Apparently, the nuances of being a sports car enthusiast I learned during the 90’s didn’t make it down the the poor saps in Riverside, CA.
Using $503,000 in federal and state gas tax revenue to pay for overtime, 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.
Number One Rule: Always, always, always keep your car locked.
Number Two Rule: The answer is always “No.” Follow up answer is always “Because you don’t have a warrant.”
Let the other dork show off his stereo. You may not be walking around and BSing, you could be leaning against the rear quarter, keep your windows up and your car locked. A locked car requires a warrant. An open one does not in all cases, especially if you’re possibly breaking a noise ordinance.
Tell the cop its locked and let him test it. Try to be polite to the guy, lest you give him a reason to take your keys. “Get the fuck away from my car, asshole.” does not count as “polite”. Saying “Nope, sorry, I’ve got to be over here because…” does. He’ll get over it and move on.
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.
They don’t need to give any. Little punk street racers have become an annoyance as of late and even one jackass showing off a month previous will get a lot marked as such. Oddly enough, no one sides with the bad guys, especially not the property owner, who will welcome the classification.
Keep your car’s exterior up to code. All lights, all tags and all papers (which you keep in your wallet and not inside the car). Take the window tint ticket that night. Fight it later (you do have a lawyer for your hobby, right?). Your car is locked and the hood cannot be popped for an “equipment search”. Even a jealous crusier-jockey can tell when you’ve replaced your pair of 12B’s with a GT35 Garrett and he will take your car. Worse than that, he’ll probably check it out of property and drive it for you.
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.
Getting $20 back for every $1 spent. I’m sure someone will be getting a promotion in the not too distant future.
And folks wonder why I’m not surprised by the antics of the BATFE (Bureau of Always Think Forfeiture and Entrapment).
