5 Off-Duty Officers Among Bikers in SUV Incident

[Hissyspit]

Last edited Sat Oct 5, 2013, 04:47 AM - Edit history (2)

Source: WABC

@BreakingNews: Report: 5 off-duty New York City police officers were among bikers in SUV beating incident - @eyewitnessnyc http://t.co/wZ2PWCusaY

5 off-duty officers among bikers in SUV incident

Updated at 10:32 PM today

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Eyewitness News has learned that among the bikers on the Henry Hudson last weekend, were five off-duty NYPD officers.

Sources say at least two detectives witnessed the attack on Alexian Lien and did not directly intervene. And investigators are still working to determine what role, if any, was played by the other three officers.

What is clear, sources say, is that the men did not begin to come forward until late Wednesday, four full-days after the incident.

And detectives are also investigating reports that several others in the group may have been off-duty New York City correction officers.

An undercover detective has informed Internal Affairs that he was present at the time of the confrontation.

The undercover narcotics detective, himself a motorcycle rider, was off duty. Official sources say he did not get involved because he did not want to blow his cover. Internal Affairs is now investigating. The undercover detective is being advised by an attorney.

Read more: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_york&id=9274018

[rhett o rick]

1. Does anyone know why the bikers picked on this particular SUV? What was their motive for

boxing him in and slowing him down?

[Warren Stupidity]

5. Stuntz gangs: it's what they do.

[TheDebbieDee]

19. These bikers being cops would explain why they were ALL such assholes!

Thank Gosh, most cops aren't like these yahoos, tho lately the bad, irresponsible, violently insane cops seem to far outnumber the decent cops!

[onehandle]

33. Five out of 30+ nt

[TorchTheWitch]

99. it was around 1000

There were only about 30+ riders that appeared in that one video. That was hardly the whole group. Other groups were blocking the on ramps of the highway and taking other routes toward Times Square. This annual ride is HUGE.

Besides, that's 5 out of around 34,500 uniformed officers in the NYPD. And I'm still suspicious that this came from one single reporter with unidentified sources. I'll have to check the latest news since I just got online since then and see if the story has been confirmed or even gotten to other news outlets. Early this morning there were no other news outlets on this which is really strange. This is explosive and scandalous, and if it's true should have been one of the top stories all over.

I'm also suspicious that it was reported that all of them voluntarily turned themselves in to their superiors. That I just can't believe. If they kept their mouths shut no one would ever know, but turning themselves in means possible firing and maybe even criminal charges. Actually, probable firing. The NYPD was on an operation setting up check points on various routes to Times Square to try catching these guys and at least try to keep them from taking over Times Square this year. Five NYPD officers working against that operation has got to be a hands down fireable offense if not some kind of criminal charge even if it's a misdemeanor.

Well, I just checked the internet and can't find a thing about this story. There's a story that 2 more bikers have been identified and arrested or brought in or turned themselves in and another opinion piece wanting to know where were the police when all this was going on... which is a good question especially considering that the NYPD has an army of cops and is the biggest LE organization in the country (although I can't recall if they guy said it was the largest or second largest, I thought he said the largest). There was also another story that they're still investigating whether or not an undercover cop was there when Lien was beaten but nothing at all about five other cops. Fox News is reporting that there may have been two off duty cops riding with the bikers. The New York Post just repeats the original story from that one reporter, but since it's the Moonie Times I don't count anything the NYP says.

Yep, I'm VERY suspicious of this story since there's nothing more being said about it. That tells me that it can't be confirmed. So far it looks like the media is still just trying to confirm the story of the one undercover officer that saw the beating of Mr. Lien and reported that to his superiors.

[gopiscrap]

42. I fully agree

[eilen]

18. The incident that sparked this

was as the mass of bikes were entering a highway, often a few will go and wave oncoming traffic to another lane so the bikes can get on safely, all together. This guy, instead of moving to the other lane like the other vehicles, rear-ended the guy who slowed down in front of him. There is plenty of blame to go around. He was either driving too fast or unwilling to yield to the the slowing bike in front of him-- it was reckless.

