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A 43-second video of a bike crash at a crossroads in Times Square has been watched (and rewatched) by thousands of New Yorkers.
The video shows a pack of NYPD officers on motorbikes heading the wrong way in traffic on Seventh Avenue and weaving through pedestrians on a crossing — followed by one officer being hit by a cyclist who was doing a stunt wheelie going the wrong direction across the street.
The video shot by Kiefer Dixon, who calls himself on Instagram “The Unofficial Cameraman of New York City”, went viral yesterday afternoon and left many questioning the legality of many of the street maneuvers — and complimenting the police officer who got up and moved on.
The stunt cyclist is credited by Dixon as stunt bike rider Flako. He stops after the incident and is surrounded by other NYPD officers as they help their colleague pick himself and his equipment off the ground. No action was taken by any of the officers.
Dixon in his Instagram post said: “Accidents happen, shout-out to good sportsmanship.”
It’s not the first time that Dixon has filmed interactions between stunt riders and NYPD in Times Square. Earlier in the month, he shot video of a car with a wheel off the ground driving past a group of police officers.
W42ST readers had mixed opinions of the incident. “These bikers are like gangs, they can hit anyone and nobody can say anything because all start to attack, they have zero respect for personal space and I’m surprised they are not charged for endangering the public,” said Marco Andrade on Facebook.
Bryan Hogan on Instagram said that he had “no idea how he got away with this…”. Others mentioned the police were going the wrong way down 7th Avenue and making an illegal turn. Mirjana Vicari thought that things didn’t escalate “because someone was videotaping and there were witnesses.”
Aleta Lafargue on Instagram said: “I mean… he didn’t drive off… I think they got that mutual- it’s an accident respect vibe.”
Good time to be a cop. You don’t have to do anything.
Seems like the cops can do anything they want and get away with it! Im really tired of this. Why can cops go the wrong way, nothing happens. No wonder bicyclists do what ever they want. They don’t ride in the right direction, they don’t ride in the bike lanes, they go through red lights! No accountability for wrong doing. The cops are disgraceful. They don’t want to wear masks, get vaccinated. Shea is not effective in his job. Something needs to change .