Witness blames cop for being hit by driver in Times Square

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Witness blames cop for being hit by driver in Times Square

The man who filmedthe now-viral video of a Mercedes-Benz striking a cop in Times Squareblamed the officer for the whole thing on Monday — and actually defended the reckless driver.

Speaking on Instagram live, photographer Kiefer Dixon claimed the suspect, who is still on the run, wasn’t trying to hit the officer on Saturday night.

“He tried to get around the cop. I was right there,” Dixon said, insisting that he doesn’t know the guy who was behind the wheel.

“Before the cop even ended up on the side of the car, the cop had his gun out,” Dixon explained. “So now he’s got a cop on his hood with his gun drawn — and cops can be trigger-happy. My thinking? The guy was trying to get the hell on outta there.”

Dixon, a photographer who regularly films cars in NYC on Friday and Saturday nights, said the officer is lucky he didn’t accidentally shoot anyone.

“I’m looking at the cop like, what he did was very stupid and very dangerous,” Dixon said. “When he fell, his gun could have gone off and he could have hit somebody.”

Asked what he was thinkingwhen he saw the officer in front of the Benz, Dixon said: “What the hell is this cop doing, is he really trying to push a speeding car back?”

The young man had been filming the entire incident while cruising on his longboard.

“That s–t just popped off in front of me and I just so happened to be there,” Dixon said. “I don’t really care for what the cop did, so I didn’t talk to any police.”

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Recounting the driver’s dramatic getaway, Dixon said: “It was just ridiculous. He made it out of Times Square by doing some crazy-ass drifting … It was just mind-blowing. That’s some crazy driving skills.”

Dixon’s footage went viral Sunday, though he didn’t initially get credit for it.

“The s–t got out … without my permission,” he said, noting how someone filmed his IG live feed and then posted the clips online.

“Nobody can say that I didn’t shoot it because it was on my Instagram live. All of that was shot live.”

Dixon later described what he was thinking during the video.

“When I was shooting the live, I did not know that was going to happen,” he explained. “The [driver], he did a burnout down the block and that’s when I was recording … I said, ‘Cool, I’ve seen burnouts done in Times Square before,’ but what was unexpected was the police officer who ran out in front of the car.”

Dixon added, “I’ve seen police come up to cars before — they come up nice and slow pace, not charging at them. They give the cars a ticket or tell them to relax. This cop ran out to the street, yelling at the guy and whatnot … The guy didn’t want to pull over, I guess … A cop on your hood with his gun drawn? I wouldn’t wanna be sitting there, either.”
 
EXCLUSIVE: Photographer stunned by NYPD officer's actions in Times Square car chase
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<iframe width="476" height="267" src="http://abc7ny.com/video/embed/?pid=2948705" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Kemberly Richardson talks with a man who decribed a terrifying Times Square incident in which an officer was nearly run over.


By Eyewitness News
Monday, January 15, 2018 06:10PM
MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) --
The photographer who shot video of a dramatic police chase in Times Square described the terrifying ordeal in an exclusive interview with Eyewitness News.

Kiefer Dixon, who regularly hangs out in here taking video of luxury cars, says it was a typical night in Times Square until about 11:45 p.m. Saturday.

"It was very crazy," he said.

While riding his longboard, Dixon captured with his cellphone what looked like a movie shoot, but it was the real deal.

He said a black Mercedes Benz was cruising down Seventh Avenue doing burnouts.

Police said four people were inside. As the vehicle got to 43rd Street, an NYPD officer approached and tried to stop the car but the driver wasn't having it.

(( WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW ))
*WARNING: Video contains strong language*


The officer got in front of the Mercedes, and then pulled out his weapon. The driver hit the gas, and the officer was thrown to the ground.

In an exclusive interview, Dixon said he was stunned by what the officer did.

"He just got in front of it like he was on a power trip, Dixon said. "I've seen lots of police come up to cars I'm shooting and tell them to calm down, but this cop jumped in front of the vehicle like he was on a power trip."

The Mercedes roared down Seventh Avenue. The same officer and a second one chased after the car.

Dixon was right there recording it all.

"I thought he would have gone straight down Seventh Avenue, but he hit the right and I'm like there's' no way he's going to make it out of there,'" Dixon said.

But the driver did, making an escape west on 42nd Street.

During the initial part of the chaos, Dixon said he believes the driver wasn't trying to hit the officer.

"He wasn't trying to hurt anybody," Dixon said. "He swerved his car towards me and stopped."

Dixon said the one thing he can't get out of his mind is this image of the officers running down a busy street with weapons drawn.

"If his finger just flinched and pulled the trigger, a stray bullet could have gone down Seventh Avenue," he said.

NYPD officials said they know who they're looking for in the case.
 
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