Anyway, the bikes then swarmed him and he panicked, hit a bunch of bikes and then drove over another one, breaking the guys legs. Then they really went after him with the window break w/ helmet incident we saw on the news. I don't blame him for panicking. These bikers are not necessarily all associated together in one club, they are from different places gathering for a bike event. They behaved like a bunch of punks.

[DURHAM D]

28. "plenty of blame to go around"

So it was somewhat the fault of the man in the vehicle that the bikers were road terrorists?

I hope you never get picked for jury duty.

[haydukelives]

52. thats what I was thinking

driver did nothing wrong. biker pulled in front of him and slowed down on purpose. He was not trying to diffuse the situation, what a load of crap

[Lugnut]

62. Based on the video footage of the incident....

I would've done the same thing the person in the SUV did. The guy on the slowing bike right in front of the SUV would've gone for a ride he wasn't expecting.

[Ian David]

96. If I was the guy in the SUV, I would have thought they were setting me up for a car-jacking.

Deliberately trying to slow me down and surround me?

I would have crushed that first dude like a bug and not felt the least bit bad about it.

That's a terrifying thing to do to someone, even if it's just to "make room for your buddies."

How is someone supposed to know that their intent is just dickishness and not outright assault?

Anyone who thinks this is okay should have a "Share the Road" or "Check Twice" bumper sticker shoved up their ass and out their mouth.

[Lugnut]

106. That's the problem.

How does the guy in the SUV know what the bikers' intentions are? If it had been me I would've been terrified. I would've run down any biker who was in front of my car. I don't feel sorry for any of them.

[markpkessinger]

36. You might check out this link . . .

. . . Other video of the group's New York run taken the same day in other parts of the city. Talk about aggressive!

http://www.carthrottle.com/7-videos-the-nyc-bikers-dont-want-you-to-watch/

[tofuandbeer]

64. Wow. I never knew this went on.

I'm in Southern California, and there are a ton of bikers here, but I've never seen more than 2 or 3 to a group on the freeway—they usually go insanely fast in those little packs. Also, ATVs?!!! Are those street legal? Well, I guess if you're going to drive on sidewalks, you don't worry about what's legal and what isn't. Crazy stuff.

[ripcord]

89. We have them out here too

Back in March a bunch of bikers illegally shut down one side of the 10 freeway in West Covina so they could hold a wedding.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/More-Than-300-Motorcycles-Shut-Down-Freeway-Marriage-Proposal-188930531.html

[tofuandbeer]

91. Yes. I think I do recall that. Thank you!

[jsr]

110. Four were arrested:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/03/four-arrested-after-motorcycle-marriage-proposal-on-10-freeway.html

Four men were arrested last week in connection with a January stunt in which a group of motorcycle riders shut down the 10 Freeway in West Covina while a man proposed to his girlfriend.

Hector Martinez, 24, of Covina; Mike John David Gutierrez, 38, of Lynwood; Giovanni Mendez, 19, of La Puente; and Rudy Cadena, 24; were arrested Thursday on suspicion of misdemeanor public nuisance and unlawful assembly, the California Highway Patrol reported. Martinez, the man who proposed, was also booked on suspicion of exhibition of speed.

In an arrest report, the CHP said Martinez and 200 to 250 bikers blocked eastbound traffic near Barranca Street, at which point Martinez "performed a burn out for several seconds." Video images show a plume of pink smoke coming out of the bike.

Video of the proposal went viral, and Martinez and his fiancee were interviewed -- and identified -- by several media outlets.

[markpkessinger]

37. The safest thing for all concerned . ..

. . . Would be for the bikers to enter the highway one or two at a time, as oncoming traffic permits. Motorcyclists have no authority to redirect traffic, nor do they have any particular right to remain together as one cohesive group.

[theHandpuppet]

43. +1

Well said!

[lunasun]

50. +1

[haydukelives]

53. amen

you would think NY cops would know that

[TheDebbieDee]

58. Motorcyclists have no authority to redirect traffic - EXCEPT WHEN 5 OF THE GROUP

are off duty cops who became confused about whether they were on the clock or off the clock.

[tofuandbeer]

65. True.

[MADem]

76. Wait a minute--are you saying that the off duty corrections officers or the undercover cop(s)

(who didn't want to blow their cover) were acting as police and directing traffic?

