The detective, Wojciech Braszczok, 32, was off duty at the time, and had told his lawyer that, while he had followed the motorcyclists from the Henry Hudson Parkway onto a Washington Heights street, he left once some of the riders began attacking the vehicle.
But investigators found his story suspicious from the beginning — in part because the detective took several days to come forward after the violent and chaotic episode on Sept. 29, said a law enforcement official, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because the detective had not yet been arraigned.
Detective Braszczok’s story was contradicted, the official said, by video taken at the scene, as well as by witness statements. In the video, the detective can be seen pounding his fists on the back of the vehicle.
It was not immediately clear whether Detective Braszczok struck the driver, Alexian Lien, 33, after he was pulled from the black Range Rover by other motorcyclists in traffic on 178th Street, the official said. The detective was charged with riot and criminal mischief, though more counts could be added by prosecutors.
A phone message left at the office of the detective’s lawyer Tuesday night was not immediately returned.
Detective Braszczok was placed on modified duty after he came forward last Wednesday — three days after the episode — to say he had been present. His arrest will result in his suspension.
Another police detective has said that he, too, was among the motorcyclists on the highway during the ride, according to Philip E.Karasyk, a lawyer for the Detectives Endowment Association. That detective was already on modified duty stemming from an unrelated domestic dispute.
Late Tuesday, the police charged another motorcyclist in the assault. Clint Caldwell, 32, of Brooklyn, was charged with gang assault, assault and criminal mischief.
The chase and the beating of Mr. Lien received widespread attention after a video taken by one of the riders circulated online. It showed riders chasing the vehicle onto the streets of Upper Manhattan. That video ended just as one motorcyclist, later identified as Reginald Chance, 37, began smashing his helmet into the driver’s side window. But other videos soon emerged.
One challenge for the police and prosecutors has been identifying people in the multiple videos and photographs.
The assault followed a prolonged highway confrontation between the S.U.V. and a group of motorcyclists on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
In addition to Detective Braszczok, five other motorcyclists have been charged; the police are actively searching for others.
On Monday night, the police charged a 29-year-old Brooklyn motorcyclist, Craig Wright, with assault, gang assault and unlawful imprisonment. On Tuesday, prosecutors said at his arraignment that he had been identified from video of the assault as a rider wearing a black helmet with spikes and a sweatshirt with the number 13 on the back. According to the criminal complaint, Mr. Wright was seen stomping on Mr. Lien “at least twice” while he was lying on the ground. Mr. Wright was one of about five or six men who beat Mr. Lien after he was dragged from his S.U.V., prosecutors said.Only minutes before the beating, Mr. Lien had been driving north on the highway with his wife and 2-year-old daughter shortly before 2 p.m. It was there that they came in contact with a large group of motorcyclists who had gathered for an unauthorized ride into Times Square that had been broken up by the police, the authorities said.
The riders, prosecutors said, were driving recklessly. Video captured by one of the motorcyclists showed one of them, Christopher Cruz, 28, riding directly in front of the Range Rover. Prosecutors said Mr. Cruz deliberately slowed his motorcycle, causing a collision that quickly spiraled into a major confrontation.
With the riders stopped in front, behind and on both sides of the vehicle, Mr. Lien sped away, striking riders and seriously injuring one, Edwin Mieses Jr. Mr. Lien’s wife, Rosalyn Ng, said in a statement released by their lawyers that the couple feared for their lives.
Yahoo Local News – New York Times
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