RE: THE GROVE
Thread started by
Cutter at 09.27.08 - 2:22 pm
James got body slammed into the wall and cuffed. I was the other guy who the cops were trying to make an example out of.
I just want to say "thanks" to everybody who left. I got to go home and fall asleep watching Futurama instead of being arrested.
Wotta show, BTW. We were definitely the white whales of the evening. After the guy who checked me into the stone planter (not as bad as James) called for backup, there were lots of LAPD knuckle bumps, some pathetic attempts at intimidation and talk of "straight pimpin' the stripes" - all over a couple of bicyclists.
Bottom line: those assholes were looking for a fight, and I appreciate you guys not taking the bait.
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What was the problem anyway? Why did they tackle those guys? I wasnt there to see any of that. Whos idea was it to ride the grove?
stillline09.27.08 - 2:41 pm
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i'm not sure i see why we'd go to the grove.. unless its a break area, whats the point of riding through a place that prohibits bikes AND cars? the whole point, i thought, was to get people used to the idea of bikes on the road, not a private mall.
besides, the grove sucks anyway.
the_futurist09.27.08 - 2:53 pm
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i would recommend not going to the grove anymore... those guys showed up so quickly... they just couldn't wait to get at us.
let's just stay on the streets where we have more rights.
honestly i saw the whole thing go down and it was fucking bullshit. 25 cops standing around watching 2 passive cyclists get questioned. what a waste of tax payer money.
in any case, we should just stay clear. no one wants to spend the night in jail, even if the cops doing the arresting are just bored assholes.
bridellinger09.27.08 - 2:53 pm
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fuck the grove. sucks that cops body slamming someone is what it took to get everyone to decide not to go there. it rewards their bad behaviour.
Roadblock09.27.08 - 4:14 pm
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normal people are probably really scared seeing rogue roving groups of communist hippies running the streets! get them out of our shopping mall they are ruining business!!
Roadblock09.27.08 - 4:15 pm
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I remember going through the Grove for the first time and thinking "Fuck yeah, I hate the Grove! Let's terrorize this shit!"
But it's true. Once we can't get away with it anymore, things get ugly.
Moderation.
imachynna09.27.08 - 4:16 pm
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I admit, it was a bad idea to go there last night. We walked our bikes through the Grove after the cops released both Cutter and James, which is allowed.
If we want to make a statement, we should walk our bikes through the Grove. Other than that if we had turned down Beverly Blvd or 3rd street last night and headed straight for Pan Pacific Park, none of this would have happened.
Lesson learned.
skd09.27.08 - 4:38 pm
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Riding through the Grove
is was a Critical Mass tradition. It always took a certain skill to do it while avoiding the rent-a-cops.
But yeah I understand. It's a pedestrian street. Whom are we trying to terrorize? Pedestrians?
It was funny though when we went through it during
Santacon. The Rent-a-cops still tried to stop us. For what? Wearing red ? And then they called LAPD who caught up with us at LAPD and questioned the megaphone Santa ------>
marino09.27.08 - 4:45 pm
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who caught up with us at LAPD
who caught up with us at PanPacific Park
marino09.27.08 - 4:47 pm
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was it LAPD or rent a cops who tackled the rider? either way someone needs to SUE their asses.
Roadblock09.27.08 - 4:54 pm
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It was a cop. I'm not letting this one go....stuff like this needs to be documented with possibly internal affairs at Parker Center. They're fucking with us way too much now and lying to our faces about what they stop us for and after body slamming a rider. I don't even know if Parker Center is the place to report it but it's gotta be one step above the local police station. DJ Wheels? you have any advice?
barleye09.27.08 - 5:27 pm
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kind of makes me glad there are only five sheriffs in the whole morongo basin at any given time
Little Evil Eddy09.27.08 - 5:49 pm
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Stay away from malls. It happened at the Grove. It happened at the Santa Monica Promenade. A couple years ago, when MR went to the Glendale Galleria, Glendale PD corralled us out of Glendale ( helicopters and all). Any place that has private security will have the cops coming,
sc_nomad09.27.08 - 9:36 pm
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IT WAS AN LAPD OFFICER THAT TRIED TO TACKLE ME, AFTER WHAT I TOLD HIM, HE LETS ME GO WITH A 'GET OUT OF HERE'.