Do you know that they were even involved in that fashion?

I hadn't heard anything that suggested they were involved in that way.

[TheDebbieDee]

82. Oh? These cops were working undercover? This is the first I'm hearing about this.

I just figured these assholes had off-duty hobbies who let their on-duty asshole personas kick in in this crisis!

[MADem]

114. I heard that one guy was undercover, and the other "LE" persons were corrections.

Not police.

[SharonAnn]

92. Groups of motorcycle riders around here travel in clusters of 5-10, in the right lane

and in a very orderly manner. They make sure that auto traffic can pass them safely and they will even pull off the road onto the shoulder, if there's a traffic backup, to let the autos go by.

It's actually safer for autos when there's a reasonably sized "cluster" of motorcyclists traveling together because they're easier to see.

They follow the "leader" of their group and the leader's directions.

Of course, they are out here for the scenic beauty on the East Tennessee and North Carolina roads through the mountains. They're not trying to make a statement or to cause trouble.

I've been very impressed with the way they manage things and actually have enjoyed seeing them out and enjoying the countryside.

Of course, I'd have an entirely different feeling if they were obstructing traffic and behaving threateningly or irresponsibly.

[BeyondGeography]

44. Haha, yeah

Some funny shit right there. These bikers, at least half of whom weren't even plated to drive on a public road, commandeer the West Side Drive and some poor sap who thinks he's just going for a typical Sunday drive doesn't get with the program and he's reckless.

Good one.

[Ash_F]

79. That explanation makes no sense, having seen the video

In any case they have charged the original break-checker. It should be interesting to see what his defense will be.

[SkyDaddy7]

80. WTF!?!?!?

"plenty of blame to go around"?? The bikers were 100% in the WRONG...The SUV driver had every right to run over as many bikers as he needed to save his family!!

You should be ashamed of yourself!!

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

84. Yes, the SUV driver should have put on his left turn signal ...

... and the motorcyclists would have backed off to let him change lanes. I don't think so ...

No, the SUV driver looked like he did the right thing. Stay in your lane, keep the speed steady, and the bikers will be smart enough to avoid hitting you. Mostly.

If he'd slammed on the brakes, he'd be criticized for bashing the bikes behind him. He might not have seen the motorcycle slow down, it cut close in front, and the SUV driver may have been distracted by the other bikes buzzing his vehicle.

[Mojo Electro]

93. Nonsense.

The biker purposely brake-checked the SUV. You can see him cutting over, looking back while he stops hard in front of the SUV. It's a well known tactic. The biker, Christopher Cruz, who brake-checked the SUV (which he was charged for, by the way) shoulders the lion's share of the blame for setting off this entire incident.

The police had received over 200 calls about these bikers terrorizing people in the streets.

"Plenty of blame to go around" my ass.

[magical thyme]

109. according to the police, they were trying to clear the highway so they could perform stunts

And if you actually view the video, the SUV driver was surrounded. He had slowed down. Then one biker pulled in front of him, looked over each shoulder and then stopped. The SUV driver was unable to stop quickly enough and clipped his rear tire.

The SUV driver still has not been charged with anything and the police have stated repeatedly that based on the video, the biker caused deliberately the accident.

[cpwm17]

111. There was no accident

Cruz even said he didn't go down. It's not entirely clear that the SUV even touched Cruz's Motorcycle, and Cruz was still up and driving straight (at 29 seconds in video) a few seconds after the alleged contact (at 26 seconds in video). At 30 second into the video nobody can be seen down when the camera is pointed at the SUV. It's all briefly show in the video. You have to slowly go through the frames to see this.

Supporters of the smashed rider claim that he was off his bike helping the downed rider when he got run over. It's a lie.

[magical thyme]

112. I hadn't seen that from Cruz...

Everything I read said he'd clipped the bikes rear tire.

In that case, there is even less justification (or excuse) for the bikers' behavior. Bunch of thugs.

[TorchTheWitch]

22. it got passed their trying to block the on ramp

So they were pissed off at it. That white van also got passed their blocking, and I have no doubt they would have gone after that one as well had the SUV not bumped the asshole that brake checked it and was able to get away. That's why the bikers and the SUV where the only vehicles on that entire stretch of highway. Compare that to all the other cars going the opposite direction on that highway. Also notice how none of them are concerned that they're stopped all over the road... they aren't worried about cars coming up behind them.

