Hundreds of ATVs, dirt bikes hit streets; few arrests

Hundreds of ATV and bike riders hit the roadways Monday, the annual “Wheels Up, Guns Down” ride meant to promote peace on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday — leading to a smattering of arrests, the seizure of dozens of vehicles, as well as a racially charged gun confrontation.

TV news helicopter footage captured dirt bikes popping wheelies and the all-terrain vehicles, which are illegal to ride on roadways, zooming down streets in waves. At Miami Dade College’s North Campus, police officers interrupted a gathering of riders on Monday afternoon. Video posted by WSVN-7 showed a chaotic scene as riders scattered, some peeling away, others running away only to be tackled. Three vehicles were impounded.

By early evening, MiamiDade police officers across the county had seized at least 32 ATVS and dirt bikes. At least 11 people were arrested — nine for felonies, two for misdemeanors — and three guns were seized, according to police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta.

Numbers of arrests and impounded vehicles have dropped in response to stricter enforcement in recent years. Last year, for example, Miami-Dade police impounded 65 vehicles and arrested 13 people on related charges on Martin Luther King Day.

In Broward County, deputies on Monday arrested 11 people, seized 13 ATVs or dirt bikes and found at least two firearms. Over the previous two days, BSO arrested 10 “violators” and seized 21 ATVS and dirt bikes, according to the agency’s Twitter account.