Crime & Safety
Cops Try To Ram Man Off Bike Before Beating Him: $5M NYC Lawsuit
A $5 million lawsuit accused 10 unnamed cops of police brutality in a short chase last year in Far Rockaway.
QUEENS, NY — A glut of NYPD cops brutally beat a man after a short illegal chase in which they tried to ram him off his motorized bike in Queens, according to a new lawsuit.
The man filed a $5 million civil complaint this week against 10 unnamed cops, the NYPD and the city.
He contends he was falsely arrested and subjected to "egregious" police brutality during an Oct. 23, 2022, chase in Far Rockaway, said his attorney Adam Thompson.
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"He was in custody and they proceeded to strike him after the fact," Thompson said.
NYPD and city law department officials didn't return Patch's request for comment as of publication.
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The incident unfolded as the man rode a motorized bike along near Seagirt Boulevard and Beach 26th Street, the lawsuit states.
Cops in a marked patrol vehicle began to chase him and tried to ram him off the rode, according to the lawsuit. The attempted ramming caused the man to fall off his bike before police tackled him near Seagirt Avenue and Marvin Street, a short distance from where the chase began, documents state.
The cops tackled him after causing him to crash his bike, then punched and slammed his head into the ground, the lawsuit contends.
The assault caused injuries to his head, neck, back, ribs and right shoulder, the lawsuit states.
"There was no reason or justification under law to use the force
employed by the police during this stop and arrest thereafter," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit contends the police chase was illegal, in part because the cops' "dangerous maneuvers" through traffic were a greater risk to public safety than the man if he wasn't immediately arrested.
"This unreasonably and inherently risked countless lives, including claimants (sic) and their own," the lawsuit states.
NYPD police chases have skyrocketed under Mayor Eric Adams, THE CITY first reported.
Police gave chase more than 300 times in the first quarter this year, a nearly 600 percent jump from the same period in 2022, THE CITY reported.
The increase coincided with a larger crackdown on illegal ATVs and dirt bikes.
Thompson said police chases of dirt bikes and other similar vehicles has put the public at risk.
"I find this alarming," he said.
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