LAPD officers accused of clashing with bicyclists relieved of field duty during probe

Four police officers involved in a clash with cyclists in Hollywood during a mass bicycle ride have been removed from the field while investigators review the incident, an LAPD official said Wednesday.

Police launched an internal investigation into the Friday night episode after a video circulated that appeared to show an officer kicking at a passing bicyclist during a protest ride against BP's role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, said Cmdr. Andrew Smith.

Officers were at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue to ticket cyclists who failed to stop at red lights, he said.

The video, which was posted on YouTube with the title “Hollywood Cops Attack Bike Riders,” inflamed many bicycle activists, who have complained about mistreatment at the hands of the LAPD. Several dozen cyclists complained to officials Tuesday at a monthly meeting of the city’s bicycle advisory committee.

Among the attendees was LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, who told cyclists the investigation would be a “high-priority issue,” said Aurisha Smolarski of the Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition. Officers took statements from witnesses at the meeting.

At a meeting with bicycling activists in February, Beck vowed to make the LAPD more responsive to the rights of cyclists and to have officers crack down on motorists who disrespected cyclists' right to the road.

-- Kate Linthicum

Note: Video below contains foul language.

Comments

[jam soup]

I don't know what it is about all the losers in L.A. ( people. cops, everyone here) but they all seem to have a thing against people riding their bikes here.
Where is all the anger against bicyclists coming from?
If you want to learn something about human behavior, power tripping, misplaced aggression etc. then ride every day for a week.
People honk, they won't yield, they pull out in front of you etc. Every day I ride my bike in this city I have to avoid some sort of incident with people in cars.

The cops and city administration need to start cracking down on pedestrian and bicyclist rights pronto! If they don't then they aren't doing their jobs and if they aren't doing their jobs then they need to stop hiring more cops.

[Joel]

LAPD at its finest... Can anyone provide names of the officers seen in this video? I'm sure lots of people would like to know who they are... Lots of people...

[Woody McBreairty]

It is indeed sad, in this day and age, in a progressive city like L.A., that we still have members of the LAPD with the mentality of common criminals and street thugs. It makes you think the PD are the ones going around town looking for trouble and a way to express their violent tendencies, and not the regular folk. I always try to be on the side of the police, I respect what they do and am grateful they are willing to put their lives on the line each and every day they show up for work. However, this kind of behavior by those sworn to "protect and to serve" really inhibits your ability to be on their side. Too bad for everyone....

[Sally]

I am sorry about the video, but i have witnessed how rude and disrespectfull people can be in a crowd towards the officer who are there to protect us.

[sadtruth]

Just imagine if it wasn't caught on tape. They would be free to terrorize some more citizens. I hope that they are on leave without pay. Furthermore I hope they get fired. That's enough black eyes for the department that's suppose to serve and protect.

[Mad]

Without these video tapes, the world would never have known how BAD these cops are.

[Fundiphobia]

I hope that judges, attorneys, minorities, and any other citizens that think cops are here "to protect" us can see this. This behavior is not some bad apple among thousands of good cops, but rather another example of one of thousands of bullies and malcontents that the LAPD -- and law enforcement in general -- attracts.

Listen to the unfortunate bike rider's words, "What did I do?" And how many times have you heard a defendant say "I didn't do it" or that he didn't provoke the cop? It also makes you wonder how many innocent people are sitting in jail or prison because, after all, "cops always tell the truth." Right.

And before any of you Police Protective types lecture me (ever wonder why they even need such a group?), I'm a successful businessman and have never had even a parking ticket in my life, but I'm a minority who has experienced too many "bad apples" in my life to believe that this is an anomaly.

The majority of cops just can't wait to find any reason to beat someone up.

[Steve]

Well , I agree the kicking seemed unnecessary, the bicyclists who go out through Hollywood are often times jerks. When they are out there they feel they own the road. They hold up traffic, cut people off, hit cars, run red lights, and other thinkgs like that. I feel if they were more responsible with how they bike I would definately feel differently. BTW, when I say 'They' i do not mean all of the riders.

[ray]

HAHA!!! I mean what is protesting by riding your bike going to do to stop the oil leak???

[Tom Jones]

Funny how you people are bashing the LAPD without any of the facts surrounding this video. The cops just let hundreds of people ride by but decides to kick one guy for no reason? What was the guy doing right before he rode into the video?

You cannot claim this was an unprovoked attack or police brutality until you know the facts!!!

Like any other use of force, this should be investigated and the guilty party (police or citizen) should be punished accordingly.

[yo daddy]

all these bicycle activists need to get out of the way.they want the same rules as cars.so give it to them.make them register their bike make them pay for a licence to ride,let them pay insurance.that might cahsnge their ways.if not just run em over.road pizza!!!!

[Warren]

I pray the City of Los Angeles gets sued for the action of its four stupid cops.

