By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A former police officer caught on video throwing a Critical Mass cyclist to the ground testified on the witness stand Friday that he felt he needed to use force because speeding bikers had violated several traffic laws and ignored orders to stop.
Rookie officer Patrick Pogan, now 24, was making his first arrest July 25, 2008 when he knocked down cyclist Christopher Long on Seventh Avenue in Times Square, an act recorded by bystanders and quickly posted on Youtube.
The foot-patrolling Pogan said he was under orders to stop out of control Critical Mass riders and issue them summonses.
Long was moving too quickly to be stopped any other way than with the use of some force, Pogan testified.
"It was a split second decision. I couldn't use the mace," Pogan said. "Time was not an option."
"I used force that I felt that was necessary to effect an arrest," he later added.
Long, who described himself as anti-authority, killed someone while speeding in a car and racked up numerous traffic tickets in the past, according to testimony.
The night of the largest Critical Mass ride that summer, Long glided through a red light with dozens of other bicyclists overtaking the flow of traffic on a Friday night in the heart of Midtown.
Pogan said Long was acting out and screaming, and was riding without his hands on the handlebars.
The young officer yelled for Long to stop, but the rebellious rider aimed to plow through him, Pogan testified.
"I told you to stop," Pogan recalled saying. "Did you think you were going to ride through me?"
When Long was on the ground, Pogan and his partner moved to arrest him but Long resisted and knocked Pogan over twice while wiggling out of their grip and trying to run away, Pogan said.
"You f**king a**holes, you assaulted me!" Long yelled, according to testimony. "I'm going to have your badges!"
Pogan faces assualt, harassment and felony charges for allegedly falsifying an arrest report and Long's criminal complaint.
He said his sergeant actually prepared the report to expedite the process on a busy night. Pogan said he answered questions from the assistant district attorney to the best of his ability and acted in good faith through the entire process.
He answered "to the best of my knowledge with what I believe happened at that point," Pogan said.
Pogan, who has been working in construction since he resigned from the NYPD, is scheduled to take the stand again Monday for cross-examination.
