According to a report in the New York Times, a trial is now underway for a NYC police officer who body-checked a cyclist during critical mass in July of 2008.
Patrick Pogan, 24, who has since resigned from the NYPD, stands charged with assault and falsifying documents, after allegedly body-checking a cyclist during critical mass, then signing and submitting a false report of the incident. A video of the assault, which is shown after the break, surfaced after a tourist uploaded it to YouTube, and it became clear that what Mr. Pogan had written in his report of the incident was a far cry from what actually happened. After an investigation into the matter, the district attorney dropped charges against the cyclist and brought assault charges against Pogan, who had been on the force just 11 days at the time of the incident. He was assigned to desk duty and resigned shortly thereafter.
The cyclist in the case, Christopher Long, says he was doing nothing wrong, and Pogan seemingly randomly selected him to tackle. Long was initially charged with counts of resisting arrest, attempted assault, and disorderly conduct, but those charges were quickly dropped when the prosecutor began to investigate the case.
The chilling video shows Pogan, who seems to hone in on Long as he approaches, standing in the middle of the street with another officer before slowly stepping to his right as he keeps his eyes on the cyclist. The officer is almost able to force Long off the road as he approaches, but with enough room for Long to slip by, Pogan decides to body-check the cyclist to keep him from getting away, knocking him off his bike in a rather spectacular fashion.
Pogan faces up to four years in prison if he is convicted and sentenced to the maximum punishment for all the charges against him. Is four years enough for an incident like this? Were Critical Mass riders asking for confrontation? Watch the video after the break and tell us what you think.
