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Wheat Ridge Police used a recently passed ordinance to seize a muscle car after it was involved in a street racing event
by Michael Gauthier
14 hours ago
by Michael Gauthier
Six months ago, Colorado’s Wheat Ridge Police Department took to YouTube to explain a new vehicular public nuisance ordinance that was designed to crack down on street racing.
As Wheat Ridge Police Chief Chris Murtha explained at the time, car meets fueled by social media would result in up to 800 vehicles gathering together in parking lots. These large groups exceeded the department’s ability to handle the crowd and there were problems with street racing and other dangerous behaviors.
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As a result, the city council passed a vehicular public nuisance ordinance, which went into effect on June 14th. It was designed to target behaviors such as burnouts, donuts, drifting, and street racing.
The ordinance included language that says the chief of police can label cars as nuisance vehicles if the “driver’s continued use of the vehicle would cause a threat to public health, safety, and welfare.” If that’s the case and there’s probable cause, police can “immediately seize the vehicle at the time of the offense without prior notice to the record[ed] owner.” Authorities can then hold onto the vehicle for up to 12 months.
While that’s just a brief overview of the ordinance, it claimed its first victim earlier this month. In a Facebook post, the department said the owner of a Chevrolet Camaro was involved in a “street racing event” that saw “dozens of vehicles doing donuts and burnouts in a Wheat Ridge business parking lot” in September.
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When police tried to intervene, the vehicles reportedly “fled at a high rate of speed” but the Camaro was the last to leave. This enabled officers to target the driver, but she allegedly eluded authorities when they tried to conduct a traffic stop.
The police department said the woman probably thought she got away with it, but officers were able to get her license plate. With this information in hand, they showed up at her house and seized the vehicle earlier this month.
Police used the incident as a warning to others by saying, “street race in Wheat Ridge, lose your car.” They added that while the seizure might not be permanent, it’s hopefully enough of a “deterrent to change some driving behavior.”