Police cracking down on car clubs
Illegal meetups prompt efforts, such as drones, to ‘make streets safer’
Meetups of large organized groups practicing dangerous, reckless and illegal driving behavior have been happening for years all across Connecticut, prompting police in several communities to boost patrols and get creative in catching offenders.
“It’s been a problem here for several years,” said Lt. Aaron Boisvert of the Hartford Police Department. “But it’s actually been decreasing here this year so far. We saw a lot of it during the pandemic.”
In towns like Wethersfield and West Hartford, though, the problem persists, with a pair of incidents in the past week.
Many of the drivers belong to car clubs that organize events, set meeting places — and establish strategies for blocking traffic to create racing space on highways — using their phones.
They appear and disappear quickly and can easily evade police.
“They communicate via text or other means and set up the races in various locations,” Boisvert said. “The difficulty is that the vehicles flee when they see police, and we cannot pursue them. Many of them drive away at very high speed creating a dangerous situation.”
In 2019, Connecticut officials restricted when police statewide can chase cars and trucks in response to an increase in dangerous pursuits, including several that ended with deaths or serious injuries over the past few years. Under the new pursuit policy drafted by the Police Officer Standards and Training Council, a police officer may “only engage another vehicle in a pursuit if the officer has reasonable suspicion to believe the driver or occupant has committed or is attempting to commit a crime of violence.”
The chase restriction does not mean that officers cannot engage with dirt bikers, quad riders or loud motorcyclists at all. But no-chase policies are standard practice for most police departments. High speed pursuits are dangerous for the officers, the suspect, other vehicles and pedestrians. So instead police have turned to alternative ways to catch those responsible.
“It happens too often and it’s been going on for a while,” said Franco Serrao, a Wethersfield resident. “We need to stop this reckless behavior.”
Last month police say around 100 people blocked an intersection in Wethersfield while performing dangerous maneuvers including doughnuts, revving their vehicles and playing loud music with flashing lights, which prompted several neighbors to fear for their safety. But when police arrived, the vehicles scattered and officers were unable to pull any of them over.
“We will be boosting patrols in that area,” said Wethersfield Police spokesperson Lt. Michael Wren. “In the past we’ve had groups of cars, motorcycles or ATV’S meet up and cause some traffic issues. But this is the first time we’ve seen this amount of cars organized like this in town.”
Last year Hartford police began using drones to track four-wheelers, dirt bikes and stolen cars, and assist with other situations like missing person’s cases and crowd control for large events.
The drones are used to covertly follow suspects’ vehicles, and drivers operating illegal ATVS, dirt bikes and quads, rather than engaging in high-speed chases.
The department bought the devices as part of a broader expansion of its surveillance program, which at the time boasted a network of more than 700 cameras throughout the city. The new technology, including computer software and 200 additional cameras, was backed by $2.5 million in state funds.
“The use of drones makes our streets safer,” Boisvert said. “It allows us to follow suspects without engaging in pursuit through urban areas.”
In New Haven, dirt bikes and ATV’S have been a common source of complaints for many years with groups of riders often organizing meetups at night and evading officers by weaving in and out of traffic and sidewalks.
It is legal to own a dirt bike or an all-terrain vehicle, but it can only be operated on property owned by the driver. In New Haven, it’s explicitly illegal to use an off-road vehicle on city streets. In December 2020, the Board of Alders raised the fines for riding illegally to match the state maximum with a $1,000 infraction for the first offense, and then $1,500 to over $2,000.
In the first 10 months of 2021, the department issued 13 first offense fines, said New Haven Police spokesperson Officer Scott Shumway. The department, which lacks the same drone technology implemented in Hartford, also gets creative to catch potential offenders. Plainclothes officers in unmarked cars monitor packs of bikers and attempt to catch them at gas stations, where it’s illegal to fill a dirt bike in New Haven.
“Like other departments, we also talk with local gas stations in an effort to gather information,” Shumway said. “It’s important to note that it is illegal to operate a dirt bike or ATV on any city street and that includes filling them up for gas. We usually are able to track them pretty quick due to noise complaints.”
Drivers also drag race through Long Wharf, blast music from DJ speakers on their roofs, and modify their mufflers to sound like gunshots. Since October 2021, the NHPD has dispatched bicycle officers with decibel readers to busy downtown intersections. The officers knock on windows of offending cars to give citations and can issue arrest warrants if drivers do not comply.