new yorks finest? new yorks worst....

what a pile of crap!! just goes to show how many of new yorks finest have lied over & over & over under oath & put innocent people, mostly african americans, in prison....

NEW YORK (AP/ 1010 WINS) -- A former police officer convicted of lying about a confrontation with a bike-riding demonstrator -- a clash later seen by millions of YouTube viewers -- was to be sentenced Wednesday.

Patrick Pogan faced up to four years behind bars but could get probation instead.

Jurors acquitted Pogan, 24, of assault and harassment in his 2008 encounter with pro-cycling activist Christopher Long. But Pogan was convicted of lying after a witness' video contradicted his account in a court document.

The case has highlighted the growing role of witness videos in law enforcement, and it spotlighted a history of conflict between the city's police and a group of pro-cycling demonstrators.

Pogan, then a rookie officer, was assigned to keep order and watch out for traffic violations as a loosely knit bike protest called Critical Mass passed through Times Square on July 25, 2008. Participants and police had had a rocky relationship since more than 260 cyclists were arrested during what authorities saw as a chaotic Critical Mass ride shortly before the Republican National Convention in 2004.

Pogan said he told Long to stop to get ticketed for such infractions as taking his hands off his handlebars. Long kept going, and he testified he never heard any instruction to stop.

Pogan initially reported that Long steered into him and knocked him down, but a tourist's video showed the officer striding over to Long and shoving him off his bike. The video has garnered more than 2 million YouTube views.

Pogan testified that he was trying to protect himself and never meant to misrepresent what happened.

Long, who wasn't seriously hurt, was charged with attempted assault and other offenses. The charges later were dropped, and the city paid Long $65,000 to settle a lawsuit he filed.

Pogan resigned last year from the New York Police Department. Defense lawyer Stuart London declined to say whether Pogan, whose father is a retired NYPD detective, planned to speak at his sentencing.


TM & Copyright 2010 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO & EYE Logo TM & Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. TheAssociated Press contributed to this report.

Never heard about this before but a quick Google search brought the video right up.



I am no fan of Critical Mass but that is a pretty cut and dry case of Police abusing their power. Thank goodness someone was videoing that particular moment and later provided the video to the public. Justice is served!

riverc0il said:

Never heard about this before but a quick Google search brought the video right up.



I am no fan of Critical Mass but that is a pretty cut and dry case of Police abusing their power. Thank goodness someone was videoing that particular moment and later provided the video to the public. Justice is served!

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u arent from nyc or the area....these guys for as long as the nypd has been in existence lie, steal, murder, rape, beat etc etc innocent people mostly african americans....this is only one incident thousands have gone to prison for nypd lieing etc....im sure there are some decent folks in the nypd but the culture is all about lieing, stealing & getting ur pension & health benefits!!

Brownsville Brooklyn said:

im sure there are some decent folks in the(...) but the culture is all about lieing, stealing & getting ur pension & health benefits!!

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Sounds like a typical government employee...

I'm personally friends with a bunch of current and retired NYPD and I find this thread offensive.

dmc said:

I'm personally friends with a bunch of current and retired NYPD and I find this thread offensive.

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+1 I just love sweeping generalizations...

riverc0il said:

Never heard about this before but a quick Google search brought the video right up.



I am no fan of Critical Mass but that is a pretty cut and dry case of Police abusing their power. Thank goodness someone was videoing that particular moment and later provided the video to the public. Justice is served!

Click to expand...

I remember seeing this vid when it happened. I feel the same way as you, no fan of CM, but the police officer in this case was clearly very wrong. I'm sure that there are other cases that this sort of thing happens that don't get caught on video, but I think it's unfair to say that the entire police force is like that, or that it's localized to just NYPD. I'm also not sure African American bit is coming from either, was the CM rider African American??

+2...

Grassi21 said:

+1 I just love sweeping generalizations...

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borders on the pathetic....the very one(s) that carry on the most..are the FIRST ones to reach out for their much needed police services....

People love to bitch about NYPD - until they need them...

Friday night at my softball game the mayor of our town parked illegally at the field and wasn't ticketed. government corruption and abuse of power is everywhere and it sickens me.

some in life find it QUITE difficult...

to even BEGIN to grasp the concept of " walking in another mans shoes"...I have a good many friends and peers who are police officers....I am positively awestruck at the size of such a task....and to make sweeping generalizations of ANY group of people ?...abject paranoia...nothing else..

dmc said:

I'm personally friends with a bunch of current and retired NYPD and I find this thread offensive.

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Its not the thread itself that is offensive but rather BB's broad generalization of the NYPD. The actual content of the thread is quote appropriate but BB's commentary is a little out of line.

I majored in CJ and was made familiar enough with the system through my education and internship that I am a very harsh critic of the justice system. That said, sweeping generalizations about all people within an organization such as the NYPD is indeed offensive commentary to those in the organization that are ethical.

I think we can all agree that this guy is far from the "finest" and he is no longer employed by the NYPD for good reason ("resigned" ha! yea, sure). It seems like the organization policed itself just fine here.

