A man riding an illegal dirt bike through the streets of South Los Angeles apparently thought he had the situation under control. He did not. What unfolded over the course of roughly ten minutes was one of the more brazen pursuits Southern California law enforcement has seen in recent memory: a helmetless rider weaving through red lights, riding the wrong way down divided roads, and casually holding his phone up to his face while a California Highway Patrol cruiser sat directly behind him. The whole thing may have been streaming live to an audience somewhere on the internet, which honestly tracks.
The chase began when a specialized CHP enforcement unit, one specifically tasked with cracking down on street takeovers and rogue off-road vehicles operating on public roads, attempted to pull over two dirt bikes clocked at unsafe speeds. One rider slipped away. The other decided to make an event of it.
For the better part of ten minutes, the remaining rider cruised through the Gardena area near Figueroa and Broadway, occasionally glancing back at officers, drifting into oncoming lanes for fun, and at one point removing his helmet mid-pursuit so he could talk on the phone more comfortably. A CHP fixed-wing aircraft and a Los Angeles County Sheriff helicopter were both overhead. Ground units stayed on him the entire time. None of this appeared to register as a problem worth addressing immediately…