[cherokeeprogressive]

35. If you watch the videos, ALL the other cars slow down and defer... or move over and let them pass.

Cars getting onto the highway via the onramps either slowed down or came to a stop. Cars in their way pulled over. My guess is the guy in the Range Rover either underestimated the size of the group as they came up behind him or had never encountered/heard of this type of Pack O' Punks, so he held his lane position and his speed.

His position in the middle of the Pack O' Punks' perceived right of way was unacceptable and that prompted the "brake check". They were PISSED that he didn't defer to them. He didn't understand what was expected of him, and the guy in front of him (Cruz, I believe, who NEVER went down) slowed down faster than the SUV driver could, and the SUV driver ran up on his back tire. That caused the group to force him to stop.

Here's where the problems start for me. The guy who "brake checked" the SUV didn't go down when the SUV ran up on his back tire. If you watch the video closely, there are dozens of people around the SUV in the seconds before he takes off, and there's a bike parked and on its side-stand just off the front right quarter panel, which is one of the bikes that gets run over along with Jay Meezee or whateverthefuckhisnameis. If Cruz didn't go down, and his was the only bike to have been contacted by the SUV, whose bike was parked and what were THEY doing on the right side of the SUV?

The Pack O' Punks brought this whole thing on themselves, and if it wasn't Young Jay (33 by the way, and the next time you hear it was "young kids being kids" remember that... 33? Young kid? Fuck me.)

[cpwm17]

38. I've read the claim that Cruz didn't go down

How do you know that it's true? Do you have a link for that claim? I can't tell from the video.

If true, that would be game, set, match against any rationalization for the gang to imprison the SUV on the freeway.

[cherokeeprogressive]

45. I've read it, and watched the last 1.5 or seconds of the video countless times.

I've ridden bikes on and off road most of my life. The SUV didn't "pinch" the back tire of Cruz's bike, and by that I mean didn't run up on top of of it. If you watch closely, it merely pushes him forward. Cruz's bike was straight up, not leaning to the right or the left. Selective editing on the part of whoever took the video stops at that point.

The contact point of the SUV and Cruz's bike was so far to the driver's side of the SUV (at or nearly outside of the headlight of the SUV) that it's not likely Cruz's bike would have been outside the passenger side of the SUV by the time the SUV came to a stop without running over it had it been on the ground.

[cpwm17]

68. I just looked at the GOPR2900 video again (I'm not sure what you're looking at)

Last edited Sat Oct 5, 2013, 02:01 PM - Edit history (2)

and Cruz is still up and driving straight at 29 seconds into the video. The (alleged) contact was at 26 seconds. Also, at 30 seconds into the video I see nobody down.

The motorcycle riders all were taking revenge on the SUV for not tolerating their blockade. The smashed rider was part of the prison blockade and deserved what he got.

The following photos show all four tires on the SUV. It appears that the gang slashed three of them. I think the right rear is flat. I suppose two were slashed on the final stop. This gives credence to the claim that they slashed a tire before the chase, rather than the tire getting punctured on the motorcycle.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1476606.1380917023!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/bikers5n-8-web.jpg

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1476608.1380917026!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/bikers5n-7-web.jpg

[TorchTheWitch]

55. his attorney said so

He said that after the SUV bumped his bike he stopped and got off it and went to talk to the driver to exchange information. Dumb ass most have told this to his attorney not realizing that the fact that he didn't go down means that there was no reason for other bikers to stop to help a downed rider. Cruz also looked just fine in court - not a mark on him, and he was only wearing a t-shirt when it happened.

I can't find the video of his attorney speaking in court or to the media... there is sooooooo much articles and videos to plow through, and I'm just not coming up with the right key words to find it again.

[cpwm17]

61. Thank you

Last edited Sat Oct 5, 2013, 05:30 PM - Edit history (1)

I just looked at the GOPR2900 video again, and they were traveling extremely slowly when the motorcycle tapped the front bumper of the SUV, so I see why it didn't go down. I can also see that it was still up a couple of frames after the tap. Any argument against the SUV driver is over, as if they ever had a legitimate argument in the first place.

