New York man celebrating first anniversary with wife, child, brutally beaten by motorcycle gang

[manualman]

Triumphguy is simply wanting more facts than are readily available in the story to date before he passes judgment. If I’m ever on trial someday, I sure hope HE’s on the jury and not you other guys! The facts readily available to date simply aren’t enough. We seriously had people here ready to conclude that it was a robbery attempt with no evidence whatsoever. Scary.

Sometimes there are clear cut bad guys and good guys. But sometimes things are messier. Based on what I’ve seen SO FAR, I’d probably have done something similar to what the SUV guy did if I thought my wife and baby were in danger too. But I won’t confuse “facts so far” with the whole story based on a couple newspaper articles. When did you guys start trusting reporters to get the story straight right off the bat?

 

[SamH]

Triumphguy is simply wanting more facts than are readily available in the story to date before he passes judgment. If I’m ever on trial someday, I sure hope HE’s on the jury and not you other guys! The facts readily available to date simply aren’t enough. We seriously had people here ready to conclude that it was a robbery attempt with no evidence whatsoever. Scary.

Sometimes there are clear cut bad guys and good guys. But sometimes things are messier. Based on what I’ve seen SO FAR, I’d probably have done something similar to what the SUV guy did if I thought my wife and baby were in danger too. But I won’t confuse “facts so far” with the whole story based on a couple newspaper articles. When did you guys start trusting reporters to get the story straight right off the bat?

Because the story fit with personal experiances? Then there is always the video that you could watch with your own two eyes.

 

[SaintAugustine]

Triumphguy is simply wanting more facts than are readily available in the story to date before he passes judgment. If I’m ever on trial someday, I sure hope HE’s on the jury and not you other guys! The facts readily available to date simply aren’t enough. We seriously had people here ready to conclude that it was a robbery attempt with no evidence whatsoever. Scary.

Sometimes there are clear cut bad guys and good guys. But sometimes things are messier. Based on what I’ve seen SO FAR, I’d probably have done something similar to what the SUV guy did if I thought my wife and baby were in danger too. But I won’t confuse “facts so far” with the whole story based on a couple newspaper articles. When did you guys start trusting reporters to get the story straight right off the bat?

Triumphguy would be kicked out during the first round of jury selection. His first post had assumptions without any facts, and his sole stated purpose is to protect the image of motorcyclists. How does that make for a good juror?

 

[sw85]

Impartiality in a jury box when we’re under positivism of the law is one thing, but we’re not in those circumstances. We’re just ordinary folk with eyes and ears and so on.

It’s pretty clear what happened even though we don’t have all the details. We’ve got a video documenting some of it. An ordinary man with no criminal record and a wife and child in the car does not typically run over another man (who happens to be an unlicensed motorcyclist with a rap sheet) while surrounded by menacing motorcyclists unless he is terrified, and he is not then chased for several miles and then beaten nearly to death by motorcyclists unless they are deranged criminals.

Maybe there’s something more to the story, I dunno, but I cannot imagine what information would be missing to reverse or even qualify this narrative in any way. Maybe that’s enough to merit a conviction in a court room, maybe not, but I’m not a juror, so it’s good enough for me.

 

[qui_est_ce]

Impartiality in a jury box when we’re under positivism of the law is one thing, but we’re not in those circumstances. We’re just ordinary folk with eyes and ears and so on.

It’s pretty clear what happened even though we don’t have all the details. We’ve got a video documenting some of it. An ordinary man with no criminal record and a wife and child in the car does not typically run over another man (who happens to be an unlicensed motorcyclist with a rap sheet) while surrounded by menacing motorcyclists unless he is terrified, and he is not then chased for several miles and then beaten nearly to death by motorcyclists unless they are deranged criminals.

Maybe there’s something more to the story, I dunno, but I cannot imagine what information would be missing to reverse or even qualify this narrative in any way. Maybe that’s enough to merit a conviction in a court room, maybe not, but I’m not a juror, so it’s good enough for me.

