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LAPD Chief Charlie Beck fractures pelvis falling off motorcycle on mountain trail

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, shown in 2010, is expected to recover and return to work within the next week, the department said. The 63-year-old top cop has competed in off-road racing for decades and, in 2012, broke his collarbone in a motocross accident.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
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Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck fractured his pelvis Saturday after he fell off his motorcycle on a rocky trail in the Techachapi Mountains north of Los Angeles, the department said in a statement.

Beck, who was riding with a group of friends, was able to ride back to his truck and drive home before he went to a local hospital for emergency medical care, the department said in the statement.

He may require surgery on Monday but the department said he is expected to recover and return to work within the next week.

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“I want to thank everyone for their well-wishes as I recuperate from my recent motorcycle mishap,” Beck said in a statement. “As always, I am in constant contact with my LAPD command staff and will be working diligently while I recuperate to continue leading the men and women of the LAPD.”

Beck, 63, has a well-known love of motorcycles, having competed in various forms of off-road racing for more than 40 years. He competes in local motocross events regularly, according to his LAPD biography online.

He is also no stranger to injuries.

He broke his collarbone in a motocross accident in 2012 and underwent surgery. At the time he said it was his third time breaking his collarbone.

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“Broken collarbones are the occasional price you pay for racing motocross,” Beck wrote in an email to The Times in 2012.

javier.panzar@latimes.com

Twitter: jpanzar

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