Seven Months Later, NYPD Finally Cans Cyclist-Hating Cop

The New York Police Department and the city's cyclists have never really gotten along very well. The systemic hatred of the NYPD Blue towards the two-wheelers was displayed quite graphically this past July when one rookie cop, Patrick Pogan, decided to get in the way of one cyclist and billy-club the in-motion victim to the ground. The outrage over the incident was enough to get the brass to listen, but still, it took several months to get rid of the officer.

From The Gothamist:

The NYPD officer caught on tape bodyslamming a cyclist to the curb during a group Critical Mass ride through Times Square last July has been fired. Though charges of assault, harassment and filing a bogus police report are still pending against rookie cop Patrick Pogan, a spokesman for the NYPD confirmed that he was dismissed ten days ago and that the termination was directly related to the Critical Mass incident. But Stuart London, a lawyer for Pogan, tells the Times the NYPD didn't fire his client—he quit in order to "concentrate his efforts on fighting the criminal charges that are against him, so that when he is ultimately acquitted he can reapply to the Police Department." Referring to the NYPD's claim that Pogan was canned, London says, "They make errors all the time." Indeed! A spokesperson for advocacy group Times Up had this to say: "The NYPD is taking a heavy hand on dealing with this police officer, but we hope that Mayor Bloomberg will direct the higher-ups at the NYPD to discontinue their pattern of dangerous tactics and selective enforcement against cyclists."

Pogan's lawyer sounds like he's full of it, but then again he is a lawyer, so he's paid to spin the truth into pretzel-shaped loads of garbage. Though London is right about the NYPD making errors, and that would be the enduring written or unwritten policy of picking fights with Critical Mass cyclists and subsequently arresting and/or injuring them. Pogan should definitely be made an example of, but the higher-ups that condoned the behavior, or encouraged it, need to be fired as well.