KC police begin efforts to crack down on dangerous downtown street races, stunts

Kansas City police and city officials announced Wednesday they will soon take aggressive measures to crack down on groups of motorists who gather at busy intersections throughout the city to perform burnouts, “donuts” and other dangerous maneuvers.

A number of those incidents have taken place along busy thoroughfares, city parks and dense populated areas such as in front of the T-Mobile Center on Grand Boulevard.

Some were captured in videos that were later shared on social media and showed several cars spinning in circles in the middle of intersections surrounded by crowds of cars and pedestrians.

“We can’t make clear enough how dangerous this activity is,” Mayor Quinton Lucas said during a press conference in front of police headquarters. “For those who are bystanders, this is a fairly risky behavior. You don’t want to be someone who is struck by a vehicle.

“We have also tragically seen a homicide this summer and other shootings that have been adjacent to events like this earlier in the year. This is not a safe activity or safe behavior,” Lucas said.

Police say they plan to increase patrols in targeted areas such as downtown and other locations, where the illegal activity has taken place. City officials soon plan to introduce municipal ordinances that would seek to impound vehicles and impose harsh penalties on those who own the vehicles caught performing such stunts.

“Right now, we don’t have anything concrete that can allow us to go take the vehicles, so right now we’re going after the drivers, the registered owners and that’s something that people need to be aware of,” said Deputy Chief Karl Oakman.

“So if you have your mother’s car or your grandmother’s car and you’re out doing burnouts in their car, the register owner is going to be responsible for that,” Oakman said.

Police have identified several locations throughout each of the city’s six patrol divisions where the activity has occurred. They’ve been able to thwart some potential incidents when police officers have arrived before the street racers.

Earlier this month, motorists were filmed blocking a busy intersection in downtown Kansas City as they preformed street racing stunts in front of the T-Mobile Center.

The 15-second video showed two vehicles performing “donuts” in the middle of Grand Boulevard. A crowd of onlookers surrounded the vehicles while plumes of white smoke poured from their burning tires.

Over the summer, illegal street racing attracted large gatherings and spurred shootings and other violence.

In September, Daisy S. Martinez, 20, was killed and another person was injured during a shooting on Southwest Boulevard where a group of “dozens if not hundreds” of people had gathered to watch drag racing, as well as motorists perform car stunts, according to police.

Prosecutors later charged Diego Calderon-Guzman, 30, with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm and two counts of armed criminal action.

Months earlier, seven people were shot in three separate locations following altercations that broke out after more than 1,000 people and hundreds of vehicles gathered at an illegal racing event in the 7100 block of Eastwood Trafficway.

The activities have taken place in other parts of the city throughout the summer. It eventually move to downtown streets where the confined space has made the activity more dangerous.

“Our plan is not going to target certain groups, based on demographics, but we’re going to target the behavior,” Oakman said.

Police said they have responded after they have been alerted by nearby residents or by someone who has witnessed the activities. Arriving officers treat the incident as a disturbance call and disperse the crowd, but officers will not chase vehicles on traffic offenses.

Oakman said one way to curb the illegal activity is to go after the registered owners of those vehicles performing the illegal stunts.

“We think the one thing that’s gonna really stop this is when we go after the vehicle, whether it’s towing it and impounding it, holding it for a period of time until they complete a program,” he said. “Those are all options on the table that we’re exploring with the City Council and with the city prosecutor’s office.”

This story was originally published December 16, 2020 at 4:42 PM.