The rookie NYPD officer videotaped viciously knocking a cyclist off his bike during a Times Square demonstration was just acting “under direct orders” and was trying to protect himself, the head of the cop union said yesterday.
Shocking videotape evidence shows hulking Officer Patrick Pogan going out of his way to shoulder-tackle protester Christopher Long, 29, and send him flying to the ground. But union head Patrick Lynch staunchly defended the officer’s actions and laid the blame directly on the cyclist.
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“This officer observed the reckless actions of a specific individual weaving in and out of traffic and creating a hazardous condition for the public and took action,” said Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association.
Lynch argued that Pogan, 22, had been “under direct orders to stop and arrest any individual who violated the law by creating a dangerous situation.”
Sources said Pogan spotted Long weaving through traffic and riding with just one hand on the handlebars. Pogan yelled at Long to stop and when the cyclist tried to veer around the cop, he leaped into action, Lynch said.
“Instead of slowing down or stopping as any reasonable person would when an officer approached, this rider dropped his shoulder in an attempt to avoid arrest by plowing into the officer’s chest, which resulted in the officer pushing him away,” he said.
In the videotape from the Friday protest – posted anonymously on YouTube – Pogan is seen standing still in the middle of Seventh Avenue. He walks toward the curb and breaks into a run toward Long, who tries to veer around him.
The clip ends with Pogan pushing Long hard off the bike and onto the ground.
Long had been riding along with the monthly “cyclist rights” protest held by the group Critical Mass. He was not seriously hurt. He was arrested and charged with attempted assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
In a criminal complaint, Pogan claimed Long drove his bike into the officer’s body, knocking him to the ground and causing cuts. But in the video, Pogan never falls.
Once the video emerged, Pogan – who joined the force from the academy just three weeks ago – was stripped of his badge and gun and placed on desk duty. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the Internal Affairs Bureau was talking to witnesses.
Mayor Bloomberg called the actions seen on the startling footage “totally over the top.”
“Inappropriate is a nice way to phrase it,” he said. “Let’s let the police commissioner conduct his investigation.”
Long’s attorney, David Rankin, said, “With the videotape clearly showing our client did not assault the officer, we think it is only appropriate the DA drop the charges.”
The DA’s office said only that it is investigating.