- LAPD impounded 72 cars after a meetup inside the LA River near Cypress Park.
- Participants insist it was a photo meet, not a street race or takeover.
- The law appears clear: driving into the river channel is prohibited.
Car meetups are supposed to be fun. Sometimes they fall afoul of the law because a few folks get into shenanigans they shouldn’t. In this case, the venue was the bigger issue. Police just towed 72 cars from a meetup because those cars were sitting in the LA River. Enthusiasts say their motives were good, but the law doesn’t appear to be on their side.
According to LAPD information provided to local media, the department’s Street Racing Task Force responded to the area Sunday evening and removed dozens of vehicles from the riverbed. Importantly, police have not publicly described the gathering as a street race or takeover, only that participants were trespassing.
Attendees Say It Was Just A Photo Meet
That lines up with what attendees told Fox 11. “We went down there, no bad intentions, we took some photos, that’s it,” says Alex Pimienta. He blames a few cars that were “being idiots,” doing donuts and things of that nature, but evidently, they were all gone by the time the police arrived.
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Whatever the motives, those who were on scene when the police arrived became the target. Aerial footage showed more than 100 vehicles gathered in the river channel before officers began escorting cars out and loading many onto tow trucks. Officers handed out plenty of trespassing tickets and towed 72 vehicles to a local impound lot. Some will have to stay for up to 30 days.
Is The LA River Actually Public?
Since news of the impounds broke, many enthusiasts have argued that the Los Angeles River is a public space and therefore shouldn’t be considered trespassing territory. That’s only partially true.
The city and several public agencies have spent years expanding access to portions of the river through bike paths, parks, walking trails, recreation zones, fishing access, and even seasonal kayaking programs. The long-term revitalization plan specifically calls for increased public access to the river and its surrounding corridors.
That said, the law still explicitly prohibits anyone from driving a vehicle in a flood-control channel managed by either the LA County Flood Control District or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Whether towing 72 vehicles was an appropriate response will undoubtedly remain up for debate. Based on the ordinances currently on the books, LAPD appears to have had a legal basis for concluding that the meetup crossed a line long before anyone spun a tire.
