Authorities said a teen on an e-motorcycle ride in downtown Palm Springs tried to engage officers in a chase but paid the price for forgetting a key component of police pursuits: the eyes in the sky. <\/p>\n
A video posted Wednesday on social media by the Palm Springs Police Department showed drone footage of a teen riding an electric motorcycle, popping wheelies in traffic and doing doughnuts at an intersection in downtown Palm Springs on June 26. A sergeant saw the rider, who police said was trying \u201cto bait officers into a pursuit,\u201d and called it in.<\/p>\n
Rather than chase him, authorities came up with another \u2014 stealthier \u2014 plan. <\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of giving the suspect the pursuit he seemed to be looking for, officers used drone technology and coordinated tactics to safely monitor his movements into Cathedral City,\u201d the department wrote on Facebook.<\/p>\n
The 15-year-old boy eventually stopped at a park in Cathedral City and got off the bike. That\u2019s when police moved in, taking him into custody after a brief scuffle, the video shows.<\/p>\n
While seated in the back of the police car, authorities said, the teen shattered one of the vehicle\u2019s windows. He was arrested on suspicion of reckless driving, resisting an officer and felony vandalism, police said.<\/p>\n
Communities across Southern California have been grappling with a proliferation of young riders on electric bikes and motorcycles<\/a> on city streets, engaging in dangerous maneuvers and, sometimes, engaging police in chases. <\/p>\n