Phoenix Police Crackdown On Illegal Street Racers

Press release from the City of Phoenix:

October 14, 2020

The Phoenix Police Lieutenant responsible for a crackdown on illegal street racing appeared before the Public Safety Committee, outlining the seriousness of the problem for members of the Phoenix City Council who serve on the committee.

Lt. Jesse Abernathy told the committee the Police Department has continued to see a large presence of street racing occurring throughout the city. Activity which had previously been concentrated in west Phoenix has now expanded to other areas of the greater Phoenix area.

The attached video was also shown during the meeting. It captures some of the dangerous behavior that has resulted in injuries.

Street racing activities consist of large groups of pedestrians and vehicles overtaking busy intersections where they perform high risk driving maneuvers. Group can be as large as 300-500 or more people. These groups have also forced entry into and taken over large warehouses. Sometimes the events end in gun violence or “flash mob" style shoplifting from convenience stores in the area.

The hot spots include Desert Sky Mall, 33rd Ave & Indian School, 67th Ave & Southern, Central & Camelback and 35th Ave & Thomas.

The Maryvale Estrella Mountain Precinct where Lt. Abernathy is assigned is heading a task force of officers from all city precincts, working with motor officers, canine and law enforcement from across the state. The task force is supported by a $250,000 grant from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety. Since the task force launched in late 2019, they have issued nearly 2,100 citations, more than half involving criminal charges, including reckless driving. 153 people have been booked into jail.

This press release was produced by the City of Phoenix. The views expressed here are the author’s own.