Thursday, May 25, 2023 10:25PM
QUEENS (WABC) — An NYPD police cruiser used several unauthorized and dangerous maneuvers to force a scooter rider off a Queens highway.
In video posted to social media, the cruiser is seen swerving in front of, behind and almost into the moped – forcing the operator to take an exit ramp.
It appears to have happened in the southbound lanes of the Whitestone Expressway in Queens.
Former NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said the video raises a number of issues.
“There was no sirens used, there were no lights at all, also no PA engaged telling the person to stop” Boyce said.
It’s illegal for a scooter to be on an expressway — and it’s not just illegal, it’s risky.
“It doesn’t have the power to accelerate or decelerate and it’s dangerous because it’s very small and you have a sight disability, a motorcycle is totally different,” Boyce said.
It might have been the right idea to get the scooter to pull over, but the NYPD’s tactics are concerning to Boyce.
“Some of those things like crowding you saw, that’s inherently dangerous, it can get someone hurt,” Boyce said. “It’s not only dangerous for the officer or the person on the motor scooter, but everyone on that highway.”
Motor scooters and mopeds have proliferated in recent years and they’re being driven on expressways and in bike lanes — even on sidewalks.
Boyce says more regulation and supervision are needed, but enforcement needs to be done correctly.
“I think some hard discipline is coming this officer’s way, some retraining and probably suspension of ability to drive a department vehicle,” Boyce said. “All these things are coming his way because you just can’t have this.”
The matter is under internal review.
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