http://cbs2.com/local/Riverside.Street.Racing.2.687707.html

http://www.pe.com/localnews/rivcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_R_streetrace01.4234d9b.html

City Press Release: http://www.riversideca.gov/rpd/press/mar29b08.pdf

Using {part of a grant totalling} $503,000 in federal and state gas tax revenue to pay for overtime, nine police agencies in Riverside, California sent more than one hundred {or as few as 50 depending on who you believe} police officers to surround a gathering of automotive enthusiasts. Owners of imported sport compact cars had gathered at the Canyon Crossing shopping center on Friday night to swap stories, talk about their passion for cars and show off the latest enhancements to their rides. At around 11pm police surprised participants by blocking all exits with fifty police cruisers. Officers then began a warrantless search and interrogation operation of the 150 vehicles that were present.

Police issued a total of forty-eight tickets for "engine modifications" with police accusing the owners of the parked vehicles of being street racers. Another fifty tickets were issued for paperwork violations, dark window tinting and lack of a front license plate. The most revenue, however, will be generated from the fees imposed on twenty vehicles that were confiscated. Despite labeling the parking lot raid as taking place at a "street racing venue," Riverside Police offered no evidence that any street racing actually took place.

Other law enforcement agencies participating in Friday night's raid included the California Highway Patrol, Riverside County Sheriff's Department, and police from Baldwin Park, Fontana, Irwindale, Moreno Valley, Ontario and Mount San Jacinto Community College.

"If you're not into street racing, why would you need that?"
"Why would you want more power going to your car?"
Riverside Police Traffic Sergeant Skip Showalter asked an enthusiast during a similar crackdown last year.

I understand street racing is bad, but it's bullshit that you can just be checking out a meet and end up getting hassled like that. I mean all those cars and they only gave out 1 moving violation for exhibition of speed :scratch Yup they were obviously all there to partake in racing.

Fucked.

I probably would have been one of the people in jail that night. Nobody is going to bully me at a peaceful assembly and expect me to take it up the ass...

Truthfully, i wish the cops would crack down on the ACTUAL street racing that happens next to my house every freakin' day. I can't sleep with my windows open without hearing fart cannon, either from bikes or cars.

Meeting is one thing, running 100+ mph in a 55 through residentials is another.

I've been pulled 2 times. Once for parking in a friends yard (yes, i was already pulled over when the pig showed up) and having my wheels 1 inch in the road on a fucking country street. The argument was somebody could have hit me. 1, i was at a dirt road intersection. 2, i was parked in the grass 10 feet from a stop sign. 3, i had my parking lights on. Obviously, he wasn't getting the rise he wanted out of me and left without so much as a written warning.

The second time, i was cruising home for my lunch break and got pulled over because the police thought i was a bank robber on the run. I'm tan, i could pass for a mexican almost. My eclipse was primmed black with a white fender. When they pulled me, i asked what they pulled me over for. They said i fit the description of a bank robber headed this way. WHITE MALE DRIVING AN ALL BLACK STOCK ECLIPSE. You think a white fender and chrome rims would be in the description. Nope. They let that guy get away and pulled me over just to make me late clocking back into work. I got written up for that and blew a shot for a job transfer because of that.

I would have shut my doors,hood, trunk, whatever and made them get a search warrant. Being night time they would have to prove I had illegal tint or obtain a search warrant to even open my hood. They can only legally search in arms distance of the door when you are pulled over for an offense. Take me to jail, whatever, I know enough lawyers I would have made them shit out money for unlawful search and seizure and harassment.

This happened in California you say?

I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.

Welcome to Commufornia!

That's what you get for living in a communist state.

Wait...

Originally posted by DarkOne
That's what you get for living in a communist state. Wait...

Yeah, that shit happened in Houston about 5 yrs ago, except they took everyone to jail. It caused a huge stink (worse than the stink that already fogs planet Houston).

I don't know that I accept that the police did anything wrong. The only possible wrong doing by the police is busting them on private property, but if the owner of the business says it was fine by him/her then that defense goes out the window, and considering that the lights were on at the market, I'm sure the owner was not to thrilled about 150 or so parking places being taken up by a bunch of "punk racer kids". The deal about illegal search and seizure is bullshit because a) this can be considered an 'in hot pursuit' scenario with the right twist by the police, and b) in sting ops like this the police officer in charge obtains a blanket warrant, anyone that can be encompassed in the area is covered. They busted them for illegal modification, not street racing. They may have attributed this to the street racing problem, and you have to assume that a percentage of the people busted were there to plan their next race, but the tickets handed out weren't for racing. All in all, the people busted have no one to blame but themselves. This could have been avoided had someone taken the time to organize a proper car show, with permits and the whole nine, hell, So-Cal police have been known to enact safe zones around such events in the past to allow vehicles with illegal modifications to come and go freely without fear of having their cars ticketed. Poor move on their parts for once again creating a public spectacle that draws even more negative attention to our movement.

As much as I hate to see Kalifornia "do it again," I have to say I'm curious as to what time of day this "peaceful" meet got broken up. If they've also seen a relative increase in street racing in the immediate area lately and this casual car meet was middle of the week with that many cars gathered after, say, 10pm, I'd say they have some cause to go in like that and piss off a lot of people.

If it looks like shit, and it smells like shit, after all. :shrug

As uber said, "I am Jack's complete lack of surprise."

