Annual Ride of the Century - Police Road Blocks

[gt_turbo]

Link to original page on YouTube.

poor squids.

[93etgocart]

wow and to think i was going to go be a part of that this year

[n4mwd]

Sheesh, they sure have a lot of crooked cops over there. A motorcycle has a right to go down the road just as much as a car.

That is so retarded... what were they doing wrong besides the speeding?

edit: I mean what were they doing wrong before they ran.

[Ben M]

Excuse the dumb question, but why did they run?

They ran because the police blocked off the road and were forcibly pulling the riders off of their bikes and running into them.

[n4mwd]

Right out of the police gone wild video series.
The cops were targeting the group of motorcyclists not individual motorcyclist.
So if you were on 2 wheels, it's okay to run you over.
Posted via Mobile Device

[jpbear]

Did those guys go the wrong way onto the ramp? towards the end?

[n4mwd]

Looked that way. They were in escape for your life mode.
Posted via Mobile Device

[DaveTheCanuck]

I'd like to see the full video of the entire ride. $50 says a lot more went on prior to this recording. If you look carefully, a lot of the bikes don't even have plates on. The recording starts as the Police were already showing up.

You don't remove your plates and then run from the police if you weren't doing anything wrong.

[dirty nasty]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Sheesh, they sure have a lot of crooked cops over there. A motorcycle has a right to go down the road just as much as a car.

Originally Posted by codestp202

That is so retarded... what were they doing wrong besides the speeding?

edit: I mean what were they doing wrong before they ran.

Did you not see how they were blocking the WHOLE ****ING ROAD!? Or how they police were trying to get everyone to stop and they just kept going on like it was nothing? Or how they went on the grass and up a ramp the wrong direction? Just everyone pull over, take out your papers and turn it into a social gathering. Unless something is amiss (you have no insurance, license, arrest warrants) then chances are you won't be getting tickets in a group that large.

This is how you can have a large ride, yet stay organized and not block off the road causing a dangerous situation.



These guys are morons and deserve everything they got. I hope they all get caught.

And yes, there is plenty of footage of many of the riders speeding and stunting before this clip.

[rabies]

the law and what is right are 2 different things sometimes...
using your vehicle for assualt is attempted murder...jus saying...cops are any better...

[dirty nasty]

Yeah and these guys didn't do anything right. Clearly there is a marked patrol car with its lights on signaling for everyone to pull over. Did anyone stop? Nope. Did everyone evade the road block, ride on the grass and go the wrong way on a ramp? Yup. Does that sound like the right thing to do, ever, especially if you're a law abiding citizen? Nope. Betcha a bunch of those riders were unlicensed, uninsured, stolen bikes, or had arrest warrants. Why else would you run? Can't afford a ticket? You have to pay to play, otherwise get the **** off the road.

And if you are going to run, do it right and GET AWAY. We ride (assuming mostly everyone there was on super sports) rocket ships that can attain 140+MPH no problem. They're in Crown Vic's. Bend your plate up and leg it! I never had a problem getting away from the police even before I had a license on my mom's BF's FZR600. Or on my MX bikes. Fortunately for me and unfortunately for the kids I used to know I learned from watching their mistakes and my running days are over and have been for years. It's just not worth it.

[DaveTheCanuck]

Originally Posted by rabies

the law and what is right are 2 different things sometimes...
using your vehicle for assualt is attempted murder...jus saying...cops are any better...

If you or me start bumping our cars into random people, then yes it is.

That's not what happened though. Given the circumstances, the Police had every right to stop the bikes from evading. Contact was made at low speeds in attempt to get the riders to stop and/or dislodge them.

If they did it while the bikes were traveling at highway speed, then it's a different story.

[rabies]

Originally Posted by DaveTheCanuck

If you or me start bumping our cars into random people, then yes it is.

That's not what happened though. Given the circumstances, the Police had every right to stop the bikes from evading. Contact was made at low speeds in attempt to get the riders to stop and/or dislodge them.

If they did it while the bikes were traveling at highway speed, then it's a different story.

even at head on like in the video......................?

[dirty nasty]

Ya that was more of a case of a 2 ton vehicle trying to stop on grass going down an incline vs. a bike that rode in front of the car.

And if the police chose to knock the riders of the bikes I wouldn't feel any remorse. I always expected them to do so to me in my running days. You play, you pay.

[bdavison]

Yeah, I gotta side with the cops on this one.

1. Big group blocking off a interstate, and riding in such a chaotic pattern as to be not only a hazard to themselves but to other motorists as well.
2. Speeding right in front of the cops.
3. Police turned on lights and sirens to get them to pull over and they didn't.
4. They ran.
5. They ran up the wrong way on an on-ramp the minute they heard the siren (watch the video)
6. They ran through an intersection...the wrong way.