:beer:

I take no position here but refer you to what a former NY Police Commissioner had to say on the subject of "testilying:"

The word and its meaning have been publicized by defense attorney Alan Dershowitz, notably in a 1994 New York Times article, "Accomplices to Perjury," in which he said:
As I read about the disbelief expressed by some prosecutors... I thought of Claude Rains's classic response, in Casablanca on being told there was gambling in Rick's place: "I'm shocked—shocked." For anyone who has practiced criminal law in the state or Federal courts, the disclosures about rampant police perjury cannot possibly come as a surprise. "Testilying"—as the police call it—has long been an open secret among prosecutors, defense lawyers, and judges.[1]
There seems to be little doubt that the practice occurs, is not limited to any region of the country, and that "testilying" is a common name for it. A 2003 Boston Globe editorial noted:
In the early 1990s, the Mollen Commission peeled away layers of falsehood in the New York City Police Department, including false statements on warrant applications, creation of confidential informants out of whole cloth, and lies told to establish probable cause for stopping and searching vehicles. So-called "testilying," however, is not limited to any one area or police department. The problem has become so acute that juries nationwide routinely express skepticism about law enforcement testimony, such as drugs found "in plain view".
The LAPD is said to call the practice "joining the liars' club." ***
In 1995, the Boston Globe reported that New York Police Commissioner William J. Bratton created a furor when he said he agreed with most of what Dershowitz had to say.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testilying

dmc said:

I'm personally friends with a bunch of current and retired NYPD and I find this thread offensive.

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thats because they are ur buddies....one of my buds was in the top 10 of nypd brass that ive known 20+ years from my beloved golds gym....he told me things that go on, amongst the police that they constantly steal, lie, make up evidence & fight amongst each other all day long....they are known for dropping bags of drugs into peoples cars etc....they are not what u think they are....they want to make it to retirement & collect the dough!!

legalskier said:

I take no position here but refer you to what a former NY Police Commissioner had to say on the subject of "testilying:"

The word and its meaning have been publicized by defense attorney Alan Dershowitz, notably in a 1994 New York Times article, "Accomplices to Perjury," in which he said:
As I read about the disbelief expressed by some prosecutors... I thought of Claude Rains's classic response, in Casablanca on being told there was gambling in Rick's place: "I'm shocked—shocked." For anyone who has practiced criminal law in the state or Federal courts, the disclosures about rampant police perjury cannot possibly come as a surprise. "Testilying"—as the police call it—has long been an open secret among prosecutors, defense lawyers, and judges.[1]
There seems to be little doubt that the practice occurs, is not limited to any region of the country, and that "testilying" is a common name for it. A 2003 Boston Globe editorial noted:
In the early 1990s, the Mollen Commission peeled away layers of falsehood in the New York City Police Department, including false statements on warrant applications, creation of confidential informants out of whole cloth, and lies told to establish probable cause for stopping and searching vehicles. So-called "testilying," however, is not limited to any one area or police department. The problem has become so acute that juries nationwide routinely express skepticism about law enforcement testimony, such as drugs found "in plain view".
The LAPD is said to call the practice "joining the liars' club." ***
In 1995, the Boston Globe reported that New York Police Commissioner William J. Bratton created a furor when he said he agreed with most of what Dershowitz had to say.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testilying

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yeah, dmc knows what hes talking about:beer::beer:

Blanket statements are never fair. Not everyone in a group acts the same. Sort of like that "sounds like a typical government employee" comment above. I worked 8.5 years in local government. Yes, there was corruption, but it was not everywhere (not even close in my experience), contrary to what TV Drama and movies make you believe. The old adage "absolute power corrupts absolutely" sometimes applies, but not everyone on a city, state, government paycheck is an asshole.

riverc0il said:

Its not the thread itself that is offensive but rather BB's broad generalization of the NYPD. The actual content of the thread is quote appropriate but BB's commentary is a little out of line.

I majored in CJ and was made familiar enough with the system through my education and internship that I am a very harsh critic of the justice system. That said, sweeping generalizations about all people within an organization such as the NYPD is indeed offensive commentary to those in the organization that are ethical.

I think we can all agree that this guy is far from the "finest" and he is no longer employed by the NYPD for good reason ("resigned" ha! yea, sure). It seems like the organization policed itself just fine here.

:beer:

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ethical?? that word does not exist at any law enforcement organization!!

of course he did...

Brownsville Brooklyn said:

thats because they are ur buddies....one of my buds was in the top 10 of nypd brass that ive known 20+ years from my beloved golds gym....he told me things that go on, amongst the police that they constantly steal, lie, make up evidence & fight amongst each other all day long....they are known for dropping bags of drugs into peoples cars etc....they are not what u think they are....they want to make it to retirement & collect the dough!!

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and this is SO incredibly believable...did he perchance mistake you for his priest?...thought he was in a confessional?... do you REALLY imagine that even ONE person buys into this crap?....must be the heat...no question...

dmc said:

I'm personally friends with a bunch of current and retired NYPD and I find this thread offensive.

Click to expand...

July 13) -- The Justice Department today plucked more skeletons from the closet of the New Orleans Police Department, indicting six additional officers in the fatal shooting of two unarmed citizens and the wounding of four others in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

The indictment is part of the Justice Department's ongoing effort to expose police officers who either were involved in the Sept. 4, 2005, Danziger Bridge shootings or took part in covering them up. To date, five New Orleans officers have pleaded guilty to covering up the incident.

dmc said:

I'm personally friends with a bunch of current and retired NYPD and I find this thread offensive.

Click to expand...

Grassi21 said:

+1 I just love sweeping generalizations...

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f$*k tha police