But the cop didn’t know there’d be video, so in his sworn statement, he gives an account of the incident that is plainly contradicted by the video. That could sink him unless the NYPD does some fancy footwork.

Moral of the story: If you have video of a cop committing a crime, hold onto it a little while to give him time to lie about it in the official paperwork.

I’m a cyclist, and I find CM pretty pointless and maybe even counter-productive, but at the same time, the outrage over it is ridiculous. Traffic through any major city is always slow at rush hour, and people are more or less happy to sit there in it every night of the month. Except of course for that one night a month when CM riders are out and about–then it’s ZOMG how dare those cyclists interfere with our commute?!

Would it be such a burden to wait a few minutes while the bikes go by? How many times have you had to wait for a funeral procession? It’s not a big deal.

Also this CM shit has got to stop or you will see more and more of this in the future. I know they are trying to show that riders have a right to the road, but their rights aren’t more important than everyone else.

BUT, the only reason to think Long did anything illegal is the cop’s statement, which is not credible because 75% of it is contradicted by video. Even if Long was screwing with traffic, there’s no excuse for describing his obvious effort to avoid hitting the cop as attempting to assault the cop.

For those fixated on CM’s bad road-sharing manners: consider that Long, if convicted of the two misdemeanors he was charged with, faced months in prison. Complete with bad food and forcible sodomy. Over blatantly trumped-up charges. Traffic violations are simply NOT an important issue in the face of that.

I don’t know why I would expect anything less, but the police report is as disgusting as the video.

The officer claims he witnessed the “defendant” weaving in and out of traffic forcing cars to stop abruptly, and after instructing him to stop being a menace, the rider aimed his bike directly at the cop.

The cause, at least around here (I can’t speak for CMs around the rest of the nation) is “get rid of all cars and everybody ride bicycles instead”

Whats the deal? What do they do that is out of line or annoying?

I biked a Critical Mass once (before I’d heard much about it), and I really liked having so many people around to bike with, and not having so much traffic to worry about (it was at night), though I felt really uncomfortable when everyone started ignoring red lights. It seemed reasonable for a huge group (seriously, there was a thick line of bikers stretching hundreds of feet) to keep going through a light that turned red in the middle, but some people would try to blow through red lights which had already started. It’s inevitable – even with the best of intentions, with that many people…

I have watched this video several times. As far as I know, cars cyclists are supposed to yield to pedestrians, and to law enforcement officers. The cyclist did not do that, he was riding way too fast for an area with pedestrians, he rode right at the cop, making no attempt to slow down, then he swerved slightly away from the cop when he was about 10 feet away, and then back into him when he was a few feet away. I would have been tempted to knocked that jerk off his bike too (but of course, I would probably have been arrested) It’s as if the cyclist was just begging for that to happen, and the cop was foolish enough to oblige him.

CNN cleverly showed only the last few seconds in slow motion, making it look more like the cop went after him without reason.

foxnews says:

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.

FYI, I found that quote after I wrote the above paragraph, and I realize it’s part of the complaint, and is not corroborated.

Also, on Foxnews, they have this quote:

Craig Radhuber said he was riding about 3 feet behind Long when he was hit.

“It was unprovoked,” Radhuber said. “It was like the cop was waiting for him and then just checked him as he got closer. I couldn’t believe it.”

There was no one even close to three feet behind the cyclist. Didn’t they even watch the video?

I am a cyclist, a motorcyclist, and a regular old car driver. Cyclists are the worst when it comes to obeying traffic laws and many fail to understand the fact that “Share the Road” does not mean “Gimme the road AND the sidewalk!”. They’re on a 20 pound bike that can go 10-15 mph, cars are 3000 pounds and can go whatever the speed limit is, even up hill. It seems foolish to me to expect equality under those conditions, but also think it’s ok to split lanes, ride up the shoulder or sidealk, blow through stop signs, etc…

I wondered about this too. The first time through, I thought it was the cyclist who got knocked over.

See, the problem here is the sense of entitlement and the disregard for others. I get that cyclists have it tough, I get that cars don’t often give them a safe place to ride. But that doesn’t mean they have the right to take it out on whoever happens to be passing their CM route in the name of making a statement and petty revenge. Kinda like how the fact that they’ve got a big old smug on doesn’t give them the right to ignore traffic laws and hit pedestrians.

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Barbara Thompson, Director

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So, it doesn’t surprise me that this cyclist suffered this fate…it happens a lot.