It's Official: NYC Cops Can't Pull Cyclists Over Without Probable Cause
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Last week, the New York Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Fourth Amendment, which shields citizensfrom unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. This means that the police cannot pull someone over without probable cause.
The case that led to the decision dates back to 2014, when Lance Rodriguez was riding a bicycle in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens. Streetsblog reported that Rodriguez was “arrested by cops who claim they spotted something ‘bulky’ in his pants. The object indeed turned out to be a gun, which led to Rodriguez’s eventual conviction.
“But last year, Rodriguez appealed with the help of the New York Civil Liberties Union, which argued in a brief that cops had violated his Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure—and that the unconstitutional search would not have happened had he been in a car and not atop a bicycle,” Streetsblog wrote.
Gothamist reported that Rodriguez’s attorney, Hannah Kon, said the ruling set an important precedent regarding cyclists’ rights.
“It’s a really important decision because it recognizes that everyone traveling on New York’s roads deserves to have their Fourth Amendment rights protected…No one should be subjected to more police interference or less Fourth Amendment protections simply because they travel by bicycle instead of car.”
Rodriguez served two years in prison, according to his attorney. She said that the arrest and time served significantly interfered with Rodriguez’s career as a chef. He was 20 at the time of the arrest.
The 4-3 milestone decision was written by Judge Jenny Rivera and backed by Chief Judge Rowan Wilson and Judges Shirley Troutman and John Egan Jr. But Streetsblog reported that the court’s three dissenting justices—Judges Madeline Singas, Michael Garcia and Anthony Cannataro—attacked the majority ruling as soft on crime.
“The majority recoils from the ramifications of its holding, but the result speaks for itself. Now, instead of acting to rid our streets of the deadly menace presented by loaded firearms, the police will be forced to ignore a cyclist with a waistband bulge, for no reason other than that the person happened to be riding a bicycle,” they wrote in the November 21 dissent.
Kon, Rodriguez’ lawyer, notes that this doesn’t change how the police treat violations of the law or threats to public safety. “Police can still pull over anyone on the road who’s violating a traffic law. Including bicyclists. They can pull over anyone on the road who they reasonably suspect who has committed or is about to commit a crime. The decision doesn’t change any of that.”
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