HE WAS NOT PREPARED FOR ME AND MY BIKES TOTAL WEIGHT, AND MY VERBAL ONSLAUGHT.
THINKING ABOUT IT NOW, 24 HOURS LATER, MAKES ME KINDA CONFUSED, AS TO WHY HE DID NOT PUSH THE ISSUE WITH ME.
AND I AGREE THAT WE HAVE BEEN WARNED, PLEASE DO NOT EVER RIDE THROUGH THE GROVE.
eddieboyinla09.28.08 - 2:59 am
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Thank heaven that Critical Mass is there to defend our right to go to a shitty mall on a Friday evening.
PC09.28.08 - 4:08 am
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You can go to the mall anytime. Just can't ride through it. It's private property, they can make whatever rules they want.
sc_nomad09.28.08 - 9:07 am
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@Little Evil Eddy
Riverside Co. Sheriff's Department is a pretty, lax department from what I hear anyway.
Some dude told me that he was pulled over and the Riverside County deputy knew he was drinking, but alright to get home, so deputy lets him go with a warning.
Crosses from Mira Loma into Fontucky, and a San Bernardino County deputy unleashes the Hounds of Hell on him!!!
bentstrider09.28.08 - 10:40 am
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bent, thats possibly the difference between just a single rider vs a mob of 200+.
ruinedbyidiots09.28.08 - 11:28 am
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@ruinedbyidiots
Then perhaps I need to install smoke-dischargers on the back of my bike.
bentstrider09.28.08 - 11:33 am
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ive never been a huge fan of deciding to rolling the grove for the above mentioned reasons.
although it is fun to cruise through there to let people get a load of the spectacle.
In the past the rent-a-cops have been really mellow about it. At worst telling people to walk their bikes ... but usually just watching the crazy spectacle figuring it will be smoother if they don't fuck with us as long as we aren't being rude or dangerous.
There must have been some uptight rookie that called the cops.
How long where you there? Its only ever taken us a total of 3-5 minutes to roll that place ... were people fucking around or something or were the cop just there by coincidence?
trickmilla09.28.08 - 1:58 pm
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I wasn't at this ride, so I only have some of the accounts on these threads to go on.
Getting tackled by the cops when you're riding your bike sounds bad. Especially if you're not doing anything wrong. However, trespassing on private property in plain view of the police is not only sufficient reasonable suspicion to detain someone, but it's also enough probable cause to arrest someone as well.
Cops are given a lot of discretion when it comes to using force. "Reasonable force" is a somewhat amorphous and definitely subjective term. So it really comes down to the specific facts of each case. I think it would be difficult to convince a jury that getting tackled from your bike is ALWAYS "unreasonable" and thus excessive force.
If there was some evidence of injury that would make for a better case and perhaps give you a sympathetic plaintiff. However, we go back to the original reason for the cops deciding to "detain" this person. Trespassing...and on a bicycle, which can be considered a form of escape. If an order was made by the cops to STOP and the guy kept rolling... you can throw in evading the police as justification for the tackle as well.
A good defense attorney for the cops can come up with a number of reasons why tackling someone from their bike is reasonable and thus a justified use of force. Immobilizing a trespassing suspect that could potentially flee the scene on a bike is one obvious one.
Honestly, filing a civil suit against the cops for a civil rights violation based on excessive force, from the few facts I've read here, is probably a losing case.
You could file a complaint at the station regarding the cop's actions, but I'm sure they get tons of those. Without a real court case, those complaints tend to be useless.
