The McDonnell Douglas has a top speed of 175 MPH thanks to Rolls-Royce engines. The Grom? 56 MPH.
The City of Clovis had a big problem earlier this weekend (Sept 20,2020) when more than 200 motorcycles rolled into town and started wreaking havoc on local traffic.
This prompted Fresno PD to call in extra units and their big gun A.K.A. their Eagle 1 air unit, a $1.9M McDougall Douglass police helicopter. While most of the riders got away, thanks to their air unit, Fresno PD was able to pull over one ride who happened to flip them off, this 21-year-old on a 125cc Honda Grom.
That’s right, Fresno police used a multi-million dollar helicopter to track down a Honda Grom that probably only cost the dude a couple hundred dollars.
Check out their post below.
According to their post, the bikers were concentrated in one particular T-intersection, doing burnouts, stunts, and generally stopping traffic.
After Clovis and Fresno police showed up, traffic cleared.
Mission accomplished, right?
It looks like Fresno PD already called in their air unit, dubbed Eagle 1, so, to make the most out of a resolved situation, they chose a scape goat.
This Honda Grom rider was already doing stunts, presumably popping wheelies and being a scofflaw. It seems Fresno PD took offense when this Grom rider gave them the bird.
The air unit followed most escaping riders and, with a top speed of 56 MPH, this middle-finger saluting Grom rider didn’t stand a chance.
After following the group throughout Clovis and Fresno, we’re happy to report that the stunt rider (the one who was waving with only one finger) was detained by Fresno PD about 45 minutes later near Fresno State. 21-year-old Adrian Lopez, of Porterville, was arrested on felony evading and reckless driving charges.
He now realizes that visiting Clovis while committing a crime was not a good idea! He was booked into the Fresno County Jail.
The absurdity of the arrest did not escape Facebook commenters and were quick to throw in their .02.
Paul Rosas said, “Wow…glad taxpayer paid all your time…flight time….fuel……to catch 1 guy on a 125cc Grom. Wow..that was worth it.”
Micheal Collett piled on, “Y’all caught a grom. Calm tf down, that thing literally can’t go over 60.”
And Alfa Lima India further added, “Clovis Police Department, California nice job catching that child’s motorcycle, your about ready to move up to go-karts.”
It’s great Central Valley PD is doing their job, making sure these hooligans know they’re not welcome. But, if you’re going to call out the heavy machinery, at least advertise you snagged something worth catching.
Thank you so much for this report – rawstuntz a.k.a Adrian Lopez