(UPDATED NOVEMBER 2)
Professional stunt rider Guruardas Singh Khalsa, 32, has been charged after performing high-speed wheelies on a California highway and then “shooing off” a CHiPs bike officer.
The rider was caught because they posted video of the incident on YouTube and social media. The video was included in the original story here, but it has now been taken down, but not before police were able to work out the identity of the main rider. Khalsa is now out on bail after paying a $45,000 bond.
Police officer in the now deleted videoHe was one of about 50 riders performing wheelies and other stunts at highway speeds on a freeway near San Francisco. In the original video, a California Highway Patrol (remember the TV show CHiPs?) officer pulls up alongside the lead rider pulling a wheelie and tells him to stop, but the rider persists and then another rider passes the CHiPs officer on the back wheel, so the cop speeds off to get in front.
However, another stunt rider then waves the officer away and yells “you’re not wanted”. The officer yells something back to the rider, but it is muffled. It is believed it is the final rider who has been charged.
The cop then decides to speed off as the riders pump their fists in celebration.
The video was posted on YouTube by a group calling itself Streetfighterz Entertainment who appear to have started in St Louis in 1999 and have since created 15 DVDs and a host of merchandise. However, it is believed Khalsa may be linked to GuruStunts Facebook which has more than 300,000 followers.
Either way, this isn’t about carefree youths letting off steam and having a bit of harmless fun. It’s not about freedom riders exercising their rights. And it’s not a victory for riders over the police. Let’s call it what it is: reckless endangerment for commercial benefit.
In this case, the police officer made the correct decision not to pursue the matter any further for his own and the public’s safety. If the stunt riders want to endanger their own lives, then Darwin’s Theory should sort that out.