Thursday, August 11, 2005

Bad cop assaults cyclist

Motorist cuts off cyclist, peeved cyclist contacts car, road-raged driver (who turns out to be a cop) chases cyclist down, jumps out and proceeds to beat the cyclist according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Here are excerpts from the article.

Cyclist Cephas Gardner ... said it was around 1 p.m. when he was pedaling southbound on Polk Street. As he crossed McAllister Street, he said, a silver Honda Civic turned the corner and cut him off. Gardner, irritated, said he had used the flat of his hand to tap the car's trunk. Then, according to Gardner and a witness, the driver began swerving toward Gardner in the bike lane.

Gardner tried to get away from the vehicle, he said, but was pursued for another block and over several lanes of traffic. As they passed Grove Street, the driver allegedly pulled to the right curb, jumped out and ran toward Gardner to pull him off his bike.

Witness Christina West, 36, was driving behind the two of them and started dialing 911 on her cell phone, she said. "I thought he was going to kill him (Gardner)," she said.

She said the driver had started punching Gardner, although Gardner said he wasn't sure what happened. That's when, she said, the driver said he was a police officer. He turned out to be Officer Randy Ly.

It wouldn't be the only complaint against Ly. A lawsuit was filed related to Ly's arrest of businessman Ray Pellegrini, a former Olympic Club and city golf champion, near Lake Merced, on Oct. 18, 2000. In a lawsuit he filed, Pellegrini alleged that Ly and Munoz "grabbed him, kicked him, beat him and pushed him into his car, causing a large dent. They threw him to the ground and further assaulted him.'' In February 2003, the city paid $13,000 to settle the lawsuit.

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