‘Terrorism creeping up in our communities’
Conn. lawmakers seek to help rein in street takeovers
The relatively new phenomenon of “street takeovers” has baffled police, mayors, first selectmen and citizens across the state.
Now the state legislature is taking steps to help local officials regain control of the streets.
Those tools, in a bill debated Wednesday, include allowing municipalities to create ordinances on street takeovers, increased penalties for those involved, allowing forfeiture of certain vehicles that were used illegally and providing money to municipalities through grants to enforce the law.
The proposed measure, which requires approval by the judiciary committee and the full legislature, has received bipartisan support.
“Over the past few years, the legislature has worked to address the unsafe use of certain inappropriate vehicles on city streets,” said Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney, a New Haven Democrat. “More recently, this behavior has escalated into ‘street takeovers,’ which are even more dangerous. House Bill 5413 would increase the tools that municipalities can use to deter this behavior.”
For decades, drag racing and street racing have been problematic in isolated areas. The difference now, police said, is that large crowds gather to watch events that have been promoted through social media. In some instances, the cars block intersections and prevent other drivers from getting through on their way.
House Republicans are pushing for increased enforcement, including changing the law to say that those who organized or “actively promoted” a street takeover would be charged with a Class D felony for the first offense and then a Class C felony for future instances. That change, lawmakers said, would send a strong message that the behavior will not be tolerated.
“These street takeovers are an example of dangerous lawlessness,” the House Republican caucus said in written testimony. “Imagine being a parent in a vehicle with young children that is surrounded — with no avenue of escape — by individuals with no apparent regard for the law or the safety of others. Then imagine that those individuals begin to attack your vehicle, throw fireworks at your vehicle, jump on the roof or hood of your vehicle. Imagine the terror that this would cause to a parent, or anyone else in that situation. It really is a form of terrorism creeping up in our communities.”
Republicans released a list of street takeovers from Tolland to Shelton and beyond.
“In Milford, around 100 vehicles assembled in a supermarket parking lot in the middle of the night,” they said. “When an officer approached the group of parked cars, the group responded by surrounding, hitting, and punching the officer. During a street takeover in Meriden, the group attacked and damaged private vehicles and a police cruiser. The town of Tolland experienced a street takeover in which participants climbed on top of a local woman’s car and jumped up and down. During a West Haven street takeover, participants threw fireworks at responding police officers resulting in injury to one officer. … In perhaps the most egregious example, 1,500 vehicles trapped holiday shoppers in parking lots and backed up Interstate 91 in both directions for a mile during a street-takeover in North Haven.”
But state Rep. Robyn Porter, a New Haven Democrat, said Wednesday that she is concerned about the potential penalties for bystanders who were not involved in organizing the takeovers. Defense attorneys and other are concerned about the same aspects.
“The bill subjects anyone involved or merely present at such an event, including innocent bystanders, to a mandatory minimum sentence and a fine, in addition to their license being revoked,” Deborah Del Prete Sullivan, the legal counsel for the chief public defender’s office, said in written testimony. “By doing so, such persons are treated substantially harshly for their limited role compared to persons convicted of misdemeanor offenses, including those which result in bodily injury. … Per the statute, the license suspension is required and applicable to not only the racer but for anyone who is not racing, including a spectator, even if an innocent bystander is present at the time one of these events occurs.”
During the hearing, Porter said, “My concern is around how we’re defining bystanders and how that would impact people that don’t necessarily have anything to do with what’s going on.”
Looney responded that it is up to the judiciary committee to write the precise language on the impacts of the legislation.
Rep. Stephen Stafstrom, a Bridgeport Democrat who serves as the committee’s influential co-chairman, said he, too, had concerns about the language.
“Bridgeport struggles with the issues of street takeovers, as New Haven does,” Stafstrom said.
The committee is facing a final deadline of April 1 as lawmakers will be scrambling to finish their work before the legislative session ends on May 8.
National issue
Starting during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, major cities like Houston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and San Diego started reporting surges in similar patterns of reckless driving, which later spread to the suburbs.
In places like New Haven and Hartford, riders on dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles started appearing in organized groups at night. Often captured on video, the groups were seen driving recklessly on both local streets and highways at high speeds and then gathering at intersections or parking lots.
The issue, though, is not related only to the cities.
Betsy Gara, executive director of the Council of Small Towns that represents communities with fewer than 35,000 residents, said small towns are concerned.
“The bill provides additional tools and increased penalties to better enforce laws regarding the illegal use of ATVs/dirt bikes on our roadways,” Gara said. “The illegal use of ATVs and dirt bikes on roadways creates public safety hazards that put motorists, pedestrians, and others in danger.”