Finnegan Schick Photo
Chair Peralta with Alder Evette Hamilton.
Cops and fed-up neighbors found agreement about the dirt-bikers that have revved back onto the streets this spring: Both sides are tired of the mayhem.
The question was: What can be done about it?
The dirt bikes were Topic A this week at the monthly meeting of the Whalley-Edgewood-Beaver Hills (WEB) management team, held in a Lee Myles transmission shop (because the policing district temporarily lacks a substation).
Peralta at the meeting.
“They are a menace and they are a nuisance. They drive down Whalley Avenue,” said management team Chair Chris Peralta, adding that the bikes cut through one-way streets and drive in Edgewood Park. “They’re either going to hurt themselves or they’re going to hurt someone else.”
“The cops are sick of it,” the district’s top cop, Lt. Makiem Miller, said of the dirt bikes. “It’s a cat and mouse game” between riders and cops.
Dirt bikes and ATVs are a citywide problem because the riders drive quickly from one end of the city to the other, from Lighthouse Point to Kimberly Avenue to the west side, said Miller.
Miller said the drivers of illegal dirt bikes are usually eight to 18 year old boys. Younger riders are taught how to drive the vehicles by older riders.
Police protocol does not allow an officer to chase down an ATV or dirt bike. Miller said pulling over the vehicles is dangerous and can injure the officers and the bikers. Instead officers build cases against riders and try to head them off at the pass. Also, Miller said, police look for places where dirt bikes are stored — the backs of houses, abandoned garages, alleyways — and obtain search warrants to seize them. Owners of the bikes can face misdemeanor charges; Miller said the fees to get the bike back alone are enough to deter the owner from driving it again.
One of these storage locations was 64 Edgewood Avenue, where officers obtained a search warrant and confiscated vehicles. (Click here to read about another such case from 2012.)
The department has struggled for years to contain the problem. After City Hall hearings (pictured in video), local officials convinced the state to increase penalties for illegal dirt-bike riding. The department has a hotline for citizens to call (1 – 866-888‑8477) with information about offenders.
WEB member Stephanie Fitzgerald said she has noticed fewer dirt bikers in the neighborhood when more officers in patrol cars are present.
WEB beat cop Jacob Cedeno (pictured) told the neighbors that dirt bikers regularly drive by his patrol car and taunt him. He said the district is too short-staffed. He said he feels overwhelmed by the 12 to 16 calls he receives each night.
“I’m not going to sugar coat it, we’re hurting in this district,” said District 10 Officer Jacob Cedeno, who said he recently filed a grievance with the police department because of the understaffing. He said some officers feel burnt out after only six months on the job; some move away from New Haven to smaller, better-paying departments. Through a series of police academy classes, the city has been gradually replenishing the department’s ranks after losing many to retirements.
Miller said that foot patrols and car patrols are equally effective at deterring dirt bikers.
The solution is a dirt bike park that would keep the sport contained, the way half-pipes and ramps drew skateboarders.
http://www.nedirtbikes.com/find-places-to-ride/directory/connecticut/