New York City Pays $98,000 for harassing Critical Mass Cyclists
March 30, 2010, 8:24 pm New York Times
City Pays $98,000 to Critical Mass Cyclists
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
New York City agreed Tuesday to pay tens of thousands of dollars to five cyclists who filed a lawsuit saying they were harassed during the monthly cycling group-ride Critical Mass — including one man seen on videotape being shoved off his bicycle by an officer. As part of the settlement, the city will pay the cyclists a total of $97,751, with each plaintiff receiving $500 to $30,000 apiece and their lawyers receiving a total of $35,000.
The cyclists claimed that they were wrongfully detained and arrested during the March 2007 Critical Mass ride, a monthly event in which dozens and sometimes hundreds of cyclists ride through the city in a cluster to advocate nonpolluting forms of transportation.
The city and the Critical Mass riders have clashed for some time. On one occasion in 2004, just before the Republican National Convention, a large number of officers arrested hundreds of riders on charges that included parading without a permit. Critical Mass, meanwhile, has accused the Police Department of harassing riders over minor infractions, such as broken lights or leaving the bike lane.
In one video clip of the March 2007 ride that was posted on YouTube ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT9aFrDIGTo ), one rider, Richard Vazquez, 55, is seen being pushed off his bike by a police officer in Times Square. The officer then stands him up, places him over a garbage can, and arrests him. The arresting officer, Sgt. Timothy Horohoe, was eventually reprimanded, according to city records.
“While I’m pleased with the monetary victory for myself and the other plaintiffs, there will be no real justice until the higher-ups in the N.Y.P.D. are held accountable for their actions, and it is not just the low ranking officers who are punished,” Mr. Vazquez said in a statement.
A similar episode in which a different officer, Patrick Pogan, was videotaped knocking another man, Christopher Long, off his bicycle during a Critical Mass ride in 2008 became widespread after it was also posted online and led to assault charges against the officer, who later resigned.
A spokeswoman for the city’s Law Department said that the city did not view the lawsuit as a Critical Mass case per se because the arrests “had nothing to do with the fact that the large group of bikers was riding together, but rather the unique behavior of each individual arrested.” Mr. Vazquez, the department said, was arrested after he ran a red light in Times Square.
Michael Gertzer, the lawyer who handled the case for the city, said in a statement that the settlement “was in the interest of the involved parties and appropriately resolves this litigation.”
Barbara Ross, a spokeswoman for Time’s Up, which promotes Critical Mass, called the settlement “a victory for cyclists, and for anybody participating in the Critical Mass ride.” She added that while the rides sometimes drew hundreds or thousands of riders in the past, they now typically draw only a few dozen riders, negating the need for a police presence.
“The N.Y.P.D. has been harassing the ride since 2004,” she said. “The settlement shows that the concerns that we’ve had over the years are validated.”
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/city-pays-98000-to-cri...
City Pays $98,000 to Critical Mass Cyclists
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
New York City agreed Tuesday to pay tens of thousands of dollars to five cyclists who filed a lawsuit saying they were harassed during the monthly cycling group-ride Critical Mass — including one man seen on videotape being shoved off his bicycle by an officer. As part of the settlement, the city will pay the cyclists a total of $97,751, with each plaintiff receiving $500 to $30,000 apiece and their lawyers receiving a total of $35,000.
The cyclists claimed that they were wrongfully detained and arrested during the March 2007 Critical Mass ride, a monthly event in which dozens and sometimes hundreds of cyclists ride through the city in a cluster to advocate nonpolluting forms of transportation.
The city and the Critical Mass riders have clashed for some time. On one occasion in 2004, just before the Republican National Convention, a large number of officers arrested hundreds of riders on charges that included parading without a permit. Critical Mass, meanwhile, has accused the Police Department of harassing riders over minor infractions, such as broken lights or leaving the bike lane.
In one video clip of the March 2007 ride that was posted on YouTube ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT9aFrDIGTo ), one rider, Richard Vazquez, 55, is seen being pushed off his bike by a police officer in Times Square. The officer then stands him up, places him over a garbage can, and arrests him. The arresting officer, Sgt. Timothy Horohoe, was eventually reprimanded, according to city records.
“While I’m pleased with the monetary victory for myself and the other plaintiffs, there will be no real justice until the higher-ups in the N.Y.P.D. are held accountable for their actions, and it is not just the low ranking officers who are punished,” Mr. Vazquez said in a statement.
A similar episode in which a different officer, Patrick Pogan, was videotaped knocking another man, Christopher Long, off his bicycle during a Critical Mass ride in 2008 became widespread after it was also posted online and led to assault charges against the officer, who later resigned.
A spokeswoman for the city’s Law Department said that the city did not view the lawsuit as a Critical Mass case per se because the arrests “had nothing to do with the fact that the large group of bikers was riding together, but rather the unique behavior of each individual arrested.” Mr. Vazquez, the department said, was arrested after he ran a red light in Times Square.
