Off-duty
undercover detective who WATCHED while biker gang beat SUV driver is
suspended as man who dragged victim from wheel in front of terrified wife hands
himself in
Reginald Chance, 38, and Robert Sims, 35, turned themselves
in Friday
Injured biker Edwin Mieses Jr now faces permanent paralysis
Off-duty undercover narcotics officer placed on modified
duty as NYPD investigates why it took him four days to come forward
A number of off-duty corrections officers may also have been
present
An off-duty undercover New York City police detective who witnessed
a violent confrontation between an SUV driver and a group of bikers last week
but failed to report it has been suspended as two of the alleged attackers
turned themselves in.
Reginald Chance, 38, who police say is the biker seen in a
video smashing his helmet against Alexian Lien’s SUV and yanking him out of the
vehicle, came forward Friday night along with 35-year-old Robert Sims.
Sims, of Brooklyn, has been charged with attempted assault,
gang assault and criminal possession of a weapon. The 35-year-old biking
enthusiast has been identified as the person seen trying to open Lien's door,
according to the New York Daily News.
Meanwhile, NYPD spokesman John McCarthy confirmed Saturday
that the unnamed detective believed to be an off-duty narcotics officer and
member of a biker club was stripped of his gun and badge pending the outcome of
an internal affairs investigation why it took the agent four days to come
forward.
He was riding with the Frontline Soldiers biker club,
according to the New York Post. The papers aid the club also counts several
others among its members.
McCarthy said internal affairs was also trying to determine
investigating whether any other officers were present during the Sunday
altercation and didn't immediately report it.
It has been reported this week that at least five off-duty
cops witnessed the beating of Lien, who was driving an SUV on the Henry Hudson
Parkway last Sunday with his family inside.
The incident left Lien needing stitches and motorcyclist
Edwin Mieses Jr possibly paralyzed.
Among the officers reportedly riding in the biker rally were
at least two detectives and three other officers who did little to stop the
attack. One of the detectives, the undercover narcotics agent, watched as the
violence broke out and chose not to break it up for fear of ruining his
cover.
Undercover officers are required to immediately report being
a witness to a crime. Uniformed officers are required to take police action if
they see a crime occurring, but the rules are murkier for undercover officers
who face blowing their cover, confusing civilians who don't realize the
undercover is really a cop and ruining yearslong investigations.
The five officers were not the only ones present, WABC is reporting that the NYPD is investigating whether
several off-duty corrections officers were also there. Police who saw the
violent attack did not begin coming forward until Wednesday - four days later.
It is believed that the 38-year-old biker who was seen on
the video smashing his helmet into the Range Rover's window is expected to turn
himself in to police for his role in the melee, according to WABC. It is not
clear what further role, if any, he played in the fracas.
Investigators have already questioned some of the six
individuals seen in the YouTube video of the assault, according to WABC. They
plan to talk to as many as possible, the station noted.
'This is a complex investigation with a lot of people
involved,' a source told WABC.
One of the bikers who spoke to investigators said that Mr
Lien 'drove erratically and bumped the bike on the side,' adding 'when he
bumped that bike on the side, that bike became aggressive because his life was
in danger,' according to WABC.
The New York Post originally reported that the first
undercover officer to admit being at the ruthless pounding was not the only cop
at the scene, as several members of the motorcycle group- called the Front Line
Soldiers- are police officers themselves.
Internal Affairs of the NYPD are now investigating whether
or not any of these officers were the ones who were pictured hitting the Range
Rover, though they do not seem to be worried that the undercover took part
When reached by MailOnline for comment, an NYPD spokesperson
said only that the involvement of off-duty officers 'is under investigation.'
'It is does not appear that he got involved at the scene,' a
police source told The Post.
That said, the undercover officer has hired a lawyer.
He was not the only one to do so, as longtime partner of
Edwin Mieses Jr, the man who was run over by the car, has hired famed defender
Gloria Allred.
'He is the best father I know,' Dayana Mejia said at a
Friday press conference.
'To learn that he almost died and that he may not walk
again- that is all still sinking in.
'It tears me up that anyone could think that Edwin in anyway
deserves what happened to him.'
Mieses was one of dozens of bikers who rode alongside a
black Range Rover on Manhattan's West Side Highway last weekend until a biker
slowed down and the vehicles bumped, police said.
Video captured at the scene shows the SUV surrounded by
helmeted riders.
In the video, one rider approaches the vehicle and peers
into the driver's side window.
Police said others tried to damage the SUV before the
driver, Alexian Lien, took off and plowed over Mieses.
The bikers then chased after Lien and smashed his car window
with their helmets, then pulled him from the SUV and beat him to the point
where he required stitches.
Lien's wife, Rosalyn Ng, has said that her family's
sympathies go out to Mieses, but that they had to flee a dangerous situation.
She said her husband was trying to protect her and their
2-year-old child, who was also in the car at the time.
Mieses, who is from Lawrence, Massachusetts, suffered a
broken spine, fractured ribs, a punctured lung and a torn aortic valve, said
his attorney, Allred.
His injuries may have left him paralyzed.
'He told everyone to move on and go back to riding, and
turned his back to the SUV to start walking back to his own bike,' Allred said.
'It was then, with his back to the SUV, and as he was in
front of it, that he was run over and crushed.'
Mejia said a difficult situation has been made worse by what
she described as a 'perception' that some people have about the riders who
participated in the rally on Sunday.
'They are not gang members. They are not thugs,' Mejia said.
'They are FedEx drivers, plumbers, military reservists,
musicians. They are fathers and brothers and sons, and sisters and mothers.'
She also said Mieses didn't know any of the people he was
riding with on Sunday aside from one friend who traveled to New York with him.
Mieses was recently arrested in Andover, Mass., for driving
with a revoked license. He also never applied for a motorcycle license.
Records show that in June he was named a habitual offender
and his right to drive in the state was revoked until 2017. It wasn't clear if
he had been licensed in any other state.
Mieses and the others seen on the video were participating
in a periodic rally in which more than 1,000 bikers head for Times Square,
police said.
The Manhattan district attorney's office has charged one
rider, 28-year-old Christopher Cruz, of Passaic, N.J., with unlawful
imprisonment and reckless driving while authorities continue to search for
other cyclists.
Investigators and prosecutors are tracking down and talking
to dozens of helmet-clad motorcyclists seen in the video, which was posted
online.