posted on August 05, 2008

The Globe and Mail: Take that, Big Brother: The cameras have turned

By: SIMON HOUPT
Published: August 4, 2008 at 3:19 AM EDT
Source: Globe and Mail

Should we call this the age of the citizenrazzi?

A week ago last Friday, during the monthly Critical Mass bike ride around the city, a rider zipping down Seventh Avenue through Times Square was arrested and charged with several offences, including attempted assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. The arresting officer, a rookie cop named Patrick Pogan, reported that Christopher Long had ridden his bicycle directly into him, causing Pogan to fall to the ground and suffer lacerations on both arms. Long was held for 26 hours before being released without bail.

Late that Sunday night, however, a fellow rider posted a video of the alleged assault on YouTube that suggested the officer was living in upside-down world. The video appears to show it was in fact Pogan who had assaulted Long, slamming the rider off his bike with a horrific body check that left the cop entirely unscathed. Hours after its posting, Pogan was stripped of his badge and gun, and placed on desk duty pending an investigation.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/subscribe.jsp?art=701799