Dallas City Council Members Endorse The Police’s Plan To Curtail Street Racing
Street racing has been a growing problem in Dallas and throughout the state of Texas. During a Dallas City Council meeting on Monday, February 10th, representatives of the Dallas Police Department put forth an aggressive approach to address the issue.
NBC in Dallas- Fort Worth reports that Police put forth their proposal at the Dallas City Council Public Safety Committee meeting, which includes an ordinance that would make it a crime to not only participate in street racing but to be a spectator as well.
According to Dallas Police, there were more than 23,00 citations, 400 arrests, and 1400 cars towed and impounded in 2019. According to Dallas Police Chief Lonzo Anderson, despite the progress made by the department’s dedicated unit that was formed last year, the spectators that the races attract seem to be partially responsible for the increase of such incidents.
The idea of citing spectators as well as drivers met with broad support by members of the City Council. Councilman Adam McCough, District 10 was also in favor of the proposed ordinance, but questioned Chief Anderson as to how it would be enforced, saying that whenever police show up at the scene, everyone scatters.
Chief Anderson told City Council members that similar street racing events have been cropping up around the country, especially in cities such as Los Angeles. Dallas authorities have been working with cities facing similar issues and have had success with citing drivers, passengers, and spectators who watch or participate in street races.
Council members gave the go-ahead to police, encouraging them to work with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department to try to curb the problem of street racing. Officials say that an ordinance could be drafted within the next 30 days and put before the Safety Committee before eventually being put before the Dallas City Council.
