Jerusalem police stop 14.5-year-old yeshiva student after dangerous e-scooter ride

Jerusalem District Police said officers detained a 14.5-year-old yeshiva student after he was seen riding an electric scooter dangerously through the city. According to police, he was riding without a helmet and without a driving license, ran red lights at intersections, crossed a solid lane divider, and nearly hit pedestrians in a crosswalk.

Police said the arrest came during targeted enforcement aimed at protecting road users. An officer spotted the teen committing a series of traffic violations, followed him, and when the rider realized he was being pursued he refused to stop and tried to flee. Even after he was blocked, police said, he continued actively resisting enforcement, which led to his detention and transfer to a police station for identification and enforcement proceedings.

At the station, officers learned the rider was a minor, about 14.5 years old, and had no ID, no protective helmet, and no legal riding permit. He was summoned for expedited prosecution on the offense of driving through a red light under aggravated circumstances, then released home.

After partial footage of the arrest circulated online with criticism of the officer, police called the post “biased” and said it distorted the facts and ignored the danger the rider created. The force said Jerusalem officers would continue strict enforcement against life-threatening traffic offenses and would not be deterred by “shaming, slander or populist defamation” on social media. The article also noted that dangerous riding on electric vehicles among teenagers is not limited to Israel, citing a letter from Rabbi Yaakov Bender of Derech Torah Yeshiva in New York, who said he had personally confiscated dozens of scooters brought to the school and called the practice “pure negligence.”