[TorchTheWitch]

69. Helmet Camera Dude even admitted in an interview

That it was a deliberate brake check. Idiot.

And it's not certain that the bike was tapped at all. Camera Helmet Dude had to have known what Cruz was planning to do otherwise why was he so conveniently right there next to him filming it all up close and personal yet turns the camera away before any bump happened? I don't think the SUV bumped it at all. Cruz wouldn't have wanted to risk going down since he would have damaged his bike and might have been run over. These guys are amateur stunt guys. I don't think he necessarily had the skill to allow a bump by the SUV without becoming road pizza or having his bike damaged or even destroyed. A motorcycle isn't a car, and that he sure DOES know.

The point of the brake check was to convince the driver to stop and let them have the road not to cause an accident that Cruz would be the one getting splattered. And it's only the bikers that claim there was a hit. I don't think that Mr. Lien pulled over because he hit the bike, I think he did because that was when he realized how insane they were and pulled over to give them the road not wanting to get involved in an accident themselves for their own sake. That's what I would have done. I wouldn't want to continue driving with these nuts all around me trying to make me hit them and would have tried to get off to the side to let them pass me by. I don't want my car damaged nor any injuries to myself, after all. Since they blocked the on ramp, the Lien's would have already known they didn't want to share the road but didn't realize when they got through their blocking that they'd be THAT nuts about taking it over. They were probably shocked that they didn't just pass on by but surrounded their car and they all stopped in the road, too. If it was me then I REALLY would have been having serious panic. I've just been thinking about all the times some whackjob played car games with me on the road, and all I want to do is let them bloody have it if they act so nuts that I'm seriously afraid of my car getting hit and pull over and just let them have the road... I don't want to be anywhere near them if they want it that bad.

[Mojo Electro]

95. So...

He said that "after the SUV bumped his bike he stopped and got off it and went to talk to the driver to exchange information."

Sure... he went talk to the guy and exchange information.

[TorchTheWitch]

98. It was truly laughable

I don't know how he said it with a straight face especially with all his talking about how his client claims that it was the SUV that was driving recklessly. How do they seriously keep up this farce with video evidence going back years? Over 200 911 calls reporting them just that one day? All the thousands of people that saw them or had to run or drive away from them when they're running red lights, driving down sidewalks, driving on the wrong side of the road, etc.?

Crazy.

[Drahthaardogs]

83. It is any vehicle, they stop traffic on purpose

and then close down a long stretch of highway. Then they do tricks and upload the videos to youtube. It is why they are have on and off ramps blocked in earlier videos.

Really, the one thing no one seems to bring up, they are guilty of multiple counts of false imprisonment. You cannot stop someone legally driving down the road against their will.

I suspect in this case, the guy in the SUV either did not know what they were trying to do and was scared, or maybe he did not particularly feel like being bullied and intimidated into stopping. Whatever the case, they decided they WERE going to stop him, which is why that Cruz guy did the break check (but not before he made an illegal lane change with no signal which is another point everyone misses).

[a kennedy]

2. Holy crap.....

[tabasco]

3. More dirtbag cops

Surprise surprise.

Just a few bad apples, I'm sure.

[russspeakeasy]

13. You are a cynic. Fewer than 90 out of 100 are bad apples.

[marble falls]

24. I think you're wrong. Check out Houston and Harris County's bad cops.

[ellenfl]

30. and miami's. eom

[marble falls]

32. ... and Austin's, and Chicago's.

[JimDandy]

54. And Denver's and Spokane's n/t

[SCALA13]

59. Ha dont get me started with our boys in LA

Let alone the whole county.

[HughBeaumont]

63. Cleveland Police Department's a safe haven for the Legal Gang.

Loaded with the worst pricks walking.

[gopiscrap]

46. yeah, try all the departments in the US they're all dirt bags!

[TorchTheWitch]

70. 5 out 34,500

NYPD has 34,500 uniformed police officers.

I'd say that's a few bad apples in this instance.