Remind me never to ride with these idiots.

[n4mwd]

I looked at the video again, a few points:

1. They were either speeding or blocking the road, you can't do both at the same time. I don't know about the laws in that state, but its not illegal here to block the road as long as you are doing the speed limit or better. Heck, truckers do it all the time and you don't see the cops trying to run them off the road.

2. Taking up all the lanes... While this might not be good riding etiquette, its not illegal. Again, cars do it ALL the time in rush hour traffic. And you don't see cops running them off the road.

3. Going backwards up an on-ramp... While the biker technically broke the law doing this, the cop attempted manslaughter when he cut his wheels and headed straight for the biker.

4. Why did they run... The description of the video says:"The riders were all clearly wearing their helmets, nobody was speeding, there were no stunters performing any tricks, and no laws or traffic violations were being broken to provoke the mayhem that law enforcement felt necessary."

5. They all looked like they had tags to me. Some were up under the fender, but it was there.

However, there may be more to this than we see in the video. Here is another video of the same ride - only its the entire ride. There are biker cops shown in the video just riding along peaceably with their biker bros. One thing for sure is that the ROC coordinators could do with a little more organization and cooperation with the authorities when organizing these things.

Link to original page on YouTube.

[DaveTheCanuck]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

I looked at the video again, a few points:

1. They were either speeding or blocking the road, you can't do both at the same time. I don't know about the laws in that state, but its not illegal here to block the road as long as you are doing the speed limit or better. Heck, truckers do it all the time and you don't see the cops trying to run them off the road.

2. Taking up all the lanes... While this might not be good riding etiquette, its not illegal. Again, cars do it ALL the time in rush hour traffic. And you don't see cops running them off the road.

3. Going backwards up an on-ramp... While the biker technically broke the law doing this, the cop attempted manslaughter when he cut his wheels and headed straight for the biker.

4. Why did they run... The description of the video says:"The riders were all clearly wearing their helmets, nobody was speeding, there were no stunters performing any tricks, and no laws or traffic violations were being broken to provoke the mayhem that law enforcement felt necessary."

5. They all looked like they had tags to me. Some were up under the fender, but it was there.

However, there may be more to this than we see in the video. Here is another video of the same ride - only its the entire ride. There are biker cops shown in the video just riding along peaceably with their biker bros. One thing for sure is that the ROC coordinators could do with a little more organization and cooperation with the authorities when organizing these things.

#1 and #2: There's a big difference between heavy traffic and an organized event whereby the participants are purposely taking up the entire highway.

#3: Gently bumping into a motorcycle is not attempted murder. The bikes were evading and, as I stated above, they have every right to do what is necessary to stop that. At no point in those maneuvers were any bikers in immediate risk of death.

#4: Take what these squids say with a massive grain of salt. They were far from law abiding citizens. Many were stunting. Many were speeding. Many were riding recklessly. See the second video below, uploaded by another member of the group.

#5: Many bikes were missing plates (or covered/hidden, it's really the same thing).

Link to original page on YouTube.

In the end, this is exactly the reaction this group is looking for. They set out looking to incite a Police response and that's exactly what they got, then they take to the internet to rage on how their rights and freedoms are being oppressed

[dirty nasty]

Exactly. These guys are clowns. It's appalling you'd even defend their behavior. Like I've said, I hope they catch whoever they can and punish them accordingly.

[akima]

I'm guessing many of those people in police uniforms are seriously broken people. It was horrible seeing that cop car being deliberately steered towards that motorcycle (with two people on it) during the second highlighted impact. Why would anyone do that to another human being? To deliberately try and knock people down onto hard pavement... wtf.

Originally Posted by DaveTheCanuck

Contact was made at low speeds in attempt to get the riders to stop and/or dislodge them.

I guess you haven't seen @Jiggles crash video. He was travelling at low speeds when he collided with a vehicle. As a result of that low speed crash, he lost months of his life, has probably got permanently reduced mobility, no doubt suffered lots of mental anguish, certainly felt a ton of physical pain and now has metal in his body where there used to be bone.

The thought of ever steering a car towards a motorcyclist feels virtually unfathomable to me. I can think of very few scenarios where it might make sense (like... if they're shooting at you from their bike... unlikely!). The situation in that video was nothing like that though.

[Jiggles]

Akima knows me so well

[DaveTheCanuck]

I'm not familiar with Jiggles' crash.

What I do know is that in the first instance in these videos, the Police cruiser was traveling at a snails pace. The car literally "nudged" the front end of the bike.

