House would allow destruction of vehicles in takeovers
HARTFORD — The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted 148-0 for legislation that would allow towns and cities to destroy all terrain vehicles, mini-motorcycles and dirt bikes seized during street takeovers.
After more than 50 minutes of debate, the legislation next heads to the state Senate.
“I think we have all heard from our constituents and we have all seen the TV reports about street takeovers that are occurring not just here in Connecticut, but frankly throughout the nation, and the danger that is causing on our roadways; the precarious position that’s putting motorists in; and the unenviable position the police are then placed into as a result of being outnumbered by this illegal use of all terrain vehicles and other types of vehicles,” said Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, the co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee who introduced the bill.
The bill would authorize towns and cities to adopt ordinances allowing new monetary penalties as well as the seizure and destruction of vehicles collected by police during takeovers, which have occurred throughout the state, including in Meriden, Tolland, Milford, Shelton, North Haven and West Haven, as well as in Bristol in 2022.
Repeat offenders could have their licenses permanently
revoked for a third violation, under the proposal. Stafstrom noted that the original bill included a state-funded grant program for municipalities to enforce laws, but with the Democrats’ current state budget plan to not adjust the second year of the $51billion biennium, the grant was removed from the bill in an amendment.
“Unfortunately, I do stand here in support of the amendment,” said Rep. Craig Fishbein of Wallingford, a ranking Republican on the panel. “Unfortunately, we are in a situation with the budget.” Earlier this week, the budget-writing Appropriations Committee killed seven bills with fiscal implications.
“This is a widespread issue throughout the nation, and here’s Connecticut leading the charge to make a difference,” said Rep. Tim Ackert, R-Coventry. “We started out thinking that we were maybe alone in certain areas of the state. In many cases there was prior notification whether on Facebook that it was being tracked, that these street takeovers were going to actually take place.”
He said that even with prior knowledge, some local police were too outnumbered
to intervene without the potential for violence by large crowds, except in Shelton where police diverted hundreds of vehicles. “This is essentially a form of terrorism in our streets,” Ackert said
“All of this I believe is because we have neglected and not supported our law enforcement over the last, say, 10 years in this country,” said Rep. David Yaccarino, R-North Haven. “We need to support our law enforcement. We need to know that they’re going to do the right thing by this state and the citizens of this country and until we do that, this is going to happen over and over and over. I really don’t understand how we don’t support our law enforcement. It’s part of the whole culture of, people can do whatever they want.”
In response to a question from Rep. Tammy Nuccio, R-Tolland, who recalled that the takeover in her town was perpetrated mostly by cars, Stafstrom noted the bill does not include the potential seizure of cars, SUVs and pickup trucks. “To me the next logical step here would be really kind of honing down and forcing us to look at the vehicles involved and the
people involved,” Nuccio said.
Unwitting bystanders would be exempt from criminal charges under the legislation, which would give towns and cities the option to adopt such an ordinance, Stafstrom said. City and town officials would have to hold a seized ATV, mini-motorcycle or dirt bike for at least 30 days before destroying it
“We certainly need more resources for law enforcement to stop these street takeovers,” said Rep. Joe Polletta, R-Watertown. “One obvious way would be to have law enforcement be able to stop vehicles for
other crimes or laws that are right now sometimes not enforceable on the books. Public safety is one of the issues that we hear about most in our communities. There’s no doubt that if you speak to your constituents they’re going to tell you that they do not feel safe.”
Last year the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection reported a 4 percent drop in overall crime in 2022, a 3 percent drop in violent crime, a 13 percent decrease in homicides and an 18 percent decline in robberies; and a 3 percent reduction in property crimes.