Did the cop assault the bicyclist?

Maybe you've seen this video of a New York cop and a bicyclist colliding:



As you can see, it looks like the police man is purposefully elbowing the cyclist. I had watched it a couple of months ago when it was released and came to the same conclusion as many others. The policeman was charged with assault over the incident and today plead not guilty, bring the issue to the forefront again.

So, I watched the video again. This time I came to a completely different conclusion!

I really think the policeman was just trying to get out of the middle of the street. When he saw a cyclist coming his way, he tried to move a little faster and give the cyclist the right of way. The cyclist must have had the same thought as he made a sudden, tight move to the left in the video. The officer puts up his elbow in self-defense of the impending collision and runs. Well, while trying to avoid each other, they wind up colliding.

Well, if that was what really happened, then two normal, non New Yorkers might have apologized to each other and let it end. Maybe if it was on a normal day and not in the middle of an annoying, rude bicycle group's protest, things would have been different. Instead of helping him up, the police officer arrested him for assault and filed additional resisting arrest charges! On top of the assault charge that was brought after this video surfaced, the officer also faces charges of fraudulent filings against the biker.

I can't wait until this one is fought out in court. It seems that most New York cops are found not guilty of the charges against them. I would say he's not guilty of assault but is guilty of filing a false document against the biker.

last thought: I've been in an accident where I was the bicyclist and went flying over my handlebars. The guy I hit helped me up even as I was apologizing profusely.