Boy racers confronting police is ‘unacceptable’
Police say a situation where boy racers confronted a police car and briefly blocked it in a cul-de-sac is unacceptable.
A boy racer meeting in Palmerston North last Friday night was captured on CCTV by a business on Makomako Rd, an industrial area in Kelvin Grove, with more than 100 people and dozens of cars.
Footage showed the footpath lined with people and vehicles parked down the street, with cars doing burnouts.
A police car arrived, but people at the meeting ran onto the road and blocked it from following a vehicle that had been doing burnouts.
People then gathered around the police car to stop it going anywhere. One person appeared to crouch down by the police car’s rear wheel.
The people eventually allowed the police car to move before they dispersed.
Stuff asked to interview someone from police about the situation, but police instead provided a three-line statement.
‘‘[The] police are aware of the community’s frustration around anti-social road use and are working to address it across the whole of Central district.
‘‘It is always a concern when groups confront officers like this and the behaviour is unacceptable.
‘‘[The] police are working with the community to prevent situations such as this and identify and hold offenders to account.’’
Stuff asked how officers were working to prevent these situations and hold offenders to account, but a police spokesperson said they had nothing further to add.
Boy racer meetings had become a problem in parts of the city and business owners on Makomako Rd were frustrated about damage to the road and the safety risk.
The cul-de-sac had been left a mess after regular boy racer meetings.
The Palmerston North City Council has proposed to put restrictions on streets where frequent street racing has caused disruption and damage.
The proposed bylaw amendment would ban light vehicles from using known trouble spots from 10pm to 4am every night.
Drivers using the streets without a reasonable excuse could be given a $150 ticket, or face a $1000 fine if convicted. If the vehicle was found in breach of the bylaw twice, it could be seized.