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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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While I'm all for bikes on the road, this was an incredible waste of everyone's time.
Surely in that meeting the Inspector General told Alex "stop being a pretentious prick and we'll stop ticketing you for no reason." I can guarantee you its a bigger problem for Alex Thompson than it is for law enforcement.
Quit being instigators, Crank Mob. You're not winning anyone over.
"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..."
I guess it could be considered arbitrary enforcement in terms of Alex and his fellow cyclist being singled out and made examples of, but let's not forget the flagrant misbehavior of some of the people on the large group ride taking place that evening made it a high priority for the responding officers and unfortunately resulted in Alex and his fellow cyclist being detained and cited.
Yea, the "lesson learned" is that cops will handcuff and detain you whenever they please. And it takes going to the police commission and publicly pleading your case before the mistake is acknowledged.
The actual lesson is an old one. It's easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.
Chris, despite what your opinion of Alex or crank mob may be, I bet you the Inspector General has a little more class and professionalism than to make a statement like, "stop being a pretentious prick and we'll stop ticketing you for no reason."
In fact, the guy's an attorney, not a cop. His job is to oversee complaints leveled against LAPD...not issue tickets to the public. He doesn't have the luxury of a gun and a badge to make ridiculous statements like the one you offer.
Hopefully, unruly cyclists and LAPD learn something from this fiasco, so they BOTH do the right thing next time.
Look at that 7 foot loser on a LAPD costume... Can you tell me he didn't have anything more important to do that night other than detaining that kid. Loser.... you don't have the balls to go to the gang hoods. This guy will pay his ticket... They can't really get anything from a gang... This is anarchy.. The gangs are out there doing what they want while that guy pays a ticket for riding a bike. Can this world be MORE upside down?
To phrase things positively, I love when LAist covers:
* local bands & music
* local politics, including transit & payroll & urban planning issues & elections
* national stories that impact Los Angeles
* interviews with emerging artists, musicians, DJ's, fashion designers, comedians, etc.
* neighborhood profiles
* breaking economic stories
* Gwyneth Paltrow's blog GOOP
* any rant by Ross A. Lincoln
And it drives me crazy when LAist covers:
* inflammatory statements & behavior by "hard-core" cyclists
It does inspire comments, though. Is that the goal?
You forgot to mention Ross Lincoln who is way overdue for a sarcasm laced diatribe on something that irritates him.
God, I miss those.
Maybe instead of cuffs the LAPD could make the switch to tear gas for next month's Crank Mob. Youtube could really using some more videos of anarchists/hipsters/trustfund kids getting throttled. A few of the videos from the RNC/DNC protests were just priceless in their entertainment value.
"Crank Mob" sounds like it
-- could have many meanings.
thanks, explaining that made it a lot funnier, totally worth the two comments
There are TWO ways for a bicycle operator to avoid holding up traffic:
1) Stay to the right as far as practicable. - This one gets all the attention, anyone can do it. But the cyclist has to go slower than he or she could go, on account of hazards and limited visibility.
2) Keep up with the posted speed limit. - Not everyone can pedal that fast, but there are those who do. Motorists who casually drive over the speed limit (Speeders) are generating a lot of anger. Please have some respect for the cyclist who is at or near the speed limit. CHECK YOUR SPEEDOMETER Before you attempt to pass a bicycle!
Too many motorists are driving like drug addicts who need their fix. No wonder the bicyclists are angry, they have every right to be.
There's another way. Don't ride on busy streets at prime drive times. That's just asking for trouble. The simple fact is that cyclists are a lot more vulnerable than drivers, and cannot keep up with traffic. It's just impossible.
And if people on either side have a right to be angry at the other, than you have to include the drivers who deal with cyclists constantly running red lights and dangerously shooting in front of cross-traffic with a sense of entitlement that isn't warranted.
I've had at least five different experiences in the last 6 months with cyclists who nearly caused an accident which would have left me looking like an aggressor, because they thought they deserved to ignore the rules that the rest of traffic is supposed to follow.
I agree, why should a cyclist have the same rights as a motorist?
because we pay federal, state, and local taxes to help pay for roads just like motorists do, and like motorists, we also use a vehicle to transport ourselves. the best parts are that we take up less room, don't cause traffic jams, impact and wear the roads less, and lower pollution!
because we pay federal, state, and local taxes to help pay for roads just like motorists do, and like motorists, we also use a vehicle to transport ourselves. the best parts are that we take up less room, don't cause traffic jams, impact and wear the roads less, and lower pollution!