Pol faked being a cop in traffic tussle: cyclist
Brooklyn state Sen. Marty Golden tried to pull over a bicyclist by impersonating a cop — and then his wheelman drove into oncoming traffic and ran a red light to get away, according to the cyclist.
Brian Howald, a transit advocate and member of Brooklyn Community Board 2’s Transportation Committee, was pedaling down Third Avenue in Gowanus to attend a meeting of a neighboring community board Monday night when Golden accosted him, Howald said.
The bicyclist was heading south in the bike lane when a late-model Cadillac SUV trying to get around traffic entered the bicycles-only lane behind him, he said.
Howald refused to give up his space, and the driver allegedly reentered the traffic lane and pulled alongside him moments later.
Golden, who was riding shotgun, leaned out the window waving what appeared to be a parking placard and claiming he was a cop, according to the bicyclist.
“He said that he was a police officer and repeated his demand for me to pull over and waved what appeared to be a laminated placard,” Howald told The Post Tuesday.
“I reiterated that I was in the bike lane and he said he was going to take me to the precinct. I asked what precinct, and he refused to answer and called me an a--hole.”
Howald almost left it at that, but quickly realized the placard did not bear an NYPD shield and decided to take Golden’s picture to alert authorities that the man in the passenger seat was possibly misrepresent- ing himself as an officer.
Golden, a Republican, is a former NYPD cop who retired in 1983 on disability after being injured in a drug-related arrest.
Howald attempted to video-record Golden, but the driver gave him the slip by heading south in a northbound lane on Third Avenue to get around traffic, Howald said.
The cyclist later caught up to the car at a red light as it was turning onto 19th Street from Third Avenue.
“I asked [Golden] who he was, to which he responded, ‘Wouldn’t you like to know,’ ” Howald said.
“As soon as there was a break in the traffic heading north on Third Avenue, the driver took off through the red light.”
Howald does not know for certain the man in the car was Golden, but an Albany insider says the vehicle belongs to the state senator.
Photos shot by Howald also show that the man who appears to be Golden is wearing the same blue dress shirt with a white collar and distinctive plaid tie that Golden wore in photos posted to the senator’s Twitter page Monday.
Golden did not respond to repeated calls and an e-mail seeking comment.
Andrew Gounardes, who is running against Golden next year, is calling for the state’s ethics commission to investigate the incident.
“The allegations that were documented . . . if they’re true, constitute a felony — impersonating a police officer is a Class E felony,” Gounardes, an attorney, told The Post. “That would be a huge violation of the public trust for a sitting state senator to commit a felony.”