Michael Gertzer, the lawyer who handled the case for the city, said in a statement that the settlement “was in the interest of the involved parties and appropriately resolves this litigation.”
Barbara Ross, a spokeswoman for Time’s Up, which promotes Critical Mass, called the settlement “a victory for cyclists, and for anybody participating in the Critical Mass ride.” She added that while the rides sometimes drew hundreds or thousands of riders in the past, they now typically draw only a few dozen riders, negating the need for a police presence.
“The N.Y.P.D. has been harassing the ride since 2004,” she said. “The settlement shows that the concerns that we’ve had over the years are validated.”
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/city-pays-98000-to-cri...
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Andy Finko on
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Another video embedded:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWjSOVDyUJ4 -
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Permalink Reply by Arrak Thumrs on
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Sorta reads like hush money to me. While I have many issues with CM, having been present at the incident mentioned before the RNC*, I found the actions 100% unjustifiable. I guess there was little more that could have been awarded via the courts other than money, but still sorta disappointing. Less for bikers than for civil liberties during that particular period in history, as I remember it. I wish the settlement made me feel like justice was served, but it somehow doesn't...
*not on a bike or in the ride, but happened to coincidentally walk onto 2nd Ave. just as the police took action. -
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Permalink Reply by wig [ isaac ] on
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Cool.
But I might be wrong.
Don't the taxpayers of NYC have to cover the ass of the asshole cop? -
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Permalink Reply by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! on
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Yeah this shit is paid for by the great city of NYC.
Typically these things are settled out of court for a lot lower, so congrats to the victim! However I would have preferred to see this go to trial. For the cost of $98,000, the city of New York bypasses the court and and true accountability. The value that having a jury and a judge review clear video evidence of a physical assault on a citizen by an officer would be worth far more. In a city were the police get free reign to act as thuggish as they want setting the precident for accountability may have changed things for the better.
But then again, what world am I living in? The show trials for officers in that state are sickening. Let us not forget that the cops who shot at the unarmed Sean Bell and his friends with a 50-bullet barrage received a "not guilty on all counts" verdict. Even after one of the victims proven testimony was that he begged the officers not to shoot.
So again, congrats to the victim! -
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On a related note, NYC settles suit for $40k to two people arrested for filming and complaining about cops confiscating bikes: http://is.gd/b8T25
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http://www.streetsblog.org/2010/04/01/nypd-slams-doored-cyclist-wit...
NYPD Slams Doored Cyclist with Two Summonses, Lets Driver Off the Hook
by Noah Kazis on April 1, 2010
Editor's note: We now resume our non-satirical local coverage.
While riding home from work on the morning of March 22, Rodney Seymour was doored by a truck driver. When the police responded to his 911 call, instead of ticketing the doorer, they hit Seymour with two summonses for improperly equipping his bike.
Rodney Seymour, after being doored and ticketed, and before having his bike stolen.
Seymour says he was biking safely, heading home from work in the direction of traffic and wearing an orange reflective vest and helmet. After crossing 10th Street on Third Avenue, heading north, he got doored by a box truck driver, falling onto his shoulder and head. "I was in a little pain and the truck driver suggested I call the cops," said Seymour. "He was very cooperative."
A fire truck and ambulance arrived first. The EMTs took Seymour's vitals, gave him an ice pack and suggested he wait for the police to arrive so he could make a report. An accident report is necessary in order to get the doorer to pay a victim's medical bills under New York's no-fault law, said Mark Taylor, Seymour's attorney.
When an officer from the Ninth Precinct arrived on the scene, Seymour found him more interested in avoiding paperwork than helping an injured cyclist. "He got very upset because I was insisting on having a police report," said Seymour. He recalled the officer yelling, "You want a report? You want a report? I'll give you a report!" (The Ninth Precinct has not returned Streetsblog's requests for comment.)
The officer then walked back to his vehicle, Seymour said, returning ten minutes later with the report in hand. But that wasn't all. He'd also brought over two summonses.
The first was for riding a bike without a bell, which Seymour admits he lacked. The second cited Seymour for riding without reflectors on the wheel. According to Taylor, the law only requires reflectors on new bikes for sale. Seymour noted that his bright orange reflective vest and reflective helmet should have made him perfectly visible -- that and the fact that it was just before 10 a.m.
While the dooring victim received two tickets, the driver didn't get a summons at all, Seymour said, just a "sorry for your inconvenience" from the officer. Even though dooring is against the law in New York state. The double standard rankled Seymour. "I thought New York was trying to transform people into riding bicycles," he said. The city's pro-bike policies will have trouble gaining momentum if invalid and trivial infractions, like riding without reflectors or a bell, get stricter enforcement from NYPD than potentially deadly actions like dooring.
After his encounter with police, Seymour's terrible morning took one more turn for the worse. When he got back from Beth Israel hospital to pick up his bike, which he had locked up before getting into the ambulance, it was gone -- stolen. -
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