Coastal communities disrupted by teenagers on e-bikes – NBC Los Angeles

Teenagers who ride electric bikes are causing problems in Southern California's beach communities, but police say many of them are riding illegal electric motorcycles and are difficult to catch.

“I was walking my dog… and I saw a guy on an electric bike and a swarm of kids all around him with weapons in their hands like rocks and different things, trying to throw things at him, trying to make a gap in front of him. , to get him off his route,” said Redondo Beach resident Tracy Robinson.

She is one of dozens of South Bay residents who captured groups of teens riding e-bikes as they raced down the beach, cursing at people and even setting off fireworks.

“I opened my door, I saw the remains falling on the house,” a Hermosa Beach resident told NBC4 of how a group of boys threw an M-80 at her house. “As I opened the door, they shouted, 'It's us.' We did it.'”

Last month, El Segundo police logged three criminal reports involving teenagers on e-bikes throwing fireworks at a service dog, a car and starting a brush fire on Pacific Coast Highway.

Manhattan Beach police tell NBC4 officers have issued more than 115 e-bike-related citations to teens and adults so far this year. That's even after the City Council approved stricter enforcement and increased fines in September.

Some incidents in Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach include physical assaults.

“I had a scraped face, bruised ribs and I had a concussion – they kicked me in the head,” said Randy, a Redondo Beach resident.

He and his girlfriend, Jen, asked that they be referred to only by their first names for safety reasons. The two were leaving the Beach Life Festival near the Redondo Pier on May 3 when a group of teenagers on electric bikes came speeding up.

“I told them to slow down, and they basically told me to leave, and then the last person in the gang hit Jen in the back and knocked her down,” Randy said.

“He went to grab one and it hit me,” Jen added, “And two other guys hit him in the head and picked him up and threw him to the ground and three guys were attacking him.”

When the police arrived, they arrested Randy and cited him for public intoxication.

“The kids left and he went to jail,” Jen said.

A Redondo Beach police spokesperson told NBC4 the incident was still under investigation, but confirmed Randy was facing a possible misdemeanor charge. They could not comment on any of the teens involved.

Randy said police told him the parents weren't going to press charges, something an 83-year-old Hermosa Beach man said police also told him after he sprayed bear spray in the air to keep electric bikers away from him. on the strand.

Hermosa Beach Police Chief Paul LeBaron said they respond when called, but catching the teens has been one of their biggest challenges.

“We know they used these bikes to get away quickly once they committed a crime,” LeBaron said.

In one incident in May, a teenager left his bike behind to try to run away.

“In 20 minutes we received three calls of children misbehaving on bikes and creating a danger to the public. We answered. The kids scattered, and as they dispersed, one of them left his electric motorcycle behind,” LeBaron said.

The “electric motorcycle” was a Sur-Ron, which is not made with pedals and can go up to 68 miles per hour. They are not street legal.

The California Vehicle Code defines e-bikes as a “bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of less than 750 watts.”

“Those who use electric motorcycles… are very, very dangerous. They disobey traffic laws and use these bikes to commit other crimes,” LeBaron said.

Chief LeBaron said police began impounding the bike when the boy returned with his father to retrieve it. A video posted on the Citizen app showed the boy's father asking each officer for their badge number.

“The father of the minor who owned the bike responded, he was angry with us and critical of our officers. Our officers did their job and they did it well,” LeBaron said, adding that three days later his investigators arrested the same boy for an alleged assault that allegedly occurred on April 28.

In this case, a video of a group of teenagers beating another boy had circulated on social networks. One of them held a can of alcohol before pouring drops on a boy and slapping him.

LeBaron said the teens' actions and the illegal bikes should be investigated as two separate incidents.

Over the past few months, Hermosa Beach has seized more than a dozen illegal electric motorcycles. In order to get them back, people must provide a DMV record and pay a fee.

As for citations, police said they range from traffic violations to having more than one driver to driving without a license. Fines can range from $200 to $1,000.

The Hermosa Beach City Council passed an emergency ordinance this week, following Manhattan and Huntington Beach last year, making it easier for officers to enforce e-bike rules, increasing fines and impounding bikes. For example, e-bikes are only allowed on the Hermosa Beach shore and pier if the engine is off, but officers say it can be difficult to determine whether electric power is being used.

The emergency order allows officers to make more judgments, such as driving in an “unsafe” manner. It also bans motorized bicycles in the city's green belt and requires rental companies to geotag e-bikes to prevent them from working in prohibited areas.

California has three classifications for legal e-bikes. In most cases, they cannot go faster than 20 miles per hour. A rider must be 16 years or older to ride an electric bike that reaches a maximum speed of 28 miles per hour. They must also wear a helmet.

Learn more about California e-bike regulations here.