"If you're not into street racing, why would you need that?"

[lflkajfj12123]

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/23/2302.asp

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



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.

In 2005, the California Office of Traffic Safety handed Riverside Police $400,000 in state and federal gas tax revenue for the "establishment of a regional task force to conduct enforcement operations targeting street racing, modified vehicles and speed contests," according to the Riverside Police Department's June 2007 Chief's Report. The department received another $503,268 grant for selective enforcement efforts in 2008. The other agencies that participated in the raid include 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.

old news but if a cop ever said that to me

[90hatchie]

and this is why i liuve on the east coast lol

[driftphenom]

Originally Posted by 90hatchie

and this is why i liuve on the east coast lol

east coast FTW!!!

[Bobafreak]

lol falcon punch! ok back to topic....no falcon punch.

[BBSilvia]

Originally Posted by Bobafreak

lol falcon punch! ok back to topic....no falcon punch.

[stiizy]

Originally Posted by 90hatchie

and this is why i liuve on the east coast lol

Me too yorktown cops are only dicks at night i noticed like if you got exhaust and are on the 202 they love to fuck with you and staties on 9..


When i lived in cali i loved how i never got tickets because of my NY plates they didn't do shit....

Except give me a 350$ littering fine for flickin my cig out the window saying i could start a fire at the beach parking lot, water? sand? fire how??

[90hatchie]

Originally Posted by stiizy

Me too yorktown cops are only dicks at night i noticed like if you got exhaust and are on the 202 they love to fuck with you and staties on 9..


When i lived in cali i loved how i never got tickets because of my NY plates they didn't do shit....

Except give me a 350$ littering fine for flickin my cig out the window saying i could start a fire at the beach parking lot, water? sand? fire how??

i dont seem to have a problem with yorktown cops
and i rip on it passing idiots infront of the police station coming out of town

[2Slow40]

Cliff Notes: Don't live in Cali

[Bobafreak]

hahaha yessss! +rep

[BustedS13]

that's such a stupid argument... chevy makes a 500 horsepower car, honda makes motorcycles that can do like 200mph, and that's from the factory.

then again it's a great point. it's like a stoner with a car full of bongs and issues of high times. fuck yeah i'm going to search your dumb ass.

[ravinaziankid]

That's pretty stupid, why does it matter what you do with your own property. I want to see a cop come up to me and ask me why I dress nicely or why I need an ipod or psp. This seems very illegal and a waste of cali tax payer's money. I hope they get sued by all those who were ticketed and the police learn from this. Even though that would mean more money from the tax payers, but they will probably think twice before doing this again. Seems like Cali is in some kind of dictatorship or communist country state of mind. What's next? Take your home away because you repaired it and remodeled it? Just crazy.

[stiizy]

Craziest thing i ever seen in the east is they ask you to pop your hood to run your engine VIN to see if it's stolen or not...

[RiversideS13]

that is why i never go to meeting again

[muddafakka]

Car enthusiasts getting the shit end of the stick...what else is new.

Glad I don't live in Cali.

I wonder what those cops drive off duty.

Oh yeah, front plates suck balls.

[ESmorz]

Originally Posted by muddafakka

Car enthusiasts getting the shit end of the stick...what else is new.

Glad I don't live in Cali.

I wonder what those cops drive off duty.

Mustangs

Camaro's

POS wagons

Minivans

[slothonaleash]

That's really unfortunate

Well, I live in Ohio.

I can rip past police officers with my buddy club spec II, a couple inches from the ground, blaring August Burns Red, wearing a beanie... and they don't give me a second look.

Cliff notes:

Move to Ohio.

[ESmorz]

Originally Posted by slothonaleash

That's really unfortunate

Well, I live in Ohio.

I can rip past police officers with my buddy club spec II, a couple inches from the ground, blaring August Burns Red, wearing a beanie... and they don't give me a second look.

Cliff notes:

Move to Ohio.

vs

[JayDee M Rolly]

Originally Posted by ESmorz

vs

LOL seriously. +repped

[svensko]

I wonder how many of those car owners are posting on their home forums right now...

"Yo dawgs i gotz mah 240 conficated cuz i was ridin wit a engene that i new wuz illegal fer 4 yeras. NE1 got sum advise"

[kensreliableb18b]

Originally Posted by svensko

I wonder how many of those car owners are posting on their home forums right now...

