NYC to pay $98K in settlement to Critical Mass cyclists

The city will pay $98,000 in a settlement to five cyclists who alleged police wrongfully detained and used excessive force against them during a 2007 Critical Mass Ride in Times Square.

In a widely circulated Web video, one of the plaintiffs, Richard Vazquez, 55, is seen being pushed off his bike by police. Vazquez was arrested after running a red light and the officer who pushed him, Sgt. Timothy Horohoe, was charged separately by the Civilian Complaint Review Board for lying about the incident.

The settlement “appropriately resolves this litigation,” city attorney Michael Gertzer said Tuesday in a statement.

Vazquez, however, said, “there will be no real justice until the higher-ups in the NYPD are held accountable for their actions.”