[marble falls]

104. There weren't 34,000 cops at the "rally", only five and 100% of them were dirt bags....

NYPD is dirty. Why is the Fed so interested in the racial breakdown of stop and frisk? Because NYPD is so clean? Why has NYPD been investigated so many times for being bagmen, protection and even hitmen for the five families? And on and on and on. If you want I'd be glad to link, cut and paste any number of NYT investigations. The NYPD is nothing but a big collection of different groups of bad apples.

[Warren Stupidity]

4. I held off speculation that stunts gangs included cops.

But this whole thing stank of bad cop from the start.

[TorchTheWitch]

26. five cops compared to 1000 other bikers?

Uh, no. The NYPD's current uniformed strength is approximately 34,500. And five of them on this ride means that it's all the fault of the NYPD???

That's stupid.

[Warren Stupidity]

81. Yes that is exactly what I said.

The Wizard of Oz casting crew called, they want their strawman back.

[ffr]

6. Wait! What? Page not found.

[Comrade Grumpy]

7. That's our NYPD. Thugs on duty, thugs off duty. Too bad there is no effective civilian oversight.

[ffr]

8. Found it

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_york&id=9274018

[BeyondGeography]

9. Pathetic...who's minding the store here?

How do you lose control of the West Side Drive on a Sunday? This is how. It's a scandal that the NYPD was nowhere in evidence throughout this whole run, which extended the length of one of Manhattan's major thoroughfares on a weekend in broad daylight. Now we hear cops were participating? Ray Kelly for Homeland Security? Yeah. Dude doesn't have a clue.

[warrant46]

86. Ray Kelly is a Thug enabler

And good luck at your next (insert favorite cause here) Protest.

If this Thug Kelly gets that job---- your protesters will become Pinatas for Cops with night sticks

[cui bono]

10. This just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

How do these guys rationalize not intervening? I can pretty much understand the undercover cop, but not the others if they were just off duty. Speaks volumes that these are the kind of guys they hang out with in their free time.

[christx30]

16. Police are under no obligation to

protect you at all. That's why I laugh when I see folks complaining about people taking the law into their own hands. Might as well. The cops don't give a crap, and they don't have to.

[eilen]

20. There is not much a couple guys are going to do

against a mob. OTH, most of these bikes had their plates off to prevent id. Someone should have called 911 for the on-duty variety that can show up in sufficient numbers like the miraculously well-staffed PD during OWS.

[gopiscrap]

47. No kidding

[cosmicone]

11. Psychologically, most cops are sublimated crooks

some never get over the instinct of being sociopathic. Most do it by lying on the witness stand and fabricating evidence, some do it by acting above the law in incidents like this.

All cops should be subjected to annual psychological and lie detector tests.

[marble falls]

21. That's why I hate the TV show,"Cops". If they don'y have "Police" in yellow on their jackets....

I can't tell the cops from the crooks.

[pitbullgirl1965]

40. Oh Lawd I loath that show too!

I believe it's played a part, albeit a small one in attracting swaggering roid freaks that litter LE today. Detroit SWAT team raided a home (the wrong one) with A & E The First 48 camera crew filming it, ended up with a little girl killed. Smh

[marble falls]

56. That's screwed up beyond belief. Didn't make it into the AE rotation, I bet.

[pitbullgirl1965]

78. No it didn't, sadly for them.

Last edited Sat Oct 5, 2013, 06:04 AM - Edit history (1)

I'm sure the ratings would have been high. No I'm not being sarcastic.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2010/11/aiyana-stanley-jones-detroit

The Officer who shot her is having a retrial. The first trial ended in a hung jury.

ETA: The girls grandmother kept changing her story, which didn't help. She also said he claimed he "assassinated" her on purpose. I don't believe that. I think they were yahoo assholes, but premeditated murder of a 7 year old is implausible.

The Facebook page supporting the idiot who shot the girl.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/129017030447102/

These people are unbelievable. They blame the family for the girl getting shot. The SWAT team wasn't at the correct address!
The cop who shot her is a little over 5 feet. Short man syndrome imho.

[marble falls]

87. By the look of the site - and this is a guess - the child was black and the supporters .....

are all cops, cop spouses and Freepers. That's some shameful and willfully ignorant stuff. Thanks for going through the effort to get this posted. I did not know about this particular outrage.

[pitbullgirl1965]

100. Yep. Supporters white, child is black.

It's another Trayvon Martin situation.

