New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson has a simple solution to the dangerous, unannounced, unruly masses of motor vehicle drivers and spectators that block traffic and threaten public safety: "No more cars, no more street takeovers."
That was his message to state lawmakers this week in pushing for legislation that would allow police to seize cars involved in street takeovers and sell them at auction, CTInsider reports.
"These street takeovers can happen in any town, any time of the day or night," Jacobson, speaking for the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association during a public hearing Tuesday before the legislative Public Safety & Security Committee. "They're extremely disruptive and dangerous to those on the road. These incidents have encountered mob mentality behavior from those participating in takeovers." Many of the drivers use different sets of license plates to avoid detection, he said.
While takeovers often involved hundreds of vehicles and drivers who outnumber law enforcement, Jacobson believes that seizing the vehicles, then selling them, would send an easy-to-understand consequence while giving towns and cities revenue to pay for the stepped-up enforcement.
