stolen bike party down the street from me
 

Police In Riot Gear Clear Large Crowd Of Dirt Bikers In Baltimore « CBS Baltimore


by "dirt bikers" they mean kids on stolen BMX and MTB (as they say at the end of the video)

there is a big park right there with dirt, grass, and MUPs they could ride in but I guess it's more cool to block a major road

No, they mean off road type motorcycles. Maybe there were a few people there on bicycles--some hangers-on always show up to these things on bicycles, but the main issue here is with large crowds of actual dirt bikes. Not bicycle related.

DITTO!!

I know where that is. It is an hour north of where I live. I do wonder, if the Baltimore PD suspected that the majority of the dirt bikes were stolen. Why did they only seize one?

the video has a couple seconds of footage of a couple motorized dirt bikes and much more footage of dozens of BMX/MTB riders blocking the street. who can tell the reality from the news!
I could ride down there next weekend and take a head count but I value my own bike and life too much :)

That's because the news cameras got there after it was all over. The dirt bikes were all gone.

There is a limit to what the police can do for search and seizure. Although, riding unlicensed motorcycles on the road would probably be enough to demand a S/N search. I didn't realize that motorcycle theft was that big of an issue though. The police may not have had adequate staff to actually do more than disperse the crowd.

Somewhat different, but in Eugene there is a skateboard park under the Washington Jefferson St. Bridge. I'm not big into skateboarding, but for years the city was fighting against the juvenile culture in that area. But they've now decided to build it up instead, and I think the result is a rather nice skateboarding area.

I wonder if rather than conducting raids, the government needs to better evaluate what kind of resources that are needed to suit all community members.

The kids on bicycles come out for the shindig too. The most troubling part for most is the dudes on dirt bikes riding wheelies up and down the road. There was a quad riding a wheelie in that one shot. I like the guy riding a bagger crossing the median! I've seen youtube video of sport bike posses rollin' out for these, too.

Motorcycle theft in urban areas is huge. If you have a dirt bike or late model Japanese bike you are a big target. Japanese bikes have a huge part out market and dirt bikes don't need to be registered, so they can go under the official radar. My 20 year old Ducati isn't a huge target, too hard to part out and too old, but I still worry about it.

What these guys do here in Brooklyn is get together and ride in huge groups on all kinds of bikes, but mostly dirt bikes and sport bikes. Sometimes you even see some quads. There will be at least 30 guys riding and sometimes over 100. They go totally nuts. Swerving in and out of traffic, going the wrong way down streets, blasting through lights, doing all kinds of stunts, etc, and all at high speed. It is both impressive and terrifying to see. I am not really a fan.

They had the manpower for the riots. They have the manpower to deal with this weekly occurrence.

Must've been a bigger than average turnout this weekend. They should do an organized crackdown.

Seems like this was not an organized crackdown, just increasing response to increased calls from the neighbors.

Just find a safe, drug free place for the kids to play.

Unless there are thousands like during the riots. The numbers of bikers doesn't add up to the numbers during the riots. It amounts to the Baltimore Police Department not caring.

Some consultant pals just finished a job in Baltimore (public service) and they said Baltimore is in dire straits. No money, a lack of summer services for kids which can result in gatherings like the one in the video. The sad part is - what else can you do during the summer vs. hanging out?

I feel bad for the folks who live there. Baltimore was once a thriving city, but industry felt out a long time ago.

That is correct. I thought when the Baltimore Orioles were sold by the family of (late)owner Edward Bennett Williams. To a group headed by Baltimore attorney Larry Luchino, and Oriole Park at Camden Yards was built on the site of the old shipyard. That things would pick up. But instead Baltimore achieved almost they same number of murders, in one year. That happened back when Marion Barry was Mayor of Washington, D.C. and was hooked on drugs(eventually caught in FBI sting). Still, I would rather go into Baltimore, than parts of suburban Maryland near DC.

Or maybe the Baltimore Police, given their limitations, did not wish to precipitate a riot under these conditions. Just because the Police do not act to your immediate desire does not mean they do not care.

I see you haven't been to the skate park. It's a bit safer now that the homeless camps have been moved out (that sure took a long time), but the drugs are still a problem. The savvy kids check for needles before they get started.

Just so you know he entire world has not gone insane I'll tell you about my visit to the small town of St. Mary's to swim in a quarry that's been converted into the town's outdoor swimming pool. They looked at me funny when I asked for a locker -- there are none -- and I was very impressed to see that none of the bikes left outside the entrance were locked up. There were some nice bikes there too. Some places haven't (yet?) changed .

Well, They confiscated one bike, why stop there. Better yet, why did they confiscate a bike to begin with. What made the Baltimore Police Department officer, focus on the one bike? As opposed to other bikes.

Some parts of the Maryland / DC area have suffered from poverty for decades and decades. And urban Baltimore especially so. When I was in Baltimore last summer I was surprised to see miles and miles of older homes abandoned (this includes parts of DC as Chris mentioned) and folks out on the street doing nothing. Given conditions (where you cannot occupy your brain, or maintain a livelihood) like that during the summer it is hardly surprising to see kids gathering about on their inexpensive bikes, or motorcycles trying to have some sort of "fun." In short - Baltimore is not/has not been doing well, and without some level of massive redevelopment, or huge social programs undertaking - will continue to be a sore spot for the nation. Pretty sad considering that the seat of the US government is only a short train, or drive away.

Somebody stole a bike party?

It's really hard to catch guys on dirt bikes, they can ride almost anywhere, and fast, especially when there are hundreds of them. The risk for the cops and community was probably not worth the reward of catching a few guys.

That's the thing, odds are high that someone will be physically or emotionally injured, and the police accused of over reacting......

I know near me motorcycles, scooters, dirt bikes and ATVs get stolen all of the time. They're light and small enough to just lift and toss in the back of a pickup truck. The angle grinder thieves everyone is so afraid of don't target bikes in my area - they're stealing this stuff. One estimate I heard was that 65% of the dirt bikes/ATVs in philly were stolen at some point (often from the burbs...right out of garages).

The main reason I don't have a motorcycle now is fear of it being stolen without a secure parking spot.

Police here are under orders not to chase them. Personally I'm in favor of pulling a rope across the street.

Riders shouldn't be running from the police....

But take an action that will put an unarmed teenager in the hospital, or even kill one... and they could be up for police brutality charges, or perhaps even homicide.

It has become pretty much status quo with "Mass" here in Atl that the "Quad Squad" join us for at least part of the ride. They are a riot, and act very respectful towards us as a group but in general are out causing mayhem messing with traffic and officers whom can't catch them.

At around 2:15 in this video are some of that same group, up to what they do:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jUX1aPtM5M