DJwheels09.28.08 - 2:45 pm
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^^^^^ Good points!
While on foot, how do you stop a person on a bike? As for getting away, bikes have an advantage.
sc_nomad09.28.08 - 3:53 pm
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FUCK the grove...that was horrible...the poor dude was tackled next to me...
but really whos bright idea was it to light sky flowers in pan pacific with a ghetto bird flying over the grove...not cool
MOM-RIDA-Raquel09.29.08 - 2:34 pm
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Somebody who is probably deaf, and/or doesn't pay attention to the sound of rotors in the distance.
I live right in the middle of a sheriff's dept/USMC/USAF/US Army/ArNG flight path, so I've grown accustomed to that particular sound.
bentstrider09.29.08 - 2:48 pm
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How long where you there? Its only ever taken us a total of 3-5 minutes to roll that place ... were people fucking around or something or were the cop just there by coincidence?
trickmilla
09.28.08 - 4:58 pm
it probably would have been less than this if the guy didnt get tackled because then all the bullshit started and thats why a bunch of people stopped. but i agree with staying away from that place for good.
ruinedbyidiots09.29.08 - 2:49 pm
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I wouldn't say stay away for good...maybe for several months though...
MOM-RIDA-Raquel09.29.08 - 3:19 pm
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you guys remember when one of the valley rides (maybe the big ass ride?) got hijacked up to city walk? how retarded was that. its like going to the grove. pointless.
ruinedbyidiots09.29.08 - 3:42 pm
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it's kind of fun to reign on their parade. you know, no one wants a bunch of hippie communists stinking the place up...
Roadblock09.29.08 - 3:43 pm
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yeah of course it is fun until someone gets a ticket
just remember to stay away from the parade areas in West Hollywood & hollywood and Highland next LACM...there will be cops gallore
MOM-RIDA-Raquel09.29.08 - 3:46 pm
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THE LAPD WERE WAITING AT THE GROVE, AND THEY ARE DEAD SET ON US 'NOT' RIDING THROUGH THE GROVE, THEY DONT EVEN WANT US IN PAN PARK, IF YOU PLAN A RIDE AND PLAN ON STOPPING TO THESE TWO SPOTS, I'M OUT OF THERE, I DON'T NEED TO BE TACKLED ( WHICH I WAS ALMOST TACKLED, FROM BEHIND ) OR TICKETS, I JOINED MR, BECAUSE I LOVE RIDING MY BIKE WITH COOL PEEPS.
AND NOT TO BE HASSLED BY COPS.
AND SETTING OFF FIRE WORKS AT THE PARK, TWO BLOCKS AWAY FROM THE ENTRANCE ( WHERE THE ORIGINAL PROBLEM STARTED ) TO THE GROVE, WITH A BIRD IN THE AIR, IS TOTALLY FUCKIN STUPID. TIMING WAS WAY THE FUCK OFF.
ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL WHAT WE GOT GOING HERE ???
DO YOU CARE HOW THIS AFFECTS THE REST OF US ???
ARE YOU AWARE THAT YOUR GOING TO MAKE LIFE FOR US HARDER ???
WE JUST WANT TO RIDE OUR BIKES, FREE OF POLICE HARASSMENT.
eddieboyinla09.29.08 - 3:58 pm
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just curious but are there no bike riding signs at the grove? the back entrance is never blocked by security....
barleye09.29.08 - 4:04 pm
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damn. the madness the madness.
when the group is to big to be controlled by the group it's time for a new game plan.
remoknows09.29.08 - 4:07 pm
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"new game plan"
excatly...we have been working for the last couple of days to find new spots the we have NEVER been to before...Spots that we know for sure we are not going to get hassled at
MOM_RIDAZ42009.29.08 - 4:10 pm
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I was wondering that too, I've never seen a no bikes sign at the Grove.
FuzzBeast09.29.08 - 4:13 pm
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