LAPD drops Bike Tickets
Thread started by
peoplesride at 03.27.09 - 10:39 am
LAist reporting that LAPD will drop tickets against bicyclists last weekend
Alex Thompson in handcuffs for not having a bicycle license Photo by GarySe7en
On Saturday night, two cyclists were given tickets for not having a city of Los Angeles bicycle license, something that has not existed since January when Chief William Bratton and the City Council shot them down. One of those cyclists, who was put in handcuffs for 20 minutes over the incident, went to the police commission to discuss what happened. After his public comment, the department's Inspector General met with him and the next thing we know, the tickets are dropped.
Captain Davis, Commanding Officer for the Wilshire Area released a statement to City Watch: "With regards to the citations for no Bike License, the "No License" section has been canceled. And, in the spirit of the law the entire citation for the two violators will be canceled. The policy for the moratorium on bike licenses has been discussed with my command. This is a lesson learned, your cooperation and understanding on this matter is appreciated."
Cyclists still are wondering why on a Saturday night, police are enforcing arbitrary laws, some that don't even exist when they should be going after the higher priority issues, such as other neighborhood calls or the bad apples in the cycling group.
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WIN!
Cyclists 1 -- LAPD 153
Alright keep it up!
Seriously though, this is great!
jonnyboy03.27.09 - 11:01 am
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I'm going to get you Alex Thompson. You can't kill FUN if I get to it first!!
Officer_Schube03.27.09 - 11:11 am
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yeah, way to take one for the team and win. i hope we can keep this momentum with the cops
tortuga_veloce03.27.09 - 11:16 am
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I am glad that we have people working both sides of the spectrum.
You have those like Alex, getting out there and getting the tickets dropped- as well you have those of us who are trying to keep the group's reputation in check.
Personally, I feel that I am much more effective with the latter- trying to prevent tickets by planning a ride in such a way that avoids giving the cops a reason to be angry. I am not as confident / experienced dealing with law enforcement face to face, so naturally I try to stay out of confrontations - or try to avoid them altogether.
Unfortunately with a group the size of crank mob, it might be damn near impossible to avoid negative attention from the cops like this, but hopefully with a little ingenuity on the planning side it will get better.
jonnyboy03.27.09 - 11:36 am
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what i find most shocking is their total disregard to public safety. it's as if they dont realize that driving into a crowd of cyclists against traffic is dangerous. and to pull people off of moving bikes like a glory-gone high school football player. i just can't imagine what was going through their heads.
this sheer stupidity terrifies me. then i think of how many people they are fucking with when no one's around. that's what really makes me angry. there are a lot of smart, caring police officers in LA, there are a few that have room for improvement and then there are a few that belong in jail. well, let's hope they learn something from this experience and become better people.
we can only hope. i know the images and stories of last night will be with me for a long time.
tortuga_veloce03.27.09 - 12:46 pm
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Alex didn't get a ticket for not having a bike license. He got a ticket for running a red......but he wasn't in a car, or near his bike....
Jaz03.27.09 - 1:07 pm
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you know what it's true about the cops just driving into the mass I've seen it several times....
on the last MR ride, a oldschool cop drove into the mass on the right side. started lunging at the ridazz in front of him and I yelled out for everyone to get their cameras out and start documenting because it was the same scenario that happened with the veganbananapenis ride in which the cops pulled dangerously in front of everyone who was riding. unfortunately someone photographed right in the cops face and that pissed him off even more and he starting pulling over a rida.
at the end of the day the cop's big complaint was that someone photographed him and we were so distracted with talking to him about that that I completely forgot that the cop himself was being dangerous and thus the reason we were taking pictures!
Roadblock03.27.09 - 1:09 pm
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RB, can you delete the photo I upped to the "shopped" gallery......I didn't know animated GIFs weren't supported....
Eric Hair03.27.09 - 1:24 pm
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im hopeful that this will be a turning point for the LAPD. not to say that the work will ever be done, but important people are paying attention to us. let's make the most of it and keep moving forward.
tortuga_veloce03.27.09 - 2:20 pm
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Ridazz Roulette!
