Man sues Ocean City over Boardwalk collision with bicycle cop
CAMDEN – A Pennsylvania man is suing over a collision allegedly caused by an Ocean City police officer — as both men were riding bicycles on the boardwalk.
Richard Jacoby was struck and injured in June 2021 by an officer bicycling “at a high, dangerous and unnecessary speed on a crowded boardwalk," the East Norriton man alleges in his suit.
Jacoby and his wife, Christina, are seeking damages of $500,000.
Boardwalk bike crash
The 10 a.m. accident occurred as an on-duty officer, Douglas Swillo, was pedaling along the Boardwalk “in an absolutely out-of-control manner, against the flow of traffic,” the suit asserts.
It contends Swillo was responding "to a non-emergency situation already being tended to by police, several blocks away, where a man on the boardwalk allegedly felt light-headed.”
According to the suit, Swillo rode into Jacoby and a crowd of pedestrians.
Bike collision's aftermath
The accident caused muscle tears, bruises and other injuries for Jacoby, who alleges the officer's bike also ran over his foot.
The negligence suit, filed Wednesday in Camden federal court, seeks damages for the couple's medical costs, loss of income and the disruption to their lives.
An Ocean City representative could not be reached for comment on the suit.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Suit: Ocean City cop rode bicycle on Boardwalk at 'dangerous' speed