[TheDebbieDee]

25. Now you know there aren't enough people to replace the crooked cops that would be revealed

by annual lie detector tests. And heaven knows that most of these jokers have mental hygiene issues before they ever put on a uniform. Most of them only want to be cops so they can walk around showing that they have a gun......

[cosmicone]

29. Yep ... they're George Zimmermans

who got into and didn't flunk the police academy.

That is why cops were and have been so sympathetic to that dirtbag.

[gopiscrap]

51. Exactly

[marble falls]

57. The guys from high school who became cops were ones who were the theives ....

assaulters and drunks that didn't get caught before they uniformed up.

[gopiscrap]

48. totally agree

[PoliticAverse]

12. Wow. n/t

[Smarmie Doofus]

14. I'm surprised but not surprised.

I guess that's at least one BIG reason that the identification and processing of the perpetrators has been so sloooooow.

Lots of machinations behind the scenes.

[1000words]

15. Not surprise one bit

[marble falls]

17. Why should off duty cops rallying in violation of the law be allowed to keep their badges?

[TorchTheWitch]

27. they shouldn't

Fire all five.

[gopiscrap]

49. my thought also

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

85. One was undercover ...

... might have been "fitting in".

The others, no excuse.

[oldandhappy]

23. Ouch!

I hate to use the S word but S.t.u.p.i.d is really true in this case. Off duty does not relieve you from upholding the law.

[SunSeeker]

31. Wow. I figured something was up when all those bikers were immediately arrested. nt

[onehandle]

34. 5 out of 30+ bikers. Everyone involved made this into an unfortunate mess.

The stunt bikers were riding like assholes. The SUV driver panicked at the swarm and reacted with bad driving. If he is indeed from Manhattan, his driving skills are probably limited to start-stopping and parallel parking.

American roads are death traps. People need to treat them that way.

[TorchTheWitch]

73. try 1000 bikers

Just the 30+ in the video was only a fraction of them.

This annual ride is HUGE, and they take multiple routes toward Times Square. One of the 911 calls said 150 or so just where he was, and I think that was one of the police officer's calls for back up. Good Morning America has a clip on the internet that I can't find again where they played several of the calls two of which were from police officers.

Also, this is 5 NYPD officers out of the 34,500 uniformed officers in the NYPD though 5 is for too many - there shouldn't be a single one, and all 5 should be fired or worse. The only acceptable reason to be in it is on duty under cover to try getting film footage or something to find out who the were to get at them afterward. The hardest part about catching these guys is that a motorcycle can not only blow by any car but they have no qualms about using sidewalks, narrow alleys or rough terrain where cars can't go to escape.

[rocktivity]

39. (Pre-click prediction) Maybe the officers were WAY "off duty"

as in trying to infiltrate the biker gangs.

An undercover detective has informed Internal Affairs that he was present at the time of the confrontation.
The undercover narcotics detective, himself a motorcycle rider, was off duty. Official sources say he did not get involved because he did not want to blow his cover. Internal Affairs is now investigating...

Hooray for me.


rocktivity

[penultimate]

72. If that was true, then why would they report it to the media?

I'm thinking that they were just off-duty cops who act like criminal jackasses on their free time. Hopefully this behavior didn't show itself when they were on duty/

[TorchTheWitch]

75. who is "they"?

The media only says the info comes from "a source" or "sources". So far there is only one reporter making this claim (Eyewitness News reporter N.J. Burkett). These are the only news sites making this claim...

http://news.search.yahoo.com/search?p=five+nypd+officers+bikers&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-600-s&fr2=newsdd

5 off-duty officers among bikers in SUV incident
WABC-TV New York Oct 04 04:04am
Eyewitness News reporter N.J. Burkett has learned that five NYPD personnel are believed to have been in the group of bikers.

5 off-duty officers among bikers in SUV incident
KFSN-TV Fresno 2 hours, 58 minutes ago
Eyewitness News reporter N.J. Burkett has learned that five NYPD personnel are believed to have been in the group of bikers.

ABC News is also the only one saying there was one off-duty undercover officer that turned himself in to superiors and got an attorney.