"Yo dawgs i gotz mah 240 conficated cuz i was ridin wit a engene that i new wuz illegal fer 4 yeras. NE1 got sum advise"

you, sir, are a FUCKING idiot. i swear you have some disorder and can't let that other thread go. go jump off a bridge or something.

OP: yeeeaaaaaaa, if a cop ever asked something as ridiculous as that, i'd really sit there and debate with him/her.

[90hatchie]

VS

[slothonaleash]

Originally Posted by ESmorz

vs

hahahaha agreed ten-fold... there is SHIT to do here

I live in the suburbs though so no horses here, no beaches or suns either.

[2Slow40]

Originally Posted by ESmorz

vs

That's neat but...



vs

[Quail]

You guys definitely have it bad over there. The police usually leave us alone unless we have clear illegal modifications (over tinted windows, etc), or if people are literally racing on the street. Otherwise, no evidence, no crime. I've been pulled over a couple times. One time I was driving too fast on a backroad late at night. The officers liked my car, could see I was driving quickly, but safely, so let me off.
The other time I got pulled over whilst I was trying to catch up with an Evo (not racing - but driving quickly). The traffic cop gave me a $60 fine for an illegal license plate (not vertically mounted), and let me on my way.

[Mi Beardo es Loco]

Looking into the grand scheme of things, this is a great way for the state to make cash. Cops are ordered to do stuff like this. Some might be huge fans of import cars and the scene but they have to do their jobs. But the statement "If you're not into street racing, why would you need that?" is pretty stupid because modding cars have been around since the 30's. It must be the worst known secret because this guy must be totally oblivious to this. Trucks get lifted, so would I have to assume that they will be illegally off-roading? Would I then be legally able to place that guy under arrest? nope. But why the difference with with us?
Then again, why would anyone do an unorganized meet anymore? It's just stupid. It's like Batman having a sign in front of the secret batcave saying "batcave this way."

[adictd2b00st]

stereotypes at their best....

i don't know if west coast is so much different, but out "meets" are always a mixed crowd of domestics/imports we all get along because we are all car enthusiasts in the end. is that not the case there? i'd be suprised if they gave domestic owners the same treatment.....

[an_orange_s2k]

there was a big crackdown on street racing in oakland a little while back. c'mon now i think they should be focusing all their power towards the murders and drugs first. but thats just my opinion

[exitspeed]

That really sucks. Those cops are idiots.

Now saying that ALL those people were there to street race, is like saying all cops are corrupt. That shit pisses me the fuck off.

[ronmcdon]

Originally Posted by exitspeed

That really sucks. Those cops are idiots.

Now saying that ALL those people were there to street race, is like saying all cops are corrupt. That shit pisses me the fuck off.

There is some truth in that. education requirements for police depts out here arn't that stringent. I actually applied to the Los Angeles sheriff's dept earlier this year, and was quite appalled by some of the testing and requirements they gave us. Basically, just a high school degree or GED was all that was required. You saw many kids barely out of HS apply. On top of that, the entry exam tested us on questions that were elementary school level grammar and arithmetic. there were somewhere around 90 applicants. around 40-50 had failed that test.

Cops out here get paid pretty well, at least 50k before taxes. I really think the dept needs to up their standards as far as education goes, maybe at least require 1-2yrs in college. There are many college graduates barely holding a job that makes $30k these days. Policing is a serious matter. I'd rather they hire more liberal arts majors than teens barely out of high school.

[raz0rbladez909]

Originally Posted by ronmcdon

Cops out here get paid pretty well, at least 50k before taxes. I really think the dept needs to up their standards as far as education goes, maybe at least require 1-2yrs in college. There are many college graduates barely holding a job that makes $30k these days. Policing is a serious matter. I'd rather they hire more liberal arts majors than teens barely out of high school.

College proves nothing except that you took X number of years of college, not that you absorbed anything because honestly our college system is so money hungry its rediculous. Half of college students will be in debt their entire lives just to pay off student loans just for a bachelors degree, what reason do you need a college degree to become a police officer? Granted there are plenty of douchebag cops out there but I know plenty of great ones and believe it or not its not some uber technical field that you need a degree for, hell i fix helicopters in the military, yet officers(the ones with the degrees) always end up breaking shit or not knowing shit because they didn't use common sense and use it in their checklist. And last time i checked to be a police officer in L.A. County you have to be at least 20 1/2 with prior military or college to even get looked at most of the time.