[Patrick]

I think this LAPD officer should be punished. He did wrong. However, I take issue with the sanctimonious biking crowd. I'm n avid runner and hiker, so I too share the roads and trails with cars and others, but I consider myself equal, not ABOVE, as many bikers do. Ask yourself this, bikers: "At a stop sign or stop light, do I stop?" Nine out of ten times that I've witnessed, the answer is "no". Bikers simply don't want to a) lose their momentum, or b) unclip, so they just breeze through if it's clear, law be damned. Do cars ever do this at a red light or a stop sign? Never. Yet, bikers feel such laws don't applyb to them, but want equal rights to the road. Is that fair? If you want equal access and protection, then you should follow rules.

[Francoise]

Unbelievable. I'm scared to ride in L.A. solo because of the dangerous traffic (disrespectful drivers), so I ride in these big group rides sometimes because I feel much safer. Well, that illusion is gone now. Thanks to the LAPD no less!

[truck driver]

People that ride bicycles in the street are a hazard for everyone. Their lack of ability to achieve the posted speed limit and minimal safety precautions (headlights,turn signals,brake lights) never mind riding without a helmet!
They should be required to maintain the speed limit that is posted or give them a ticket for impeding the flow of traffic! never mind the fact that I pay fuel taxes that pay for the street upkeep maybe they should pay some use fees also. Does anyone know if they filed for a parade permit or was this another case of unlawful gathering

[Doug W.]

I was down there when this happened. I don't think the cops attacked the bikers, it looked like the bikers attacked the city. They totally disrupted everything and the cops had to come to restore order. The bikers totally disrespected everyone else, especially the cops. A mob is a mob, even on bicycles.

[noname]

Bicyclists force drivers to be responsible for their safety. You force liability upon us for your decision to ride a bike. It's not safe, you shouldn't be doing it. Driving in a car is dangerous enough, drivers are already aggressive and angry and to have a cyclist with their better-than-you attitude forcing us to be liable for your safety is foolish. Get off the road. I have no sympathy for you.

[Double G]

I agree with jam soup, I commute to work twice a week on my bike and it is so stressful, I've had more than a handful of close calls with drivers, including one where I was startled and nearly lost control of my fully loaded bike by a cop who thought it would be funny to sound his siren right when he was going past me. He turned it off a few yards after passing. This city is terribly anti-cyclist and the culture needs to be changed at an earlier level.

[Pam]

Wow. What is it about the LAPD that hasn't changed since the 60s and 70s? Well, it's respect for the common citizen. When I was young and a hippie (good times!), the LAPD went after us as if we were criminals and treated us as such. Now they are going after bicyle riders? It's always easier to attack non-criminals. Let's see them go after the gangs! I guess that's too scary. That cop who kicked the bike, needs to get another job. Mall cop, maybe? I'm disgusted and I usually support the LAPD and admire the hard work they do. But this is ridiculous and sad.

[Kevin]

He obviously picked out that guy for a reason. Perhaps bicyclists should be more respectful of the laws of the road.

[David B]

LAPD officers have gold-plated pay and benefits in a city of poor working stiffs. We as taxpayers have a right to expect them to act as total professionals AT ALL TIMES. When the people in this video sue for excessive force, guess who pays? Not the cops, the taxpayers!

There's no reason to keep these 4 dim bulbs on the LAPD payroll when we can get better people for less money. There are unemployed academy grads with better qualifications and college degrees willing to take their place for half the pay.

Chief Beck, fire these bums.

[John Morrison]

And Villaragosa wants to boycott AZ over rights. Take care of your own house.

[Marissa]

I was actually driving in that area the night this happened. TRUST ME the bikers were basically taking over the road making it nearly impossible to drive. They were darting in and out of traffic making it difficult to drive and very scary. It was like they just decided to take over the street peddling all over the lanes and shutting down access to motorists. I have no problem with the cyclists but this was more of a civil disobedience move -- hundreds of them just doing what they wanted and taunting the drivers and the police who were on the side. It appeared that the police were letting them proceed but many of the cyclists were really out of control and it is amazing none of them were struck by motorists.

[Pro-Car]

"Beck vowed to make the LAPD more responsive to the rights of cyclists and to have officers crack down on motorists who disrespected cyclists' right to the road."

What right to the road? The roads are built and maintained because of tax dollars and DMV registrations. How are the cyclists contributing to the funding and maintenance of the roads? Did the state start collecting bicycle registrations? NO. As far as I'm concerned, they should yield to cars in traffic at all times. If not, then they can't complain when they get creamed because they thought they were entitled to something they weren't.

You know why people don't like them? They slow down traffic. They get in the middle of the road in the turn lanes and make driving conditions that much more dangerous during rush hour traffic in the mornings and afternoons. I see bicyclists run red lights all the time, they don't stop at a red when making right turns, 90% of them don't use hand signals, it's ridiculous.

[citizen]

This was probably not the first time that these four have abused someone. They would not do it if they did not think they could get away with it. They did not care if they were being caught on tape.