Now they're pulling Tasers on cyclists!
In a dramatic escalation of the NYPD's criminal crackdown on bike riders, a police officer pulled a stun gun while chasing a cyclist who allegedly passed through a red light in Brooklyn, the deeply traumatized rider told Streetsblog.
Worse, the cyclist — who was on a regular pedal bike, not the electric variety that the NYPD claims it is targeting — said she did not even cross against a red, though she did flee when officers chased her and one pulled his Taser weapon.
"It was a moment of shock," said the cyclist, who asked only to be identified as Z. "That moment’s what’s now repeating in my head."
The Williamsburg chase is the most extreme reported incident so far of the NYPD's move to jack up bike and e-bike enforcement, by forcing riders to summons court over infractions that previously were a simple ticket that could be paid online.
NYPD Commissioner Tisch has argued that the enforcement is focused on a set of six violations and will bring about street safety by focusing on reining in "out-of-control" e-bikes.
The law enforcement boss argued that simple tickets are "virtually meaningless" for e-bikers because they don't get points on a drivers license, but she has never provided data that indicates that cyclists dodge fines any more than motorists.
What's more, recent data revealed that crashes and injuries involving the battery-powered vehicles were plummeting in the lead-up to the ticketing spree, undermining the entire premise for the crackdown.
In reality, the summons frenzy has gone well beyond Tisch's stated mission, encircling e-bike riders as well as cyclists in at times Kafkaesque episodes, as Streetsblog has documented.
Those include an officer jumping in front of a cyclist and charging him for failing to yield (to the cop!), a rider allegedly stopping slightly in a crosswalk, another rider failing to lock up a bike, and repeated cases of cyclists going with the pedestrian walk sign, which has been legal for six years!
Commute gone wrong
Z told Streetsblog she was on her way to work just after 9 a.m. on the quiet streets of the Memorial Day weekend, when suddenly cops cut her off with their squad car, before getting out and accusing her of passing through a traffic light.
Frightened, she tried to ride away, but another cop pulled his car in front of her, before police got out, with one of them unholstering his Taser — which was now in plain sight — and telling her, "You’re going to jail, you’re crazy."
"When I saw that [Taser], in my mind I had to run," said Z.
She kept riding away, but her tire blew out and she stopped, surrendering to the police, who slammed her to the wall and cuffed her wrist so tight it cut the skin, before locking her up in the nearby station house jail cell.
The incident, that had begun with a simple allegation of a regular bike rider passing through a red light, had escalated to injuries, trauma and an allegation of police misconduct.
"It was an excessive force arrest," Z said. "If I didn’t get the flat, they could have shot me with the Taser."
Police are only supposed to use a Taser, a brand name for an electrical muscle contraction weapon, if someone is "actively resisting, exhibiting active aggression or to prevent individuals from physically injuring themselves or other person(s) actually present," according to the NYPD's patrol guide.
The guide says police can "consider" using the freeze weapon if "the subject is attempting to evade arrest by flight."
Tasers send an electric current through the body, designed to stop people on dime as every muscle in their bodies seize up in an instance, which is not only painful, but potentially deadly for someone on a moving object with no protection. The devices are intended to not be lethal, but Reuters investigated more than 1,000 reported deaths involving such stun guns, including those of the Taser brand that the NYPD uses. Police are under strict guidelines for using lethal force, and forcing a cyclist's muscles to freeze up while the rider is in motion could be considered excessive force.
Z's tire blew out within 10 seconds of getting away from the cops, causing her to suspect one of the cops had slashed it during their attempt at stopping her. Officers denied it, telling her she had run over some glass, but a nearby bike shop worker told her it was such a "clean cut" that it was likely deliberate.
The police released her after 20 minutes in the slammer and gave her criminal court summonses for a misdemeanor of reckless driving with a bicycle, and disorderly conduct, she said.
Bad experience
The bike rider of 12 years explained that she decided to run from the cops because officers from the same precinct slapped her with five traffic tickets in 2019, including two for running red lights, and three for not stopping at a stop sign or school bus stop arm.
All but one of the red light tickets was dismissed in court after she presented surveillance footage of her riding lawfully.
When officers pulled her over this time, she feared that they were once again trying to throw the kitchen sink at her.
"In my mind, I just had the thought that they’re trying to abuse their power and trying to meet some quota, so ... I didn’t want to stop because I knew I was going to be given wrong tickets," she said. "A ticket is so expensive, I didn’t have the money to pay for multiple tickets."
Z relies on her bike to get to work, but said the fracas has left her fearful of cops going after her again.
"I went through phases, the first few days was like rage," Z said. "I was really depressed. I felt a lot of paranoia on the street. I think it was trauma, I hear a police car and I have to look around."
"They can place that kind of force on you for something really minor," she added. "I’m just commuting."
Hearing about Z's interaction with cops prompted one top activist to warn that the police's sweep is on a straight trajectory toward hurting New Yorkers over low-level offenses.
"Biking is not a crime and should not be treated as such, but when NYPD officers are ordered to participate in dangerous escalations like Commissioner Tisch has ordered, it puts everyone at serious risk — officers, bystanders, and people on bikes alike," said Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Ben Furnas in a statement.
"There is no research or data, from the NYPD or elsewhere, to defend this radical policy change, and if Commissioner Tisch does not immediately reverse this crackdown, it all but guarantees someone is going to get hurt — or worse — over a minor traffic violation."
The NYPD did not comment by press time.
