in Texas. When bikers came in he turned off the pumps and locked the rest rooms, the front door and got out the hand gun. Then he sent my brother Jack out to talk to them. If they said they were outta gas, he said he was out of patience.
God made rifles for a reason. Now in NYC it may be more difficult to pick off bikers with a rifle from a distance due to the congestion. But you could get one or two.
The Wild West moves to NY….. Gang Bangers get Bikes……
This is all crazy…. And it’s unfortunate that anyone was hurt…. But they did start it and continued taunting them… I’d probably done the same thing…..
Truth Teller
1, October 1, 2013 at 7:14 pm
Obama’s sons love to intimidate people, but when those they’ve terrorized hit back, they cry about how unfair it all is.
Like this? (NSFW-language)
This is an interesting discussion since it helps me understand the mentality of Zimmerman when he shot Martin. I see that most folks here hate and fear bikers, and thus are willing to grant carte blanche to those who use that fear as an excuse to run over them. I looked at the CNN report on this and they included most of what happened before Lien ran over the bikers. As THEY pointed out, the video gives NO evidence that the bikers assaulted Lien after the bump. Simply standing around blocking the SUV is NOT cause for running over people, unless you are George Wallace in his bad old days. Indeed, as one who has been on strike, that is what we normally DO in fact. Just because Lien had a fear, does not give him the right to run over them. The subsequent actions of the bikers in attacking the SUV is of course, wrong and illegal too, but if you think that Lien was right in running over the bikers when they stopped him, then you will have to grant the bikers their right to be incensed when Lien fled the scene.
I am sorry, any normal person would have done the same as the Lien Family. Sadly, enough we are seeing more and more of this kind of gang–collective harassment of innocent people and families on the road and elsewhere (retaliation?) . I don’t think any family or person (really for any reason) should be harassed or stalked…gangs and other ethnic groups feel they have a right to harass and bully others…classic example of gang behavior. Luckily they also caught it on film and also this gang should be happy not more of them were killed or hurt, CPS should take their kids away if this what this gang teachers youngsters to do. What was that biker trying to do with the SUV (assault) ? Charge him with endangering all in such a crowd?
Kauten, that’s the best you can do, suggesting that I plagiarized my views from someone else? My source for the claim that 100% of the bikers smashing the windows and attacking the driver were black is my own eyes, which looked at the pictures and videos.
Start here:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/30/article-0-1865B7F700000578-549_634x323.jpg
http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1472415.1380629153!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/bikers2n-4-web.jpg
Duck the issue all you like, but the fact is that blacks are responsible for almost 95% of murders of other blacks, and 100% of the rapes of black women (as well as 1/3 of the rapes of white women), yet the media wants us to focus on the rare man-bites-dog story of a white attacker and black victim.