Given what explosive news this is I find this really odd. The five officer story is only coming from one reporter with unidentified sources. Seeing as ABC local news is an affiliate of ABC why doesn't ABC also have this story?

Until I see more about this being reported by other news outlets I'm not thinking it's accurate.

[Orsino]

108. That thought just occurred to me, too.

It's no great stretch to imagine that this gang was running drugs, too. I just have no idea how likely this scenario is.

[Spirochete]

113. Like this guy?

Possible, I suppose.

[gopiscrap]

41. I am not surprised. Fucking cops are out of control

all over the nation. Some how these power hungry, steroid fed, arrogant assholes need to be reined in!

[haydukelives]

60. cops do what ever they want any more

I remember in the 70s a cop wouldn't say boo for fear of getting sued. Now they make sure the cameras are rolling before using pepper spray on Innocent citizens, or attacking them from a motorcycle. Something has to give. I have cops in my family, and i am starting to hate them.

[appleannie1]

66. They were breaking laws everywhere they rode. They were cutting people off, driving on berms, in

oncoming traffic, on sidewalks, through red lights, parking lots and anywhere they damn well pleased. It is a miracle more of them were not injured or killed.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

67. well, this puts a whole new spin on things

[penultimate]

71. It seems as if many here are making this out like this was a gang of 30+ cops invovled

rather than a gang of 30+ assholes in which 5 also happened to be cops. There were more non-cop assholes than cop assholes... That being said, the cops involved shouldn't be cops. Particularly if they sat by idly while the beating took place.

[MADem]

77. Wasn't at least one "undercover" and the remainder "corrections officers?"

I'm sorry, but I distinguish between city paid jail guards and police who walk a beat, direct traffic, or ride around in a patrol car.

I think there's a distinction and a difference between the two jobs. And if someone is undercover, surely they don't want to pop up and say "Whoa, now, fellas, you should not be breaking these laws, I'm a cop, and I'll have something to say about it if you do!"

[Lonr]

74. Seems they took the time to beat this guy his rights

How thoughtful..

[Fredfon]

88. The SUV driver protected his family.

If he had done it with a gun instead of his vehicle, people would be lauding him as a real Amerikan hero.

And as far as the cops go just another case of the 99% making the 1% look bad.

[JonLP24]

90. I've seen 2 300+ threads and now this on the topic

I'll have to check them out.

[trumpetero]

94. they need to be fired

Now.

[sir pball]

97. Psh. The NYPD pays zero attention to the antics of riders.

I don't stunt, or weave through traffic overly aggressively, and certainly don't surround and beat drivers...but I've firsthand seen the boys in blue disregard drag races on Broadway and wheelies down Madison. They simply don't care, either because they don't want the hassle or they're riders themselves.

Hell, I've made eye contact with officers while splitting lanes at stoplights and more often than not I get a friendly wave. Never a scolding let alone a ticket.

[Dawson Leery]

102. Perhaps they need to lose their jobs.

[TorchTheWitch]

105. I'm still trying to figure out if it's true since so far it doesn't

This came from one reporter with unidentified sources yet there's practically nothing about it in the news. Fox News had an article saying there may have been two counting the undercover detective that told his superiors and now has an attorney. Two other news sites (one being the Moonie Times, and I pay no attention to anything the NYP says) and two others that just repeat the original story from that one reporter. CBS says there may have been I think they said three counting the undercover dude (the undercover dude is the only confirmed one).

I'm taking this with a huge grain of salt at this point. If this is true it's explosive yet practically no one in the news is talking about it, and there's only a few saying there may have been either two or three. I want this confirmed one way or another because if it's true than I want to know how many, who they are and what's done about them. I'm already pissed that NYPD for years seems to have had their thumbs up there asses for all the years these turds have been doing this yet a group of peaceful protesters brings out the entire NYPD army in riot gear.

[Historic NY]

103. Sorry witnessing a felony assault and doing nothing..

10-1 they were all armed as required. Being a UC and a motorcycle rider really was he actually assigned to them, sounds like no if he has his own rather than a PBA attorney.

[JI7]

107. they should ALL lose their jobs, even if the incident with the SUV didn't happen

these fuckers were already doing illegal things like riding on the sidewalk and driving through red lights.