Police put the brakes on ‘bike kids’ bad behavior

MANCHESTER, NH – As Thursday’s road race on Elm Street was about to begin a group of kids found out the hard way that actions have consequences.

Police were stationed on Elm Street just north of the starting point for the Delta Dental/Elliot Corporate road race, to make sure southbound traffic was diverted to Amherst Street. A group of kids on bicycles were swirling around, in and out of the intersection, some of them “popping wheelies.” A traffic officer directed them to clear the area.

That’s when the energy shifted gears.

One thing led to another and one of the kids ended up in a one-on-one confrontation with an officer, who in short order removed the bike from the boy and put the boy in handcuffs.

Several of the other kids on bikes circled around and appeared to be engaging with the officer, some of the boys could be seen giving officers “the finger,” and taking video with their phones.

One of the boys asked the officer what was happening with the boy in cuffs.

“We’re going to take his bike and call his parents,” the officer said. “He’s going to the station.”

After that, the kids were instructed by an officer to get off their bikes and put them down on the side of the road. A couple of the kids instead grabbed their bikes and rode away,  but most of the group complied. Lt. Greg DiTullio, who is supervisor of the traffic division, took charge, informing the boys that all their bikes would be checked for registrations and then put in the truck, and that they should call their parents.

“Tell your parents to come to the station to pick up your bikes,” DiTullio told the kids. Some of them questioned DiTullio on the need for a bike registration, and were told that it is mandatory.

It so happened that Chief Allen Aldenberg was present – although off the clock at Bonfire Country Bar. He could be seen standing on the sidewalk in plainclothes, observing the interaction. Also present was Mayor Jay Ruais, who was making the rounds before heading to the grandstand for the start of the race.

Aldenberg, when asked about the situation and the boy being placed in handcuffs said it was an appropriate response.

“When these boys call my officers ‘f—ing pigs, when they kick down safety barriers and show this kind of disrespect, it won’t be tolerated,” Aldenberg said. He added that in general, the prevelence of groups of kids on bikes has been less notable this summer. In past years, his department fielded many more calls reporting small herds of bike riders weaving in and out of traffic and doing bike tricks on the downtown’s busy main street.

As the bikes were being loaded onto an MPD pick-up truck one of the boys said out loud that he thought it wasn’t fair.

“We all live in the city – there’s no place else for us to ride,” he said, to which one of the officers responded that if the boys had moved on when asked by police to clear Elm Street in the first place, they’d still be on their bikes.

“Do you really think this is what we want to be doing, taking your bikes?” the officer said.

Lisa Dusso was standing nearby throughout the entire exchange. She was waiting to see a friend who was running in the race, and said she was a bit shocked by the behavior demonstrated by the kids.

“They were giving the officer the finger, calling them ‘f—ing pigs’ and showing such disrespect,” she said, shaking her head.

“They were challenging the police. They left and, for some reason they came back and started getting in their faces. They shouldn’t have come back,” she said. “I heard one of them say that the police couldn’t do anything to him because he was a minor – no respect.”