 

[SaintAugustine]

It’s pretty clear what happened even though we don’t have all the details. We’ve got a video documenting some of it. An ordinary man with no criminal record and a wife and child in the car does not typically run over another man (who happens to be an unlicensed motorcyclist with a rap sheet) while surrounded by menacing motorcyclists unless he is terrified, and he is not then chased for several miles and then beaten nearly to death by motorcyclists unless they are deranged criminals.

Well, when you put it like that…

 

[Vanny]

While I hope that the cyclist run over isn’t paralyzed and recovers-
I’m not even sure the SUV driver ran over him “on purpose” He may have been so terrified and afraid for his family that he just hit the accellorator to get the heck out of there and who could blame him?
this was a man who was clearly terrified.
I have family and friends who ride motorcycles but this particular group of motorcyclists have had past complaints about them in NYC.

The way I see it-this was a man who was clearly terrified, and was protecting his wife and child. There is no excuse for these cyclists to have tried to force him off the road in that way-if he had clipped one of them in the past,(as they claim) the proper thing for them to do was to have taken down his licence and called the police.

By putting yourself in front of a SUV and then stopping and slowing down-you can expect not good things to happen.

 

[lerapt78]

I witnessed a similar instance myself when I was driving through NYC 3 months ago, except in the case I saw there was fortunately no violence or accidental injury.

I was in the middle of three lanes, the left lane being full of a group of probably 40 bikers. When a sedan a few cars ahead of me tried to move over to get onto a left-lane exit ramp, he accidentally cut off one of the bikers, who had to swerve to avoid him. The sedan driver then tried swerving back into the middle lane, when he realized what he had done, causing everyone else to jam on their brakes and slow down as well.

Similar to what happened in the video, as traffic began to pick up speed again, two of the bikers got right in front of the sedan and tapped their brakes to forcibly slow him (and consequently the rest of us) down. The other bikers cut into lanes so they could swarm around and surround the sedan. I imagine the sedan driver was terrified. After giving the middle finger, other aggressive gestures, and screaming (what I presume were obscenities) for about a minute the bikers eventually sped ahead and left the area so the rest of us could resume our driving.

I’m sure we’ve all been cut off before, and have probably unintentionally cut off someone else. That will happen every once in a while, even among people who are generally observant drivers. Motorcycle drivers especially face a higher risk of accidents on the road, for the simple reason that they are harder to see in rearview mirrors - not because other drivers are purposely trying to endanger them. Cases like these just reflect some people’s inability to control their tempers and the desire to use gang mentality and intimidation to prove some sort of macho point (which I imagine most of them wouldn’t have the courage to do without numbers on their side).

I’m not trying to disparage all motorcycle groups, but at the same time I doubt these methods of intimidation, lane-hogging, and bullying are rare events.

Speaking for myself, if a gang of people tried to forcibly stop my car on the highway, I would run them over too and take my chances later in court. I see no reason to compromise my safety to assuage someone else’s sense of indignation over my driving skills.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Well, the driver of the SUV was clearly being boxed in by the gang, and the 911 call by the wife while it was happening shows exactly what the video is showing.

When they were forced to stop, gang members began screaming at the driver to get out of the car, and one member even tried to open the door. Others were slashing the tires, with what I would guess were knives. Would you get out of the car with a gang of knife wielding people who are threatening you?

The driver acted in self-defense in my opinion and apparently the opinion of the police commissioner, who said that 200, 911 calls were reported on this gang.

One video shows the gang members riding up on side-walks forcing pedestrians to jump out of the way to save their lives.

FYI, the motorcyclist who was injured, is from Lawrence, MA, a town notorious for Latino Gang violence.

Jim

 

[lerapt78]

The driver acted in self-defense in my opinion and apparently the opinion of the police commissioner, who said that 200, 911 calls were reported on this gang.

