Deterrents installed at intersections in effort to prevent illegal car sideshows
By Emily Rittman
Click here for updates on this story
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — Kansas City, Missouri, police are trying new ways to crack down on street racing and illegal car sideshows.
Investigators say sideshows began increasing in 2020 in Kansas City. Following the ongoing increase, the Kansas City Police Department released a PSA informing community members that officers will be enforcing laws against participants who drive in and spectators who watch car sideshows.
On Monday, public works crews installed deterrents in downtown Kansas City and several other locations. The deterrents installed are meant to try to stop tires from spinning and sliding.
KCPD Traffic Division Commander Major Dave Jackson said police receive calls about illegal sideshows from renters, pedestrians and business owners.
“People are just trying to have an evening,” Jackson said. “They can’t even hear and they are calling 911.”
Kansas City police commanders met last week to discuss prevention and enforcement after about 90 vehicles blocked streets during a sideshow on Nov. 13.
“Some of these folks just don’t understand just how dangerous this is,” Jackson said. “We’ve had three people killed in Kansas City, Missouri, in just the last two months associated directly with these sideshows and it’s tragic.”
Jackson said the deterrents are passive devices that stop side action and racing. According to Jackson, officers can also deploy stop sticks if called to investigate a sideshow.
“When a tire goes over a stop stick, a quill goes into the tire,” Jackson said. “It’s hollow and the air from the tire is slowly released for a controlled stop.”
Following a meeting with command staff and further intelligence gathering, Jackson said the police department is shifting from education to enforcement.
“We have spent millions of dollars in infrastructure in this city to put in bike lanes, and these selfish actors are just driving right through it and creating such a dangerous environment for people that want to use the streets and the sidewalks for what they’re supposed to be used for,” Jackson said. “Not to mention the selfishness of just taking over a street where people that are trying to use it for commerce, use it to get to doctor’s appointments, use it to get to work. They can’t use it.”
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
