Critical Mass Bicyclist Files Lawsuit Against City
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The bicyclist who was knocked down by an NYPD officer is suing the city for $1.5 million.
Christopher Long was taking part in the Critical Mass protest last summer when he was slammed to the ground by officer Patrick Pogan.
The incident was caught on video and later wound up on YouTube.
Pogan claimed Long was weaving in and out of traffic and was trying to resist arrest, but Long's lawyer says the tape tells a different story.
"You have a police department, police officers and supervisors all the way up to Commissioner Kelly who feel that police officers can act with immunity, that nobody's really going to come after them," said Attorney Jonathan Moore. "But in this case there was a video, they had to do something. Had there not been a video, Mr. Long would still be facing charges of assaulting a police officer."
The lawsuit claims Pogan tried to cover up what happened to Long by filing a false police report.
Pogan has since been fired by the NYPD and is awaiting trial. The City Law Department says it's not commenting because it has not yet received the papers.