Sen. Gordon Calls for Tougher Penalties on Street Takeovers

CT street takeover caused mayhem in New Haven despite ‘progress’ against illegal ATVs, dirt bikes
By Peter Yankowski
Hearst Media CT

July 16, 2024

NEW HAVEN — With a roar of deafening exhausts and two-stroke motors, more than 100 riders on dirt bikes, ATVs and other vehicles descended on parts of Connecticut on Saturday.

In New Haven, the crowd took over the intersection at Whalley Avenue and Amity Road, in the Amity section of New Haven, to pop wheelies, perform doughnuts and pull burnouts in a screech of smoke and burning rubber.

Riders on ATVs and dirt bikes hopped over curbs and rode along sidewalks, narrowly passing onlookers. Some drove over the double-yellow line and between cars, leaving other motorists at nearly a standstill amid the mayhem.

The takeover lasted about 20 minutes before the riders sped away around 7 p.m. when a New Haven firetruck arrived with its siren blaring over the din of revving motors and thumping music blasted from a stereo.

The truck’s arrival sent the group roaring off in a tight pack on Whalley Avenue heading in the direction of Bethany.

Last year, there was also a large, riot-like street takeover of cars at a parking lot in Meriden, and another in Tolland where state police were told to “stand down.” Rioters at the Tolland street takeover were seen on video smashing another motorist’s car in the mayhem.

In a statement released Tuesday, state Sen. Paul Cicarella, a member of the Public Safety and Security Committee, Sen. Jeff Gordon, member of the Public Safety and Security Committee, and Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding called for action to prevent these street takeovers.

“We commend local police on acting swiftly to address the takeovers, but Republicans believe the state must create stiffer deterrents to this lawlessness,” the statement said. “They will keep happening if we do not do more. We hope Democrats work with us to enact tougher penalties for these dangerous, illegal acts which put the safety of the general public and law enforcement at serious risk.”

The takeover’s exact route into New Haven, as well as where it went afterward, on Saturday remains unclear. The group appears to have gone north into Bethany sometime after the street takeover in New Haven.

State police said a little before 7:20 p.m., that troopers “received a report of a possible street takeover event in the area of Beacon Road in Bethany.”

Two troopers were dispatched to the area. One arrived and “cleared” the call, and the other trooper was cleared of the call before arriving, state police said.

“This appears to indicate that the response of the second trooper was determined to be unnecessary as the circumstances surrounding the call were either not as initially reported, or that the accused vehicles were no longer in the area described upon police arrival,” the state police media relations unit said.

State police said they have not been advised of any property damage complaints in the area, and could not speculate “on whether this report was connected to other reports of takeovers in the state.”

https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/new-haven-ct-street-takeover-atvs-dirt-bikes-19574493.php