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By Bud Wilkinson
The gossip website TMZ is receiving guffaws from riders coast-to-coast after cluelessly labeling a motorcycle ridden by a Los Angeles police officer as a “chopper” in a story about a woman who apparently dodged ticket on Friday afternoon. The website reported:
The LAPD is conducting a formal Internal Affairs investigation triggered by photos obtained by TMZ … in which a patrol officer appears to have let a woman he stopped sit 
on his chopper as he took a bunch of photos … then allegedly let her go without ticketing her.
The incident occurred Friday afternoon in the mid-Wilshire area of L.A. An eyewitness tells TMZ … the cop stopped the woman … apparently for running a stop sign.
We’re told the officer got off his bike and appeared ready to write her up, but the eyewitness says the woman began flirting … apparently with some success.
The eyewitness says the woman got out of the car and mounted his motorcycle, with his permission. He took her phone and obligingly began snapping pics.
We’re told she eventually got off the bike and drove away, without getting a ticket.”
TMZ quickly took it on the chin for its motorcycle ignorance on a forum at BikersPost.com where Jake57 posted, “Wish these reporters would get their info correct. It’s hard to believe anything they say when they can’t even get what style of bike it is right.”
Also on the forum, jandrwood posted, “Peeps now days have NOOO idea what the word CHOPPER means. And I’m tired of tryin to tell em.”
The fact the TMZ had pictures that clearly show the bike make the mistake even more egregious.
