A Kansas City lawmaker is waging war on the ATV-filled streets of the beleaguered city with a new proposal aimed at seizing and destroying the vehicles.
Council member Crispin Rea has pushed forward a proposal that would allow officials in the Missouri city to clean up the streets that have become a byword for illegal street racing and sideshows.
In a statement, Rea said that his proposal would allow citizens to actually feel safe while walking the streets, with officials able to destroy the vehicles used.
He said: ‘This resolution would include an item on that agenda to change state law so that we can dispose of ATVs and motorbikes that are used in the dangerous ways which we’ve seen time after time – rather than put them up for auction and continue the churn.
‘Every resident, driver, rider, and pedestrian deserves safe streets’, with his proposal set to be reviewed next month before reaching the city council.
If approved by city lawmakers, the proposal would then make its way up to the state General Assembly in January to change state laws.
As recently as last week, the Kansas City Police Department shut down a sideshow in the downtown area of the city, arresting five, Fox4 reported.
According to police officials, nine vehicles performing stunts on the streets were towed away after blocking traffic and running red lights.
Council member Crispin Rea, seen here, has pushed forward a proposal that would allow officials in the Missouri city to clean up the streets
Individuals on a dirt bike and an ATV are seen here carelessly popping wheelies in the downtown area of the city earlier this year
In April, a police officer was knocked over by an ATV, with prosecutors saying Kendall Coleman, 28, was the one behind the wheel of the vehicle at the time.
An officer attempted to haul a tire deflation device at the vehicle, with the ultimate goal of apprehending the driver once the ATV was stationary.
However, the driver reversed, popped the ATV into a wheelie, and lifted its front tires off the ground – striking the officer in the process – before driving over him and fleeing the scene.
The Kansas City Police Department confirmed that the officer has since made a full recovery.
Coleman’s lawyer, Chris Scott, told KMBC this week that Rea’s proposal was a bad move.
He said that frequently the vehicles used are own by more than one person or a lender, with individuals making monthly payments on them.
‘This seems like an easier process for the city of the government to skirt the civil forfeiture process and just take somebody’s property without any form of due process at all’, he told the outlet.
A new law has already been implemented that has increased penalties given to those for repeat offenses.
Downtown Kansas City has become a hotspot for illegal street racing and reckless ATV and dirt bike riders tearing through the neighborhoods, leaving locals afraid to step outside after dark
Frustrated business owners earlier this year said they were deciding whether to up sticks and leave the area
In May, frustrated business owners and locals voiced their anger at city officials for seemingly abandoning the area and allowing it to be overrun.
‘This isn’t a race issue, this isn’t a political issue, this is a safety issue,’ David Lopez, a local business owner, told Fox News, noting how chaos right outside is a constant occurrence, posing extreme danger for the surrounding community.
‘I feel as though this city is about unsafe as it’s been since my family has been at 207 Southwest Boulevard, and that’s 45 years this September,’ he added.
‘When things out of your control start to chip away at the very foundation of what you’ve done for four generations, it hurts.’
Mayor Quinton Lucas previously took aim at those responsible for orchestrating the street racing.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘We need to make sure that there are real consequences for those who are engaging in reckless and foolish behavior in downtown Kansas City and all around our community.
‘I think we need serious enforcement for all of them, and I think that’s what we will continue to see.’
