Civil Liberties

NYPD Officers Cut Bike Lock, Confiscate Bike, For Joe BIden's Security

Nearby doorman convinced them to give it to him so that he could return it to the owner when he came out

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Amtrak Joe Biden took time out of his busy schedule yesterday to give Mayor Bloomberg an award for "Leadership in Public Service" at the Sheraton Hotel in midtown. It was truly a proud moment for all New Yorkers—all except for computer programmer Stephen Arthur, whose bike locks were destroyed when the NYPD tried to seize his ride in the name of national security.

"When I walked out of my office after work, my blue Bianchi of over 14.5 years was missing, and two of my locks were cut laying on the ground," Arthur writes in an email. "I froze! But I figured that the NYPD cut my bike locks because Vice President Joe Biden was next door speaking—though when I parked my bike just before 9 a.m. that morning, there was no indication of any police or fencing on the street that day."