Burning Up the Tube So To Speak

Hey, let's give Andrea Seabrook credit for at least mentioning, on Saturday's ATC, the video of one NYPD's finest assaulting a cyclist in a Critical Mass ride - even if she introduced it with her signature doofiness:

"Now a few of the stories burning up the tube so to speak - news you're more likely to find forwarded to you by email than in any newspaper, call it viral news. First if you think YouTube is all silliness and fluff, check this out: a New York City police officer was videotaped ramming a bicyclist to the ground....the officer was later identified...He's now been stripped of his badge and gun and is on desk duty while the department investigates."

The kicker is that there is a real news story here that NPR conveniently misses. If you read the story of the police assault in the Gothamist, you'll notice this telling fact: "the cyclist in this video was arrested, held for 26 hours, and charged with attempted assault and resisting arrest." Seems to me that's what usually happens when the police beat someone up and there's no video camera around. Wouldn't contacting the NYPD Commissioner make an interesting investigative piece? Well, dang, I figured if I waited around for NPR get on the case, I'd be waiting forever, so I just sent an email to the commissioner myself:

Dear Commissioner,

I'm curious to know why the cyclist attacked by a NYPD officer in the Critical Mass ride was arrested, held for 26 hours, and charged with attempted assault and resisting arrest. Is this typical? Seems like witnesses and other officers on the scene would have noticed that the rider did nothing illegal.

Could you explain this?

I'll let you know if I get a response, and who knows maybe I'll pass it on to NPR so they can report not just on the cool "viral news," but also on the viral police state called the Homeland.