Fife street racers risk getting their cars impounded for two weeks
Mar 26, 2021, 11:55 AM
Tacoma Police and other law enforcement officers stand in an intersection near the site of a car crash Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in downtown Tacoma, Wash. At least one person was injured when a police car plowed through a crowd of people Saturday night who were watching a downtown street race. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Effective immediately, street racers in Fife now risk getting their cars impounded.
Proposed ordinance in Tacoma targets illegal street racing
The city council in Fife has voted in a new emergency law that builds on its “stay out of areas of racing” — or SOAR — laws. Anyone violating the SOAR laws could have their car impounded for up to 15 days.
“This new ordinance provides another tool that the police and the courts could use to hopefully deter this behavior and people attending these unlawful races,” said Fife City Clerk Greg Amann.
“Unlawful street racing has become an issue in the city and throughout the community,” he added.
To address the problem, the Pierce County Executive has recently convened meetings to discuss policy options and a regional approach to increased street racing events.
In Fife, the ordinance allows officers to impound a violators car.
“The police would have the opportunity and the discretion to impound that person’s vehicle for up to 15 days for the first violation,” Amann told KIRO Radio.
A second violation could mean losing a car for 30 days.
“There’s due process considerations that the court can consider in releasing that vehicle,” Amann added.
Tacoma’s city council is considering a similar ordinance that could fine street racers, or send them to jail. The ordinance would amend the city’s current traffic rules by targeting street racing activity and street exhibitions. As KIRO Radio reports, it specifically prohibits “squealing tires while cars are stationary, rapid acceleration, and drifting,” among other actions.
Son of Tacoma cop who drove into crowd pushes to rethink ‘culture’ of police forces
This all follows an incident in January where an officer was seen on video driving his vehicle through a crowd of people. During the incident, 58-year-old Officer Khanh Phan was in his vehicle surrounded by people as part of an attempt to clear an intersection, responding to reports of an illegal street race.
The KIRO Radio Newsdesk contributed to this report.
