Protect and swerve: Bike rider and NYPD collide in Downtown Brooklyn
The rider says he has filed to get his repairs reimbursed, and is asking for a formal apology from the officer.
A Bed-Stuy resident is speaking out after he says he was struck by an NYPD vehicle.
Video obtained by News 12 shows Andi Khoo-Miller riding in the protected bike lane on Schermerhorn Street in Downtown Brooklyn last Wednesday, when he and an NYPD police car turning right onto Hoyt Street collided.
"I was like 'You (bleeping) hit me,'" Khoo-Miller said. "(The officer) did not care."
In the surveillance video, there is no sign that the police car had its signal on.
While Khoo-Miller says he saw it, "I did think like jeez - NYPD officer, they would know the rules, they would know the law, of course they're going to stop, I had a green light."
According to the police report, the officer claimed the bike was in their blind spot, and they did not see it coming.
"He said You came out of nowhere,' I was like What do you mean I came out of nowhere? I'm in a bike lane - this is where I'm supposed to ride,'" remembers Khoo-Miller. "If I was going five or 10 miles faster, I would have flown over the hood of the car."
Khoo-Miller tells News 12 the driver wanted to write up the police report themselves, or have their partner, who was in the passenger seat, do it. He says he had to argue with them to get someone not involved to do it.
"I definitely felt like they wanted me to treat it like it was not a big deal," he said.
A week after the crash, Khoo-Miller is on a muscle relaxer for back and leg pain, while his bike is still getting fixed.
"I was like, 'Can you apologize?' and (the officer) said, 'No, I don't like your attitude. I would apologize, but I don't like your attitude,'" Khoo-Miller says.
Depending on how the NYPD evaluates what happens, the officer could potentially lose up to 30 vacation days and be put on probation as punishment.
Khoo-Miller, meanwhile, has filed for the city to reimburse him for the $400 to repair his bike. He is also asking for a formal apology from the officer.
"It messed up my day, it messed up my week, like this is ridiculous," he said. "(The officer) shouldn't have done this in the first place, and I think this should be an example for the NYPD police department."
The NYPD tells News 12 that the officer's status remains active.
