New York cyclists awarded $98,000 in police lawsuit

9 comments
By Kirsten Frattini | Wednesday, Mar 31, 2010 5.00pm

The City of New York will pay $97,751 to five cyclists who were wrongfully detained and arrested during a Critical Mass ride in March 2007.

The ruling comes after a video was posted on YouTube showing one of the protesters being pushed off his bike by a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer.

Richard Vazquez, the rider in question, said justice would not be served until officers were held accountable for their unprovoked and hostile use of force toward cyclists.

The money was split among all five claimants, each receiving an amount based on their individual circumstances. "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 NYPD are held accountable for their actions, and it's not just the low ranking officers who are punished," said Vazquez, 55.

The five protesters filed a lawsuit against NYPD sergeant Timothy Horohoe for the excessive force he and the officers under his command used during the Critical Mass ride.

An official investigation found that the officers had done nothing wrong, but the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) reopened the case when Sgt Horohoe's statement about the incident did not correspond to the footage posted on YouTube.

Sgt Horohoe testified before the CCRB that Vazquez rode into him. However the YouTube video clearly shows Sgt Horohoe pushing Vazquez off his bike. The CCRB charged Sgt Horohoe for using force against Vazquez and for lying during an official investigation.

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Video of March 2007 Critical Mass with audio from CCRB Testimony

"The plaintiffs were suing for being wrongfully arrested or detained," said Barbara Ross from Times Up, a New York-based cycling advocacy group. "They would have filed the lawsuit independent of the CCRB's findings."

Vazquez v. Sgt Horohoe is one of several cases that depict a long-term dispute between the NYPD and Critical Mass protesters reaching a boiling point. Ross sees this case as a victory for cyclists' rights.

"This validates our concerns over the years that the NYPD is wrongfully harassing cyclists, especially cyclists that choose to ride in groups," Ross said. "We believe cyclist group rides are constitutionally protected if all the rules of the road are being followed."

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User Comments

There are 9 comments on this post

Showing 1 - 9 of 9 comments

  • I'd pay for a video of that cops face when they show him the evidence against him.

  • There are many problems here :

    1) The city pays for the cops mistakes

    2) The city gets sentenced for lying in court, not for the cops actions

    3) The cops don't get any kind of sentence, suspension or anything

    4) The leaders never asked for a change in cop behavior

    We are doomed with above-the-law cops...

  • I ride to work every day (mostly because I can't stand transit and I choose, yes choose, not to own a car) and I think Critical Mass rides are a farce and ultimately shooting themselves in the foot.

    Showing drivers we're a nuisance by blocking several lanes of traffic and coming to a standstill at key intersections or landmarks does not encourage motorists to get out of their cars and ride. It only gives us more foes to deal with on a daily basis. If we're just flaunting the rules of the road and irritating other commuters, the only impression I see being left behind is a negative one.

    While I think the intended idea is a good one, the actual result falls far short.

  • @ captainsnappy,

    +1

  • I don't know what's worse the stupidity or corruption of the NYPD cops. Another reason not to go there.

  • Dirty Cop.

  • This in conjunction with Americans soon to have the 'right' to display a firearm on there person, I 've since decided that a future holiday is not such a good idea !

    Thank goodness someone was taking footage, but then haven't our authorities been trying to stop innocent photographers from taking snapshots of everyday scenes.

    I wonder why??

  • The cop in question will have to be removed from the operational side of the police force. Basically, any time he is involved in a case that goes to trial, this officer's previous perjury will have to be disclosed to the defense per the Brady Decision (1963), and his credibility will be questioned. The Brady Decision will preclude him from any involvement with court, making him an even more useless cop than before.

  • @captainsnappy

    +2. The critical mass rides I've witnessed in London attract more protesters than cyclists. All it does is give cyclists a bad name - like the minority of fuckwits who steam through red lights, use pavements at speed and think all other road users should keep a look out for them. Not that this excuses the copper, who should be firmly clipped in on a fixie with no front brake and 46x18 gearing at the top of a mountain and pushed off.

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