The New York Times is reporting that New York police officer Patrick Pogan has been fired from the department although Pogan’s lawyer says he’s resigned. (No can’t fire me, I quit!) For those of you who don’t remember, Pogan was video taped last year knocking a cyclist off his bike during a Manhattan Critical Mass ride. A statement from the NYPD says his firing was in relation to this incident.
Pogan had initially claimed the cyclist had broken a law and was resisting arrest, but when this video surfaced, he was put on administrative duties. This is no pepper spaying and vehicular run down, but its good to see someone held responsible for their actions and given appropriate punishment. Thank god for mini video recorders.
on Feb 23rd, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Of course, the `appropriate punishment’ would involve Pogan being brought up on criminal charges, arrested and being put on trial. Being fired is a good step, but it doesn’t quite qualify as `appropriate punishment’, not by itself.
And if karma was involved, he’d also be charged with some things that he didn’t actually do, like assaulting a police officer or something. But this time, there wouldn’t be a video camera recording him not doing it, so he’d be convicted.
on Feb 24th, 2009 at 8:26 am
Pogan *is* being brought up on criminal charges. Part of the reason his lawyer is claiming he *resigned* is so that he can better prepare to defend himself against the charges. If he had any class [he doesnt], he’d just fess up like a man and plead guilty. It’s not like he got caught on tape or anything.
This incident was really the last straw for a lot of us in NY [I recently relocated to Austin from Brooklyn] as it was the culmination of what a lot of us who rode every day perceived as a rise in cop on cyclist aggression. The official policy seemed to be ‘knock off bike first, ask questions later’ and thankfully the people who secured this video went to the great lengths they did – Pogan would still be working and the cyclist would be sitting in jail, or court.
on Feb 24th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Thank you for following up on this one. When I first read this I thought there was a chance he’d get a slap on the wrist.
Do try and figure out the outcome of his criminal case and post what you can find.
on Jul 8th, 2009 at 11:50 am
[...] want to believe. Because the police officer in question, Patrick Pogan, claims he resigned first. http://austinontwowheels.org/2009/02…gets-the-boot/ After he decked the cyclist, he proceded to file a police report full of false charges. Sure, I [...]