Bike ends up wedged under police SUV when officer swerves in front of ‘reckless’ cyclist – but cop insists if was for rider’s own safety after he ‘ran a red light’ in New York
- Photographs from the scene showed the Citi Bike wedged between the police SUV and a parked car, which had caused the bike’s tire to bend out of shape
- The cyclist claims that the officer’s actions were excessive in footage filmed from the scene in Manhattan, New York
- The cop responded that he was forced to stop him by ‘whatever means necessary… for your safety’
- It’s alleged that the cyclist ran two red lights, ignored police orders to stop and was wearing headphones in both ears
- The officer claimed to have body-cam footage, and later in a statement online NYPD said they would review the incident
A bicycle ended up wedged between a police SUV and a parked car after an officer swerved in front of a rider in New York City.
The collision happened near to Saint Marks Place on Avenue A at around 7pm, in the East Village area of Manhattan.
Video from the scene show the Citi Bike sandwiched between the cars, leaving the bike’s front wheel bent out of shape.
The officer alleges that the cyclist was riding ‘recklessly’.
But the cyclist claims in the footage the police officer used excessive force to make the stop by driving the SUV in front of him.
In footage of the exchange, he is heard saying: ‘Do you understand the amount of that force… the entire tire came off, I could only slam into the door.
‘Officer you have an armored, sorry, bullet proof door. Do you understand how heavy that is?’
But the NYPD officer alleges that the cyclist ran two red lights, ignored orders to stop and was wearing headphones in both ears – and the officer was forced to act.
‘You’re being forcefully stopped at this point…’ the officer said. ‘So I’m going to use whatever means necessary to stop you… And that’s for your safety.’
While there was damage to the bike, New York Police Department tweeted that the cyclist jumped off before the collision.
The scene of the incident near to Saint Marks Place and Avenue A. The cyclist (above) is seen talking on the phone after talking to NYPD
During the collision the Citibike became wedged between the Police SUV and a parked car. The front wheel of the bike is bent out of shape
A crowd gathered shortly after the incident, where the exchange between the cop and cyclist was filmed.
The officer justified his actions by stating that the cyclist was engaged in ‘reckless activity.’
He recounted: ‘I go over to the loudspeaker and say “bicyclist stop” again you look over and acknowledge and continue to keep going.
Later, the cop told him that they would not ‘be arguing’ over the incident and that the cyclist would be receiving ‘multiple summonses for the violations’ he observed.
Shaking his head throughout the clip, the cyclist later states, ‘This is ridiculous.’
The police officer tells the cyclist that he was forced to stop him by ‘whatever means necessary… for your safety’ in the footage shared online
NYPD tweeted about the incident, in response to footage posted online showing the verbal exchange between police and the cyclist
The officer recorded in the clip, also claimed to have body-cam footage of the incident.
The footage, shared by spectator Garvey Rich, was captioned: ‘#NYPD run over #nyc #bicycle to stop them from running a red light to ”prevent reckless driving.”’
In a statement released by Detective Sophia Mason, she stated that NYPD promotes safety for pedestrians, motorists and bicyclists.
‘In this incident, Police Officers observed the cyclist committing multiple traffic infractions and issued summonses for running through two steady red lights, operating a bicycle while having both headphones fastened to his ears, and failing to comply with a lawful order,’ it read.
‘When approached by officers, the individual jumped his bike and it became wedged in between the police vehicle and a parked vehicle. Precinct leadership is reviewing the matter.’