The YouTuber, who also posts on Instagram and TikTok, thought he was being robbed after they descended upon him suddenly as he rode along the path
A YouTuber says he was grabbed from his e-bike by plain clothes police officers wearing tracksuits – and then they realised who he was. Carmine Stones had no idea the men were officers when they suddenly seized him on a canal path in Manchester.
He was convinced he was being set upon by “a group of thugs”. The 21 year old initially believed he was about to be robbed before the tracksuit-wearing men identified themselves and produced their warrant cards.
Footage recorded on Carmine’s GoPro captures him pleading: “Wait, please stop. Stop, please.” The officers immediately announced that they were police, prompting Carmine to repeatedly demand to see their warrant cards.
One officer explains: “We stopped you because of your electric bike, okay?” After Carmine says that its assisted speed is capped at 15.5mph, one of the officers suddenly appears to recognise him.
The officers then reveal that they are targeting suspected drug dealing and knifepoint robberies involving e-bikes. Having inspected the bike, the officers in the video confirm it is road-legal and apologise for the extreme nature of the stop.
The officer says: “Sorry to scare you like that, mate. I know it’s a bit extreme.” They also commended Carmine for wearing a helmet and urged him to stay vigilant owing to the number of e-bikes reportedly being stolen in the area.
Carmine, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, produces videos about bicycles and local news for his @Kurrgas social media channels, including Instagram and TikTok, where collectively he has many tens of thousands of followers. He said the incident took place around three months ago on a canal near Manchester Piccadilly.
“I didn’t notice them until they grabbed me and pulled me off my bike,” Carmine said. “It definitely scared me because, at first, I thought I was being attacked by a group of thugs.
“It was mainly because of the way they were dressed and the number of officers involved. Once they started speaking, though, it became clear they were police officers.”
Carmine said the officers produced their warrant cards straight away and professionally explained the reason for the stop. He said: “At the time it was frightening and made me feel uncomfortable.
“Afterwards, I could laugh about it because it had all been recorded, but it did make me nervous about riding along canals for a while. I was mainly shocked at first, but also relieved that they weren’t taking my bike.”
Despite his ordeal, Carmine said he backs police carrying out proactive operations against weapons and criminal activity. He added: “Considering the recent issues with knife crime, I support proactive policing like this.
“Although I wouldn’t want to experience being stopped like that again, I understand why they were carrying out the operation.”
Greater Manchester Police said: “Officers working in the Harpurhey area as part of an operation to tackle nuisance and anti-social e-bikes conducted a stop of a man to ensure the bike complied with road regulations. The officers identified themselves as they did so, before they ensured the bike was fit and legal to be on the road.
“The bike was deemed to be in compliance with the relevant laws and the man was free to leave shortly after.” The force confirmed that e-bikes are amongst the most commonly reported antisocial behaviour complaints it receives.
It added that officers deploy a variety of tactics to tackle the problem, including the use of covert and plain-clothes teams. The footage attracted millions of views and sparked debate amongst viewers about how they would have reacted.
One viewer joked: “Bruh, I would not have stopped. I probably would’ve ended up going in the water.”
Another praised the officers, writing: “They are actually good officers.” JD Sports’ official account also waded into the reactions, joking: “Blue Light Card got rinsed for this operation.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login