Newly Leaked Video Shows More Police Brutality Against Cyclists

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:47:00 GMT

We were tipped off to this video by a friend of ours who is part of Critical Mass and their case against the NYPD.

According to our source, the most prominent victim in this video is Richard Vasquez, taken down in Times Square, circa March of 2007. City Councilwoman Rosie Mendez is apparently working behind the scenes to get the charges dropped by dropped for these cyclists and that an investigation into police brutality be launched.

Critical Mass is held, generally on Friday nights, in dozens of cities around the world, including Budapest, Chicago, and San Francisco. According to an Information Week report on Tuesday, the infamous and other recent YouTube video of a Critical Mass rider being attacked by police has garnered hundreds of thousands of hits.

You can read that story here.

UPDATE: We're told this took place on March 30, 2007 and that Vasquez filed a claim against the officer who pushed him, which was upheld by the Civilian Complaint Review Board. More details to follow...

UPDATE: This photo is of Vasquez is from soon after the incident. Sorry about how brutal it is, but it's better to know the truth. Our source adds: "People ask, 'How could [the first incident] happen, with a rookie cop who's only been on the force for three weeks? You know, this is the culture of the NYPD: it starts with captains, then down to lieutenants, and just becomes ingrained..."

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Video of the Day: Al Sharpton Tries To Ride A Bike

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:33:00 GMT

Reverend Al Sharpton Rides a Bike! from jenchung on Vimeo.

It's hard to ride a bike when you're shaped like a bowling pin.

Al Sharpton participated in the Critical Mass Bike Ride in New York City over the weekend. Never one to miss out on the pigs clubbing innocent environmentalists, he was whisked to the kickoff by our mutual lawyer friend, Wylie Stecklow, who introduced the welcoming crowd to his Reverendness.

The former Democratic Presidential candidate called for the police to leave innocent, law-abiding cyclists alone (the NYPD has waged a relentless and totally uncalled for war on Critical Mass Bike Rides for many years now) and introduced Sean Bell's father and fiancee to the supportive crowd, who then geared up for the arrests and ticketing to come. The Reverend himself was probably too encircled by paparrazzi and amateur activist-journalists, all of whom were rushing to put this up on YouTube first.

P.S. In the future, Al, it may be better to accept labels like “limousine liberal” rather than attempt this adventure again. Although thanks for sticking up for us serfs!

Via Vimeo and the Gotham Gazette.

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