Wheat Ridge police react to first vehicle seized under new street racing ordinance
A Chevy Camaro is the first vehicle to be seized under a new Wheat Ridge law designed to curb illegal street racing.
"These are bad actors who are driving their cars at high rates of speed," Wheat Ridge Police Chief Chris Murtha said.
He went to the city council asking for the authority to seize vehicles involved in disruptive behavior including street racing, drifting, burnouts, and more.
In June, the city council approved the vehicular public nuisance ordinance.
"It targets the vehicle as part of that enterprise so we can target that vehicle with a restraining order," Murtha said.
Chief Murtha says the request came as street racing started moving from major interstates and onto the city streets.
With hundreds of drivers participating in empty parking lots, they often became gathering places as a video from 2021 captures just how big the problem can be.
"We can match a tag or even a very identifiable vehicle and figure out where that vehicle is we can follow up and speak to the registered owner," Murtha said.
The registered owner could lose it and getting it back means going to court.
"Folks can come and they can get their car back, but they need to speak in front of a judge and a judge can figure out the best path forward is," Murtha said.
The first use of that law shared on social media gained mixed reactions from the community.
Some say police are overreaching, while others raised questions about if it does enough to punish the driver.
Murtha says it is meant to be a deterrent.
"The people who would race their cars generally invest a lot of money and they care about their cars, and this is really to get their attention," Murtha said.
To report street racing you can call your local jurisdiction or submit an anonymous report online at https://bit.ly/3Yu4xgD.
