BRAZEN THIEF FLOUTS COPS SNATCHED CYCLE PASSES OFFICERS.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

CASTAIC - While thousands of other riders were still enjoying an afternoon of music and motorcycles, Jim McClain of Riverside watched in disbelief as his custom ride - a royal blue creation with flames gracing the tank - disappeared toward the freeway.

As he watched, two officers in the Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety, which patrols county parks, did nothing to try to catch the fleeing thieves, McClain said. With thousands of motorcyclists riding in the area at the same time, the officers may have weighed public safety against a chase to recover a treasured motorcycle, officials said.

McClain and his wife, Stacy, were participants in Sunday's Love Ride, a fundraiser that drew 22,000 motorcycle enthusiasts to Castaic Lake. Directed to park their $25,000 bike on a lawn area near the entrance to the lake, the McClains went into the event, emerged a few hours later and found their parking space empty.

``When we came out to leave at 2:45 p.m., our beautiful bike was gone. I cannot express to you the utter disbelief and gut-wrenching sorrow we felt,'' McClain wrote in an e-mail to the Daily News.

``My wife and I love to go to Laughlin and other motorcycle events,'' he said, contacted Wednesday at his home. ``Those were our vacations from the kids.''

McClain added that his insurance company had recently informed him that it no longer covered custom-built motorcycles.

While McClain spoke with park officers who arrived in a patrol car, a friend spotted the McClains' bike traveling down the road in front of them.

``The thief was riding right past us on the main street, just off the grass parking area, about 60 yards (away),'' McClain said. ``They didn't do anything. I couldn't hear what they were saying on the radio because they had earpieces, but the bike went right past all the cops in the intersection. I asked them to get in their radio car and (give) chase ... because he was right there, and they said no, just stay here. The bike went through three intersections where there were radio cars and cops.''

The park officers called the command post that supervised law-enforcement officers working the ride, but the report didn't get to sheriff's deputies and California Highway Patrol officers until the motorcycle had passed, officials said.

``Our officers were not in a position to respond,'' said Lt. Randy Budd of the Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety. ``Within that venue (at Castaic), it could take 10 to 15 minutes, weaving in and out of the bikes, to get to medical emergencies. At that time, there were thousands of bikes leaving the location. Those officers were in radio communications with the CHP, and our units were right there. He (McClain) wanted us to stop traffic and check each bike.''

``It is the nature of police officers to take action,'' said Capt. Paul Gallo, commander of the park police office in Castaic. ``I have all faith and confidence in my officers to take action, but not being there, I can't tell right now if it might have been a safety issue. Do we want our officers potentially causing a traffic accident by running after a bike? I feel bad that the patron lost the motorcycle, but public safety outweighs a property crime.''

Nevertheless, Gallo said he planned a further investigation.

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) Jim McClain of Riverside and his wife, Stacy, ride their custom motorcycle before it was stolen in Castaic during the annual Love Ride event. McClain said officers saw the thief escaping.