Cyclist Ticketed on Ocean Pkwy After Asking Police Car to Move
As cyclist Ben Kopciel was riding down Ocean Parkway, at one intersection of the bike path he had to steer out of way of a police car from the 70th Precinct blocking his lane, and as he passed, he waved and said, “Move back.” At the next intersection of Ditmas Ave, the same police car pulled him over, and ticketed him for running a red light. All the while, his phone’s camera, mounted to his backback, was filming the ride.
“I was just irritated. I didn’t mean any disrespect. There are always people blocking the bike path. I didn’t curse him,” he told the Daily News, which notes that Ben plans to fight the ticket using the video.
In the video, as the cyclist approaches the intersection that was blocked by the police car, you can see that the don’t walk signal was flashing, indicating that the traffic light had probably not yet turned red. Additionally, you can see a bus and some other cars continuing through the same light in the lane of traffic that’s moving in the same direction as the cyclist.
Ben told the News that he’d recently started recording his rides as a safety precaution in case of an accident. The Times has a story today that mentions this new trend, which suggests it might catch suspects in hit-and-run accidents as well as keep cyclists’ agressions in check, since they are conscious they’re being recorded. Do any of you record your bike trips?