Originally posted by DR1665
As much as I hate to see Kalifornia "do it again," I have to say I'm curious as to what time of day this "peaceful" meet got broken up. If they've also seen a relative increase in street racing in the immediate area lately and this casual car meet was middle of the week with that many cars gathered after, say, 10pm, I'd say they have some cause to go in like that and piss off a lot of people. If it looks like shit, and it smells like shit, after all. :shrug As uber said, "I am Jack's complete lack of surprise."

Originally posted by noboost
Owners of imported sport compact cars had gathered at the Canyon Crossing shopping center on Friday night to swap stories, talk about their passion for cars and show off the latest enhancements to their rides. At around 11pm police surprised participants by blocking all exits with fifty police cruisers.

Sounds like bullshit to me. If that happened around here, it would be very easy to get the tickets tossed in court. Not sure how the legal system works in communist-cali though.

Originally posted by totaleclipse_05

Originally posted by DR1665 As much as I hate to see Kalifornia "do it again," I have to say I'm curious as to what time of day this "peaceful" meet got broken up. If they've also seen a relative increase in street racing in the immediate area lately and this casual car meet was middle of the week with that many cars gathered after, say, 10pm, I'd say they have some cause to go in like that and piss off a lot of people. If it looks like shit, and it smells like shit, after all. :shrug As uber said, "I am Jack's complete lack of surprise."

Originally posted by noboost Owners of imported sport compact cars had gathered at the Canyon Crossing shopping center on Friday night to swap stories, talk about their passion for cars and show off the latest enhancements to their rides. At around 11pm police surprised participants by blocking all exits with fifty police cruisers.

Sounds like bullshit to me. If that happened around here, it would be very easy to get the tickets tossed in court. Not sure how the legal system works in communist-cali though.

Thats alot of BS, sounds like alot of illegal harassment just for standing by your car and talking to other people/friends with the same interest. We would never see/ hear about this happening at a Meet for street RODS at SUMMITRACING etc..
this crap would never happend in OHIO.

I wonder how those cops in CALI found out about the SOCAL meet, I bet they found out about here.

Originally posted by dalesmitsu
Thats alot of BS, sounds like alot of illegal harassment just for standing by your car and talking to other people/friends with the same interest. We would never see/ hear about this happening at a Meet for street RODS at SUMMITRACING etc.. this crap would never happend in OHIO. I wonder how those cops in CALI found out about the SOCAL meet, I bet they found out about here.

But this wasn't a meet for street rods, at Summit Racings parking lot, in Ohio. This was a meet for modified cars of various degree (including ILLEGALLY!) at a supermarket parking lot, at night, in an area that had reported a recent surge in street racing, in Southern California. The cops found out about it the same way the kids found out about it, it had been there for several Friday nights in a row. That and most likely the owner of the supermarket filed a complaint with the police for loitering, something Summit Racing in Ohio wouldn't do for a meet in the middle of the day because Summit Racing would have invited those people whereas this guy invited people to come buy groceries, not take up over 150 parking spaces and spend no money! This shouldn't be a shock to anyone here, Driggs, Deej, and Dino seem to understand, this is how California's rules and laws are setup. You say this couldn't happen in your state but I guarantee if you setup some kind of public gathering where you repeatedly broke the law, eventually the cops would show up and bust your ass!

I cant believe I moved back to this Fucked up state

Here in hawaii the cops use the forums to find cruises. So we make up dates and times. They just ruined a cruise 2 weeks ago. BOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

At first I didn't agree with the cops bustin people like they did for just hanging out, but after reading the second link posted I changed my opinion. The article said that people who were interviewed that work close to the lot said that the guys that hang out in the lot are always driving at high speeds in the lot and endangering the safety of pedestrians and people driving through. I like racing as long as it's safe, but when you start endanging innocent people's safety you deserve to get busted and have your car impounded.


On a side note, that second link had some funny Honda bashing comments:

"On Friday, cars ranging from broken-down Hondas to shiny, new Ford Mustangs and BMWs lined up for the police inspection."

"And yet the 21-year-old Moreno Valley resident said he was happy the police were cracking down on Honda drivers."

"Michael Calderon, 22, of San Bernardino, stood in the parking lot as his 1995 Honda Civic hatchback, which he bought for $600, was loaded onto a tow truck."

All the more reason to keep your engine bay and cabin as stealth as possible

Wow, we have a lot worse problems out there to worry about. What a waist of time and money. Wish the police and goverment would crack down overwhelmingly like that on other issues. Like identity theft and fake lotteries in canada that cant be prosecuted by our state officials and all the internet spam, scams, and miedia being freely posted with no repercussions. Somebody that has pull in the dept got harrased or pissed off by a ricer and he used his power to get even.

edit: at least there was some good done out of this. --> one found
with a stolen engine and transmission, identification information, and four for drivers without a license.
There were three arrests at the scene, one for drunk in public, one for resisting an
officer and one for exhibition of speed

The constitution and supreme law of this country says that "no law respecting the right of the people peaceably to assemble" shall be made.

We are all guaranteed the right to "be secure in persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures"

Obviously there is case law that makes these clear rules somewhat confusing, but the bottom line is that for all the crimes they supposedly solved, there were hundreds of law abiding people at that meet, as well as customers of the complaining businesses, that were also detained and illegally searched for being in the same parking lot.

Allowing the police to do this anytime, anywhere in this country is a silent consent to do it to you someday. Speak up.