In the second instance, the Police cruiser was at a complete standstill. Yes, he drove towards the bike, however he came to a complete stop in an effort to block the bike. The bike then bumped into the front of the car. Do you know how this could have been avoided? If the bike wasn't traveling in the wrong direction in an attempt to evade the Police.

Sorry, but I have zero respect for these nuts.

If you ride like an idiot and purposely try to incite a reaction from the Police, don't complain when you get exactly that.

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by DaveTheCanuck

#1 and #2: There's a big difference between heavy traffic and an organized event whereby the participants are purposely taking up the entire highway.

So a 1000 bikers have less rights than 1000 cars? Bikers pay tax and have just as much right to be on the road as anybody else.

#3: Gently bumping into a motorcycle is not attempted murder. The bikes were evading and, as I stated above, they have every right to do what is necessary to stop that. At no point in those maneuvers were any bikers in immediate risk of death.

I totally disagree there. Deliberately hitting a biker with your car is an attempt to injure or kill the biker. Its not OK to nudge a motorcycle cop with your car when you want to get his attention. Nor is it Ok for anyone to treat any other biker like that. If a car hits a car, your biggest expense is like buying a new airbag. Hit a biker and he's going to get hurt - at any speed.

#4: Take what these squids say with a massive grain of salt. They were far from law abiding citizens. Many were stunting. Many were speeding. Many were riding recklessly. See the second video below, uploaded by another member of the group.

I saw one squid doing a wheelie in that video. So arrest THAT squid. The cops were clearly trying to stop ALL bikers from getting TO the ROC.

#5: Many bikes were missing plates (or covered/hidden, it's really the same thing).

A few maybe. But if the cops have a reputation of harassing bikers, I think I'd hide mine too. In your video you can clearly see when the camera reaches the top of the overpass what happens to riders that did stop for the cops. So what if the cops did catch that specific rider presumably riding backwards up the on ramp - how come the passenger was handcuffed too? The passenger is not in control of the vehicle. That one is obvious harassment.

Also, if you can believe the poster's comments, motorcycle only roadblocks are illegal in that state. When the cops break the law, anything that happens after that is called "Fruit of the poisonous tree".

In the end, this is exactly the reaction this group is looking for. They set out looking to incite a Police response and that's exactly what they got, then they take to the internet to rage on how their rights and freedoms are being oppressed

Exactly how is riding peaceably down the road "inciting a Police response"?

Definitely the chamber of commerce there needs to reel in their cops. All those bikers spend money there and if the city had any brains, they would welcome the bikers and try to work with them to make it safer and less chaotic.

[DaveTheCanuck]

Yeah, you're right, nevermind.

[Jiggles]

Now having watched the video, if you run from the cops and get hit by a car, well ****, I don't care about you.

It's funny how some people defend the right to be a criminal

[xSean13]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

So a 1000 bikers have less rights than 1000 cars? Bikers pay tax and have just as much right to be on the road as anybody else.



I totally disagree there. Deliberately hitting a biker with your car is an attempt to injure or kill the biker. Its not OK to nudge a motorcycle cop with your car when you want to get his attention. Nor is it Ok for anyone to treat any other biker like that. If a car hits a car, your biggest expense is like buying a new airbag. Hit a biker and he's going to get hurt - at any speed.




I saw one squid doing a wheelie in that video. So arrest THAT squid. The cops were clearly trying to stop ALL bikers from getting TO the ROC.



A few maybe. But if the cops have a reputation of harassing bikers, I think I'd hide mine too. In your video you can clearly see when the camera reaches the top of the overpass what happens to riders that did stop for the cops. So what if the cops did catch that specific rider presumably riding backwards up the on ramp - how come the passenger was handcuffed too? The passenger is not in control of the vehicle. That one is obvious harassment.

Also, if you can believe the poster's comments, motorcycle only roadblocks are illegal in that state. When the cops break the law, anything that happens after that is called "Fruit of the poisonous tree".




Exactly how is riding peaceably down the road "inciting a Police response"?

Definitely the chamber of commerce there needs to reel in their cops. All those bikers spend money there and if the city had any brains, they would welcome the bikers and try to work with them to make it safer and less chaotic.

It seems you don't understand how law enforcement works. Much of what you said can be applied on the opposite side as well.

"So what if the cops did catch that specific rider presumably riding backwards up the on ramp - how come the passenger was handcuffed too?"

Being handcuffed is simply being 'detained' -- it in no way means that they are under arrest or charged with anything. They could handcuff ALL of the bikers (if they had that many pairs of cuffs) if they wanted and they would be detained until whatever current issue they were investigating was solved.

