Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Bicycling

Video: Over Three Dozen Cyclists Held Over One Shoplifted Beer


14 squad cars and 37 people searched for $5 of allegedly shoplifted beer from LAPD illegallysearches on Vimeo.

One of last Friday's group bicycle rides stopped at the CVS at at 14735 Ventura Blvd for a pit stop.  Hours later, what was left of the group rolled out after a harrowing experience with the LAPD.

The manager of the CVS believed that one of the cyclists shoplifted some beer and dialed 911.  Because the manager could provide no description of the alleged beer thief, 14 LAPD squad cars were summoned and 37 cyclists were detained and searched until the cops found one person who had a beer without a receipt.  LAist calls some of the text on the video is "slightly over the top," but it still provides more ammunition for those that argue that cyclists are treated as second class citizens.

After all, if the only description the manager could provide was that the alleged thief was occured by a person of certain race, would the LAPD have just detained everyone in the area that met that description?

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

Metro 2026 World Cup Transit Plans Emerging

From June 13 to July 7, 2026, Los Angeles will host eight World Cup soccer matches, all at the SoFi Stadium in the city of Inglewood

May 9, 2025

Metro Names Bill Scott as Chief of Police

Chief Scott and Metro leadership emphasized that keeping Metro transit safe would require a multi-faceted approach that included the deployment of officers as well as collaboration with the community, ambassadors, and service providers. "Sometimes enforcement is the answer," Scott said. "Sometimes it's not."

May 7, 2025

Lyft’s Anti-Worker Anti-Transit Record Raises Red Flags For Metro Bike Share

Edwin Aviles and Kalayaan Mendoza urge Metro not to reward bad actors working to undermine workers’ rights and mass transit

See all posts