Police raid import enthusiast gathering

by **Road&Ster** Sun Apr 06, 2008 1:39 pm

read about this in norcal roadster boards, taken from a mr2 board...

genghis ken wrote:California: Police Raid Car Enthusiast Gathering, Generate Revenue
Police raid Riverside, California parking lot to issue modified car tickets at local car enthusiast gathering.

Using $503,000 in federal and state gas tax revenue to pay for overtime, nine police agencies in Riverside, California sent more than one hundred 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.

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

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.

Across the state, gas tax funds are regularly used to fund similar crackdowns that generate big revenue. In 2004, the California Highway Patrol issued a total of 101,553 "modified car" citations worth $10.5 million according to CHP data obtained by TheNewspaper.

http://thenewspaper.com/news/23/2302.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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

by **kreativekvs209** Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:54 pm

wtf is this all about.. so we have to be very carefull where we gather now and days .. it's retarded.

by **TEAMN0KTURNAL** Mon Apr 07, 2008 10:07 am

now that is just plain rediculous...... what's next? checking your car at the gas station for mod's????? the parking lot of a grocery store???? or even while it's parked in your garage????

by **Panda AE86** Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:16 pm

Alot of info missing from that articale.. Got this from people local to that area on the RX-7 forums....

------------------------------------------------------------------------

for a LONG time that meeting spot has had burnouts, people acting
stupid, even drag racing on the 4 lane road right outside of the
parking lot. When I saw that, back in December, I decided not to go
back. People there deserved what they got, it was nothing like a
laid-back parking lot meet.

In defense of the cops, in the past they would come out, and chill in
the parking lot, and make sure everyone was behaving. NOT ONCE did they
ask anyone to leave or threaten to hand out citations.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I Knew i knew it. i was the with a friend just to check it out, and my
god, everything that u can name of getting ur car impounded was done
there. burnouts, 1/4 mile races, loud mariachi music, lowrider hoppin,
biker burnouts, fights, and drifting. all this havoc was orchestrated
everywhere at the same time. I just couldnt belive all this was
happenng and not a single offical was around to prevent the danger. i
could have brought the FC but F**** THAT ***!. Im better than that. i
knew they had sumthin under their sleeves.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

wow, so people were acting like fools? the article made it sound like everyone was parked.

by EDSEVEN Mon Apr 07, 2008 7:26 pm

those guys in riverside been meeting up in the same spot from weeks after week. and police caught on. so they got busted for meeting up in the same place all the time. they should of picked a radom spot.

by **DanhTao** Mon Apr 07, 2008 10:02 pm

i think i rather agree with the bobby's comment on this topic. the cops wouldn't have a reason to go there without a history. the rx7 guys have been avoiding that particular meet for years.

the cops went under the belt on it, but... yea, these guys deserved it.
it was easy money.

by **L Rock** Mon Apr 07, 2008 10:13 pm

regardless of what they were doing or what they were going to do..

you can not give a ticket to anyone unless an offense has been made.

You dont' give tickets to people when they havn't even done anything.

at most, u have probable cause and ASK to search the vehicle.. coz

1. they don't have a warrent, so they can't search ur ride. They are not psychics and dont know what u have done or what u are going to do.
2. even if it is suspicious, the cop cant do anything unless a violation has been made, regardless of the history of the spot.

Think about it...cops dont jus go and arrets every girl who jsut happens to be walking down the street at 11pm at night wearing a mini skirt.

---------

but in the defense of Johnny Law.. I'm glad that they did do this becuase it's spots and people like that that make it harder for the rest of us to just hang out and chill. Not all of us are assclowns.

by **DanhTao** Mon Apr 07, 2008 10:22 pm

good points lorth, but we're talking about the cop "culture" as well.
its hard to say "no" to a cop.

the majority of those citations at the meet should be fightable.

but comon... remember when i got a ticket when the idiots from out of town came to one of our wingstop meets?

i have no sympathy because of that experience. i refuse to take the fall for other people now. especially when i was inside giving acupuncture treatments!

by **L Rock** Tue Apr 08, 2008 12:24 am

yeah, it is hard to say "no" to a cop coz jsut by saying "no" , they'll automatically assume you have something to hide, regardless if you do or not, but cops will always try to play that power trip on you. Just don't be intimidated, evne though thats easier said than done.

Anyone's best weapon.... a camera...thats it.. just make sure someone is recoreding what is going on.

Rodney King, remember?

by **DanhTao** Tue Apr 08, 2008 12:35 am

with the power invested in me as a moderator of the 209forums, i hearby request and officially suggest, for the record, to have a camera present at all times at all future 209forum meets.

tho that usually happens anyways, and with multiple cameras.

by **Road&Ster** Tue Apr 08, 2008 11:26 am

technically, an officer can search your vehicle under probably cause. if he suspects you are looking for trouble, then you'll probably get it. i've had my cars searched before. all my stuff have carb numbers on them. they may be more expensive and don't make the most power but it saves you from a lot of trouble.

by **L Rock** Tue Apr 08, 2008 11:41 am

probable cause is one thing if u have a modified car, but it's up to you to still know your rights. coz what probable cause to the officer may not be to you...

here's something from the ApexNetwork.

http://forums.apexnetwork.net/index.php?topic=403.0

It's about a modified exhaust.

Sadly enough, the police officer does NOT KNOW every automotive law out there so he or she will always try to make it seem like they are right and you have no say.

by **Road&Ster** Tue Apr 08, 2008 6:56 pm

exactly, so have your ducks in a row. my car is legal so i have no worries. Very Happy

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