PORTLAND, Ore. — Police arrested seven people for recklessly riding minibikes through downtown Portland Wednesday night.
Officers saw the group of minibike riders doing "burnouts" in Pioneer Courthouse Square around 9:12 p.m., Portland police said. The minibike riders took off, traveling northbound on Southwest 6th Avenue while running red lights, Portland police said.
The Portland Police Bureau's Air Support Unit monitored the group and saw them riding into the Old Town neighborhood, then traveling over the Burnside Bridge before stopping at a gas station parking lot near Southeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Southeast Alder Street.
Police arrested the seven riders for reckless driving and booked them into the Multnomah County Detention Center. One of the riders also faces a charge of attempting to elude police by vehicle. Portland police said one rider left his bike behind and ran away.
Officers seized eight minibikes, which were towed. The minibikes appeared to be homemade and had no license plates or required lighting.
An officer who injured his hand during the arrests was treated and released from the hospital. He is expected to be out of work for a week, Portland police said.
