Charges Dropped Against Bicyclist Arrested During (RNC) Protest

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Charges have been dismissed against a man mistakenly arrested in connection with a bicycle protest ride during the Republican Convention in August.

Alexander Pincus was able to prove it was a case of mistaken identity. The 28-year-old Columbia grad student rode his bicycle to the Second Avenue Deli the night of August 27 to buy soup and other items for his sick girlfriend.

Police arrested him outside the deli thinking he was with other cyclists who swarmed through Manhattan streets – without a permit – to protest George W. Bush. Pincus and hundreds of other cyclists were hauled off to a holding facility on Pier 57.

But Pincus kept his receipt from the deli, which convinced prosecutors he was telling the truth, and they dropped the charges.
http://www.ny1.com/ny/TopStories/SubTopic/index.html?topicintid=1&subtopicintid=1&contentintid=45762

And from elsewhere:
Pincus' attorney, Norman Siegel, said the 28-year-old grad student at Columbia's School of Architecture was on a mercy mission for his sick girlfriend. He had just loaded up on matzo ball soup, sandwiches and potato latkes when cops grabbed him on his bike, Siegel said.

Thinking Pincus was part of a bicycle group protesting the President without a permit, cops hauled him off to Pier 57. That's where thousands of demonstrators were taken during the Republican National Convention.

Although they dumped his food, Pincus insisted that they make out a property voucher.

"This is the quintessential example of what happens when police engage in mass arrests that violate people's constitutional rights," Siegel said. "This one has a happy ending thanks only to the district attorney's office."
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/257860p-220872c.html

[maxsolomon]

1. if he wasn't a protestor he would have been in a car

this is america, after all. who carries soup on a bike?

only hippy faggots don't drive everywhere.

[BlueEyedSon]

2. No one in NYC owns a car... parking is $700/mo. Don't even ASK about

insurance!

[central scrutinizer]

3. happy ending?

So one guy gets off but thousands of more people exercising their free speech rights don't? Doesn't sound very happy to me - unless trampling the Constitution is how you get your jollies.

[TahitiNut]

4. Maybe he should be happy he wasn't shot 41 times?

Good thing he didn't reach for a deadly wallet. :eyes:

[Swamp Rat]

5. Maybe he was not "Haitian" enough.

[Warren Stupidity]

6. that is a great poster!

[Swamp Rat]

7. It was very unpleasant to make as I had to stare at it for hours

I hope people who voted for Bush will see it and lose some sleep thinking about it. Feel free to download it and print it out. Other DUers are making bumper stickers and are already getting reactions - Bush supporters are left speechless and/or upset.

[caligirl]

8. What happened to the 15 yr old diabetic girl going to a movie?

They also hauled in a 15 year old diabetic girl who was on her way to the theater. They should have let her go and instead Bloomberg and company put this kid at high risk to an even greater risk.

As the parent of a diabetic child this was really up setting to me. High risk disease and they arrest her. Her blood sugar probably skyrocketed from the stress.That is what stress can do to a diabetic. Did they call her parents? Did she get to call her parents? Did they bring in a nurse or doctor to evaluate her needs? Did they have glucose gel for severe lows or insulin for correcting highs or other insulin delivery equipment for her? Did they check to see if she needed test strips? Did anyone there do anything to make sure she had water etc? not likely. They put this kids life in jeopardy every minute she was locked in and I hope the American Diabetes Association takes a close look at what they did to her. This was way more than just false arrest. Diabetes is a high risk disease and has to be carefully maanaged 24/7.