Cyclist yells ‘Why did you hit me?’ while police offices punches her after being cuffed
New Jersey resident Sheila Stevenson was riding her bike on the sidewalk, a violation of Millville City law. This is not exactly a high crime, so why did an encounter with police end with her being punched by officer Carlo Drogo after she was handcuffed and being held on the ground by two other officers?
It appears that the officer overreacted when he pepper sprayed himself instead of Stevenson at the beginning of the altercation. This begs the question of why you would need to pepper spray a cyclists for riding on the sidewalk? Drogo resigned last fall and is the subject of a lawsuit over police brutality filed by Stevenson. More details on the store are here at the Daily Journal.
on Mar 25th, 2009 at 9:12 am
What the hell?? This is complete incompetence!
on Mar 25th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Nah, I don’t call that incompetence. It’s just plain cowardly abuse. Wouldn’t be surprised if racism played a part too. I finally noticed at the end that the woman was black. Typical…
on Mar 25th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
New Jersey cyclist beaten by police after riding on the sidewalk: http://tinyurl.com/dass7x
on Mar 25th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
New Jersey cyclist beaten by police after riding on the sidewalk: http://tinyurl.com/dass7x (via @austinon2wheels) Holy hell, infuriating!
on Mar 25th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
RT @bruceturner @austinon2wheels NJ cyclist beaten by police for riding on sidewalk: http://tinyurl.com/dass7x Holy hell, infuriating!
on Mar 26th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Wow, what a coward that police officer is. I love how he lays in on the hood in front of the camera to wash his eyes out, that he pepper sprayed himself. Punching someone in the back of the head when they are restrained already… What a coward, thank God for video!
on Mar 26th, 2009 at 11:45 am
He should definitely be prosecuted for excessive force.
Bongobike – please refrain from jumping to uninformed opinions like calling the officer a racist. Yes our country has a sad history with racism, and continues to struggle with it today, but making blatant accusations of racism without any firsthand knowledge is misguided and wrong. Judge by facts, not by opinions.
End soapbox. Flame away.
on Mar 27th, 2009 at 8:36 am
Sorry, but I have known and worked with white cops in the past, and racism among this particular group is rampant. Therefore, I am very prejudiced when it comes to these situations. However, notice that I said “I wouldn’t be surprised if…”, not “he is…” I didn’t accuse him of being a racist, I expressed my strong suspicion. There IS a difference.