A fire-juggling unicyclist has gone viral after police shared drone footage of his risky roadside performance, praising the skill while warning it was also “quite illegal.”
On February 5, the Commerce City Police Department posted a viral video showing a man in brightly colored clothing riding a unicycle into a busy intersection in Colorado. As traffic waited at a red light, he pulled out flaming torches and began juggling, even adding an under-the-leg toss to show off his talents.
The impromptu show lasted roughly 40 seconds before the performer rolled away, leaving drivers stunned and social media entertained. Police, however, were less amused, even as they admitted the act itself was impressive.
“The intersection of US-85 and 60th isn’t exactly the Las Vegas Strip… or is it?” officers wrote alongside the clip. “We got numerous calls the other day when drivers were treated to a little stoplight entertainment courtesy of this fire-juggling unicyclist.”
Police say fire-juggling unicyclist wasn’t ticketed
According to police, the performance was “both quite good and quite illegal,” citing issues such as trespassing in the median and impeding traffic by remaining in the crosswalk.
“We don’t often get reports like this anymore… well to be fair… we have NEVER gotten a report quite like this one,” the department added. “So let’s all take a moment to appreciate this man’s talents, then all agree that we aren’t going to do stuff like this. Mmkay?”
The post sparked debate online, with some accusing police of overreacting while others backed the unicyclist’s creativity. Officers later clarified their stance, saying no ticket was issued and safety was the main concern.
“Everybody calm down. We didn’t give him a ticket,” they replied. “But we also don’t want him to die so we moved him along. His show would best be performed somewhere other than the middle of the roadway.”
For now, there’s no word on whether the fire-juggling unicyclist will get a safer, more official stage. What’s clear is that his brief stoplight performance managed to impress both drivers and the police tasked with shutting it down.