[akima]

Originally Posted by xSean13

It seems you don't understand how law enforcement works. Much of what you said can be applied on the opposite side as well.

"So what if the cops did catch that specific rider presumably riding backwards up the on ramp - how come the passenger was handcuffed too?"

Being handcuffed is simply being 'detained' -- it in no way means that they are under arrest or charged with anything. They could handcuff ALL of the bikers (if they had that many pairs of cuffs) if they wanted and they would be detained until whatever current issue they were investigating was solved.

I thought the USA system was similar to here.

Over here, the police can only legally detain someone if they have arrested them. They can only arrest someone if they have reasonable suspicion that the human that they are arresting has committed a crime. I'm not sure what crime the officer thought the pillion he rammed with his car, had committed.

[xSean13]

Originally Posted by akima

I thought the USA system was similar to here.

Over here, the police can only legally detain someone if they have arrested them. They can only arrest someone if they have reasonable suspicion that the human that they are arresting has committed a crime. I'm not sure what crime the officer thought the pillion he rammed with his car, had committed.

Nope. For example: a fight/argument was called in, when the police arrive, they'll just detain everyone in the vicinity, split them up for questioning, determine who goes to jail, then release the 'innocent' ones. It's mostly used to make sure that they have control of the situation before progressing.

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by akima

I thought the USA system was similar to here.

Over here, the police can only legally detain someone if they have arrested them. They can only arrest someone if they have reasonable suspicion that the human that they are arresting has committed a crime. I'm not sure what crime the officer thought the pillion he rammed with his car, had committed.

Police will also handcuff other people for the police officers own safety.

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by xSean13

It seems you don't understand how law enforcement works. Much of what you said can be applied on the opposite side as well.

"So what if the cops did catch that specific rider presumably riding backwards up the on ramp - how come the passenger was handcuffed too?"

Being handcuffed is simply being 'detained' -- it in no way means that they are under arrest or charged with anything. They could handcuff ALL of the bikers (if they had that many pairs of cuffs) if they wanted and they would be detained until whatever current issue they were investigating was solved.

As I understand it, the cops can "detain" anyone for 24 hours without charging them with anything. But is that the appropriate response for people who apparently committed a minor traffic violation? Do the cops there also pull over speeding cagers and throw them down on the hot asphalt and handcuff them?

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI) – St. Louis was a host to the “Ride Of The Century” motorcycle meet-up last weekend. Thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts showed up in the Gateway city to show off their rides and their skills. Many performed trick rides on St. Louis highways and streets. They are part of a motorcycle riding group that goes by the name “Streetfighterz”.

St. Louis County Police have released the statistics related to any crime that may have been associated with the “Ride of the Century”. County police say that although there was some crime there were no fatal accidents, assaults or property damage reported. These numbers are police information from Friday, September 14 through Sunday, September 16.

Police said they would have massive enforcement to keep the motorcycle riders in check. They did and police say their effort was a success.

St. Louis County Police Crime Statistics:

• Related Calls for Service: 76
• 63 Citations
• 19 Arrests (two drug arrests, 1 warrant arrest, all others were traffic arrests)
• 18 Towed motorcycles
• 3 guns seized
• 2 drug arrests
• 1 vehicle accident

Missouri Highway Patrol Crime Statistics:

• 85 Citations
• 5 Warrant Arrests
• 95 Warnings
• 18 Bikes Towed
• 4 Accidents

There were two minor accidents related to the ride as well.

Some of the riders who came from all over the country say they believe the safety issue is being overblown by police. They claim the motorcycle rider is in the most danger not the driver of a car. There were no traffic fatalities, assaults or property damage related the Streetfighterz activities.

St. Louis city police reported no arrests, citations or accidents with the motorcycle group.

St. Louis county police went one step further in enforcement, sending letters to the insurance companies of those ticketed for dangerous driving.

The last sentence proves vindictiveness on the part of the cops. Its pretty clear the cops are being motivated by hate and not by safety.

[alex.s]

http://vimeo.com/49723027

[Mountain Dew]

n4: Tell me how peaceful, safe, and respectful of the law and other drivers this is https://www.facebook.com/StreetfighterzROC
For ****s sake, the moment you click on their facebook page, you're greeted with breaking the law.

The entire purpose of the event is to "take over" the highway. And what do you do when you take over the highway? Exactly like it sounds. You block the traffic.
Not only is there a severe disregard for safety and law AT the event, it's also to and from the event. I'm sure many of you have seen videos where people are riding to it on dirtbikes, bikes without plates, and even ATVs, and they're all doing wheelies, cutting through traffic, making WAY too much noise, running lights, and blocking intersections.

