BMX bikers use homeless people as props in Los Angeles, controversy ensues

Not everyone thinks that a video showing Los Angeles BMX bikers hopping over homeless people sleeping on Skid Row is a great source of entertainment.

The clip, which was posted to the Facebook page of the nearby OSS Bike Shop, was called “disgusting” by one Los Angeles Police Department officer. In the video, professional BMX rider Brandon Begin and two friends use homeless people as props to execute jumps and other moves.

"That’s not right, it’s not right," a homeless man told NBC Los Angeles.

"It’s exploitation of the homeless people," said another.

The owner of the bike shop, Adam Grandmaison, felt it was alright to post the video because "nobody got hurt" and he does not intend to take it down despite the backlash.

"It’s like right on the line of being messed up you know and so that was kind of a concern for me. Being that nobody got hurt or anything, I didn’t think that it was too offensive,” Grandmaison said. "I was complicit in it by posting on the Facebook I guess, but I also felt like, all’s well that ends well I guess you know because nobody did get hurt.”

LAPD officer Deon Joseph has worked Skid Row for 16 years.

"This is just a matter of not having value for another human being," Joseph said. "I’d like to have him come for a Skid Row tour so I can educate him on homelessness and what these individuals go through, I mean their life is hard enough."

[NBC Los Angeles]