The NYPD honored a man who stepped up and intervened in the beating of the driver of the Range Rover who was chased on the Henry Hudson Parkway last Sunday.

Sergio Consuegra
Sergio Consuegra talks to Anderson Cooper (CNN)
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Sergio Consuegra told reporters that he wishes he could have done more. He had been on his way to church on Sept. 29 when he saw an SUV stop on 178th Street in Manhattan and a group of motorcyclists approach.

"I made a simple step that day, a simple gesture. ... I must say today, to send a message to all that whenever they see a family in crisis, no matter the circumstances, when they cry for help, be there for them," he said, at the scene of where the incident took place and accompanied by elected officials.

Consuegra said the riders started hitting the car, and that one of them tried to grab Lien's wife, who was in the car along with their child.

"She was kind of making some sounds," he said. "I saw a baby inside; she had the baby in her arms, I guess she was protecting the baby from all the glass that was flying inside and outside."

He said bystanders started screaming for the woman and baby to be left alone, and the biker let go.

Lien was on the ground when Consuegra stepped in between him and the bikers.

"There was more coming, and they feel like they wanted to keep hurting the man — and I felt intense danger at that moment, at that time, and I say to myself, 'Let me not show these people that I'm here to engage in any kind of confrontation but that I'm here to protect the man and the family, so I'm going to keep it cool.' That's what I was thinking," Consuegra said.

Kevin Bresloff,the bker who recorded the chase on his helmet camera, received a police escort for his trip home after an interview with police. The cyclist, also known as "Kawasaki Kevin," has received threats because he is co-operating with police in the investigation of the incident.

Role Of An Undercover Officer

Authorities are investigating whether an undercover police officer present at a motorcycle rally witnessed a violent confrontation between an SUV driver and a swarm of bikers and didn't immediately report it, a law enforcement official said Saturday.

The officer came forward several days after the Sept. 29 rally to say he was present, according to the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The officer has an attorney, and internal affairs detectives are trying to determine whether he witnessed the assault on the SUV driver, the official said.

New York Police Department spokesman John McCarthy said a detective had been stripped of his gun and badge pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation.

McCarthy said internal affairs was investigating the case and looking into whether any off-duty officers may have been present.

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.

More Arrests


Image of Reginald Chance
Image of Reginald Chance (NYPD)
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Robert Sims, 35, of Brooklyn, was arraigned Saturday in Manhattan on charges of first-degree gang assault, first-degree assault and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Bail was set at $100,000. A criminal complaint notes video shows Sims was among five to six motorcyclists who attacked Lien after he was dragged out of the car, and says Sims stomped Lien in the head and body.An attorney for the 35-year-old Sims did not immediately return a call for comment. There was no listed telephone number for Sims at the address where police said he lived.

He is the third person to face formal charges in connection with the attack, though the case against one of those motorcyclists was subsequently dismissed when prosecutors said they needed more time to investigate.

A fourth man, 37-year-old Reginald Chance of Brooklyn, was arrested by police Saturday and charged with gang assault, assault and criminal mischief. Chance was in custody and unable to comment Saturday. Attorney information was not available, and there is no phone number listed for Chance at the address provided by police.

Lien has not been charged. His wife said in a statement this week they feared for their lives as they drove off.

Mieses' family held a news conference Friday with their lawyer in which they said that he wasn't doing anything wrong when he was struck by Lien's SUV. They acknowledged that Mieses had stopped his bike in front of the family's vehicle but said he was trying to get the other riders to leave the family alone when he was hit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

 

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