Yes, the entire purpose of the Ride of the Century is to cause chaos, break the laws, and get a rise out of the police so they can cry about it on youtube (as seen in the first video).

n4, your view is extremely skewed and biased towards the "bikers never do anything wrong and anyone who says otherwise is wrong and trying to infringe on our rights! Oh and **** da popo!!!!!!!"

Oh, ever heard the term "guilty by association?" Yeah, everyone knows what the ROC is and what they do. Hell, they've been doing it for 13(?) years. Like many people said already, "you play, you pay."

My friends and I have a running joke about the name of the Ride of the Century.

Why do they call it the Ride of the Century if it happens every year?
Because 95% of them are dead, in jail, or in the hospital, and the other 5% are too stupid to remember they had one the previous year!

[mustang5.0]

dont break numerous laws and run from the cops

[n4mwd]

'Ride Of The Century' Event Contained, Say St. Louis County Police

No traffic fatalities, assaults or property damage crimes were reported to the St. Louis County Police Department related to the 2012 “Ride of the Century” annual motorcycle activities.

When the Streetfighterz motorcycle group—known for doing stunts will traveling on highways—came to St. Louis for its annual Ride of the Century, hundreds of bikers from across the country rolled into town on Saturday. Missouri Department of Transportation officials and area police officers stepped up patrols, and drivers took pictures of the ride at various points.

In fact, the Missouri Highway Patrol used road blocks to stop hundreds of the group's bikers from traveling on certain highways over the weekend. As many as 1,700 motorcycle riders were estimated to be convening in St. Louis for this event.

Clearly in violation of state law. If you're a biker, you can't ride down this road.

[alex.s]

yet again both sides are completely retarded.

cops, what were you expecting to happen? obviously no forethought was put into it.
riders, are you stupid? to the ones riding illegally and running, stop being an idiot. to the ones riding legally who still ran, you're seriously ****ing retarded and need to stop riding. to those who didn't do anything wrong, and didn't run. keep being awesome. we thank you for keeping the cameras on.

[Mountain Dew]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Clearly in violation of state law. If you're a biker, you can't ride down this road.

No, seriously, you need to stop.

". . . used road blocks to stop hundreds of the group's bikers from traveling . . ."

[Kevin2109]

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by Mountain Dew

n4, your view is extremely skewed and biased towards the "bikers never do anything wrong and anyone who says otherwise is wrong and trying to infringe on our rights! Oh and **** da popo!!!!!!!"

Oh, ever heard the term "guilty by association?" Yeah, everyone knows what the ROC is and what they do. Hell, they've been doing it for 13(?) years. Like many people said already, "you play, you pay."
...
Why do they call it the Ride of the Century if it happens every year?
Because 95% of them are dead, in jail, or in the hospital, and the other 5% are too stupid to remember they had one the previous year!

Yes my views on cops ARE skewed a lot. Maybe the fact that two months after I started riding a cop ARRESTED ME for riding on a dirt road out in the woods with my Ninja. I disagree that I broke any laws, but even if I was, it was clearly an infraction so the cop should have given me a ticket. Sure it was just a misdemeanor and the DA threw it out before it even went before the judge, but that doesn't erase the HASSLE of being arrested. As part of my research in to my case I discovered that the same cop a month before had found two guys out there on a four wheeler drunk and shooting at road signs. THEY got a $50 ticket for having an open container. No charges whatsoever for illegal gun use. So yeah, if I was on an ATV, the cop would have probably waived and drove on or something. For the record, the ONLY cops I can trust are motorcycle cops - and even then, not all of them.

If you think cops wont bother an innocent biker minding his own business, try riding along with those folks next year. We'll take up a collection for your bail money.

So you are saying that 95% of the participants last year are dead, in jail or the hospital??? Where is your proof of that statistic? There were 24 arrests this year. 24/1700 X 100 = 1.4%

After reading up on the streetfighterz it seems that they are a stunting group based out of St Louis that doesn't believe that stunting should be illegal on the street. So effectively, the ride is a political statement and protected by the first amendment. I know that Abate members have done similar things such as riding with no helmet where it is illegal. However, I will agree that the streetfighterz would further their cause a lot better if they would do so in a manner that didn't piss off a lot of people. They might also do better to ride in the capitol city rather than st louis.

Its a fact that they did do some stunting in the roads. But did any bystanders get hurt? No. That goes to say its not as dangerous as some people say.

[Kevin2109]

@n4mwd you are the epitome of a troll, you disagree with everything that anyone says on this sight. Go troll a different forum, I'm sick of you