One video shows the gang members riding up on side-walks forcing pedestrians to jump out of the way to save their lives.

Jim

Considering that, I wonder if many of them were driving with revoked licenses. I would think that after so many complaints, at least a few of them would have been caught doing something that would warrant having their licenses suspended.

 

[manualman]

Because the story fit with personal experiances? Then there is always the video that you could watch with your own two eyes.

I’m not declaring the bikers innocent here, mind you. I just dislike reasoning like this. Your first sentence is precisely why my otherwise beloved grandmother hated black people (not the word she used to use); because her own “personal experience” had been that her neighborhood used to be excellent until THEY moved in, at which time crime and vandalism became common and she got mugged twice (both by black guys). Personal experience doesn’t always translate into fair or accurate generalizations.

Maybe I only saw a truncated version, but the video only started AFTER the SUV driver actively started trying to get away. If there’s something showing what happened before that, I’m open to correction…

 

[SamH]

I’m not declaring the bikers innocent here, mind you. I just dislike reasoning like this. Your first sentence is precisely why my otherwise beloved grandmother hated black people (not the word she used to use); because her own “personal experience” had been that her neighborhood used to be excellent until THEY moved in, at which time crime and vandalism became common and she got mugged twice (both by black guys). Personal experience doesn’t always translate into fair or accurate generalizations.

Are you claiming your grandmother wasn’t mugged or what?

 

[manualman]

Are you claiming your grandmother wasn’t mugged or what?

I’m claiming that her distaste for the entirety of urban black people and her willingness to assume the worst purely on the basis of their skin color and her experience with a few of them was an unwarranted conclusion from her experience.

I really have to explain this?

 

[Lapey]

foxnews.com/us/2013/10/01/new-york-man-celebrating-first-anniversary-with-wife-child-left-for-dead-after/?intcmp=trending

With stop and frisk now going to be stopped, I can see more of this terrible tragedy occurring.

nypost.com/2013/10/04/undercover-cop-stood-by-as-bikers-beat-dad/

New York City Police officer involved in this biker mob that beat the SUV driver. At least one cop was included in the group of bikers who watched while the suv driver was pulled out of his car and brutally beaten by these thugs.

I a policeman watched and did nothing, this is quite sad. Even the people trusted with upholding law and protecting the innocent are becoming participators in evil.

Keep an eye on this story, it is growing.

 

[saintjohnxxiii]

So not to rob him then.

Stopping someone is bad, especially to do stunts, but the claim had been made a few times on this thread that they were trying to rob him.

Not defending anything but the truth here.

True they weren’t to rob him but you did post this without any proof either, so it goes both ways.

I have dealt with this issue on a motorbike forum I moderate.

1. It wasn’t a motorcycle gang.
   2, the driver’s anxiety in driving among motorcycles led to him accidentally hitting one of the riders.
2. A rider who was full of adrenaline at this point tried to slow down the car and got hit (his fault not he drivers)
3. This caused more panic, chaos and anger. The riders swarmed the car. He understandably got angry/scared and left quickly, and in the process drove over some riders and their bikes, paralyzing one man.
4. Some riders chased him down, and a couple smashed in his windows.
5. Bystanders took charge until the police came.

It’s not about his race, the fact he was a cager (car driver), or that they were bikers. It’s about anxiety, immaturity, fear, over reaction and anger on all sides. All elements that need to be disposed of when driving/riding on the public roads.

 

[10gr8kids]

nypost.com/2013/10/04/undercover-cop-stood-by-as-bikers-beat-dad/

New York City Police officer involved in this biker mob that beat the SUV driver. At least one cop was included in the group of bikers who watched while the suv driver was pulled out of his car and brutally beaten by these thugs.

I a policeman watched and did nothing, this is quite sad. Even the people trusted with upholding law and protecting the innocent are becoming participators in evil.

Keep an eye on this story, it is growing.

And some people wonder why we don’t want to give up our guns. :banghead: