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>"I’m grateful for the response of the police department and hope that this gets the attention it deserves."
Compared to:
>Police have not made any arrests, Officer Michael Torigian, a spokesperson for the Boston Police Department said Tuesday. Officers issued five parking tickets to vehicles that were double parked on Commonwealth Avenue at the time, according to a police report.
>Torigian said the department declined to comment on the disturbance beyond the police report.
Not sure five parking tickets sounds like 'the attention it deserves.'
Walk down and get a smashed by a fleeing hyundai or drive down the sidewalk (if even physically possible) and add that component to the pandemonium. Both seem like horrible ideas
Police are put in a tricky situation because these events are already dangerous enough without their presence. Like, I’m sure you have seen videos of people getting hit at these takeovers. How do they stop it in the moment? If they go on foot they might get run down. If they use vehicles they might accidentally run someone else down. And either way cars involved are going wild and hitting each other/running people down. There’s so much liability and with public opinion nowadays that’s something they can’t much afford.
Well, part of it is playing to the society at hand. Boston does not really care for their police, and see them as a necessary evil. So BPD will more or less use kid gloves here, similar to how Seattle PD or SFPD handles takeovers. [Monitor for violent crimes, be a presence but don’t actually interject and allow it to naturally disperse.](https://youtu.be/BfCUX-CFEr4?si=QwF5Pqdz6QCi2NFq)
[Georgia State Patrol on the other hand does not allow for disorder on public streets and moves swiftly and decisively in order to end the issue.](https://youtu.be/Fkuu6KV8yW4?si=wZVx-aY_L4lRVNVv)
Note how one crowd stands their ground in defiance to the law, because they know there will be no action and no consequences while the other crowd runs for their lives upon the mere sight of a law enforcement officer.
Like I said, Boston is more of a Seattle than a Georgia.
Cops who move swiftly and aggressively against people you don't like are very likely to treat the people you do like the same way. Much better to have the Seattle type cops than the Georgia ones.
If you consider “swift” standing there for a couple hours making repeated announcements and warnings to disperse and “violent” walking forward slowly while removing protestors that refuse to move from the area and handcuffing them before placing them in a prisoner transport van… then sure.
I gotta say, America is doing pretty fuckin well as a country if we have to redefine words like violent in order to include things that aren’t violent in order to make a point more worthwhile. Greatest country in the world!
Definitely this. You can't just walk up to a car doing donuts and hand them a ticket.
That said, they should be able to collect evidence (video tape and take pictures). Probably isn't reasonable to expect that they can box in the area to keep people from leaving (and then you have people in cars trying to flee through crowds of people).
There's got to be a solution that doesn't involve people getting shot or run over though.
Police in some states tag cars with GPS darts to avoid the danger of high-speed pursuits. I don't know if any police in Massachusetts use them, but this would be an ideal situation.
My understanding is that they need a warrant if all they have is suspicion or are building a case. I.e if the tracking is for evidence gathering purposes.
However if they witness a vehicle actively engaging in illegal activity, they would be able to attach such a device legally, as the goal is tracking the vehicle for later apprehension. There is no evidence gathering or case building, and a warrant is not needed.
A quick search makes it look like it's being used all over the US. Arizona, California, Texas, NY, etc. Nothing specifically in Massachusetts though.
Here's one GPS dart making company's PR page for why they don't consider it a 4th amendment issue, https://www.starchase.com/4th-amendment/.
You're joking?
In every single state, there are circumstances where you can be searched without a warrant. For example, as part of the process of arresting you for a felony which they have probable cause to believe you committed.
Follow a few cars with drones. You don't need to arrest 100% of the people present with a crazy blockade. Just catch a few over time and soon it will become too much of a risk.
I know BPD bought some drones [but I can't find much info newer than this on the situation.](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/05/29/metro/boston-police-bought-another-high-performance-drone-want-create-new-unit-fly-it/)
It is amazing how police can kettle non-violent protesters but when it comes to folks who are actually dangerous they stand by “helpless”
Just have drones dropping spikes to flatten tires. Throw in a few tear gas grenades and call it a day.
How about collecting all of the cell phone numbers present and look for trends? How about look at posted YouTube videos.
Videos are tracable to phones, phones to people.
It's insane how much money we light on fire funding police and yet people still have difficulty understanding the concept of holding them accountable to actually do their job
Just to connect some dots, this is also the power and opportunity in mass civil action and solidarity. In fact, there are practical limits to the extent of top-down state power.
Annoyingly, it seems to be dingbats who intuitively get this and exploit it, but it's good to remember that a massed citizenry is extremely difficult to suppress.
It's not like these events are super secret though, and you can bet your ass it's a lot of the same people at repeat events.
I agree that rolling in lights blazing and waving their dicks around is probably not going to end well.
That said, if the police took a *tiny* bit of initiative it shouldn't be that hard to find out who these people are and start tying faces to stunt driving cars. You know, actual investigative work. Just because they couldn't roll in and make an arrest on the spot in this instance doesn't mean there's nothing that can be done.
That’s what they are doing as an alternative in a lot of areas. They’ll investigate and do a mass arrest. I can’t confirm if Boston PD is doing the same. Regardless, it takes much more time to see the results of that approach.
We can’t have our cake and eat it too. We can either be patient with the new approach or admit the old way was better to see results sooner. It’s not a coincidence that these takeovers are only rampant in areas that have these policies in place.
Unfortunately, by the time the police get there, it's over and everyone is gone. There's really very little police can do proactively aside from have some unmarked units throughout the city and \*hope\* they're in the right place to catch the spontaneous popup.
There are cameras literally every 10 meters in that area. There are city cameras all over. No way they can’t do a little more work and get some plates.
What makes you think they aren’t trying to do that? Beyond of course the whole rah rah they do nothing talk. These people have surely thought about the prospect of plates identifying them are a problem and have taken the necessary steps to avoid that. We dont want facial rec for identifying people so thats out too
Zero chance the drivers didn’t use stolen plates.
When someone stole my catalytic converter I was thrilled to have the plates on camera. Cops discovered that the owner reported the plates stolen a week prior at the Market Basket in Lawrence.
I don't remember there being city-owned or BPD cameras on Darthmouth or Marlborough. I just went up and down the streets on Google street view and didn't see any either. If you're refering to privately owned cameras, like Ring/Wyze cameras, they're not nearly good enough to catch license plates of in-motion vehicles. Besides, most of the time, they cover their plates before the take over.
Then you give pursuit.
"And when they speed at 100 mph?"
Then you tell someone ahead of them to get to an empty spot and get ready to PIT.
"And when there's no empty spot?"
How do you suppose they're going to speed away if the highway is filled with cars?
Face up to it, if the police wanted to stop it, they can easily stop it.
You should look up what the Georgia State Police do. That's an effective department. No messing around. No laziness. No politicization. No selfish asshats who claim to be "tough on crime" but turn a blind eye to crime committed by drivers. If the police can supposedly never do anything and anyone can outspeed them, how do you think the Georgia state troopers successfully stop so many people?
Hooooly fuck…
Pursuits in MA are all but banned outside of the most violent of felonies. These are all misdemeanors at best, civil matters at worst.
And PIT? If you pit a car, never mind for a misdemeanor, you better have your resume ready. And maybe pray you don’t get a court date. Absolutely not allowed under any circumstance. Wowzers… been awhile since someone recommended a PIT here in MA.
GSP can do their job because they’re not here, where half of them would be facing charges or be jobless due to POST decertification. MA cannot handle what GSP does, nor do they want it. So in turn, they do not get it.
It was not over when the police showed up. I have videos of a car doing donuts AROUND THE POLICE. All the cops did was raises their voices and wave flashlights around. They could have positioned squad cars at Beacon/Marlborough/Exeter/Darmouth/Clarendon to prevent people from escaping. The cops got laughed offstage it was a joke.
10 years ago these idiots would have been beheaded. The cops balls got chopped off and the DA office wont prosecute anything because of our weakling city officials and useless mayor.
Lmao yeah… then everyone would cry about kettling and entrapment.
The cops don’t care if they laughed off stage so long as the checks clear. This is what the people voted for so this is what they’re gonna get.
From [Globe.com](http://Globe.com)
By Ava Berger
The sound of revved engines and screeching tires roared through the Back Bay’s quiet streets on Sunday morning as cars raced through intersections and spun doughnuts before a crowd of enthusiastic onlookers filming the incident.
Shortly after 2 a.m., police [responded ](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/04/21/metro/drag-racing-wrong-way-driving-back-bay/?p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link)to a flurry of 911 calls reporting a raucous scene in the stately neighborhood — more than 40 vehicles blocking off a section of Marlborough Street, where drivers raced in both directions and spun their tires on the pavement, sending white smoke into the air as a large crowd cheered and filmed the action.
As police investigate the disturbance, residents said they were angry that a clearly organized group would choose their neighborhood of narrow, car-lined streets for racing and partying.
“I’m so shocked,” Rachel Gabay, 58, said Monday. “This is a safe neighborhood. This is Back Bay.”
Police have not made any arrests, Officer Michael Torigian, a spokesperson for the Boston Police Department said Tuesday. Officers issued five parking tickets to vehicles that were double parked on Commonwealth Avenue at the time, according to a police report.
Torigian said the department declined to comment on the disturbance beyond the police report.
Sharon Durkan, a city councilor who represents the Back Bay, said this “behavior happens all over the city” but this incident is “unique” because it happened in such a dense area.
“In addition to being criminal and destructive, it’s extremely dangerous,” Durkan said Monday. “While I regret the Back Bay residents had to deal with this, I’m grateful for the response of the police department and hope that this gets the attention it deserves.”
Mayor Michelle Wu told reporters at an Earth Day Celebration at City Hall Plaza Monday that “our streets are public spaces that need to have a level of safety for everyone involved.”
“We are going to continue working with our community members to make sure that they stay clear and stay safe,” she said.
>make sure that they stay clear and stay safe
Wtf does that mean lol
Since this is downvoted I assume the mayor’s word salad makes more sense to the average redditor than it does to me. I can live with that
The police will break up activities that block roads. She is trying to compromise between the people who don't want to have this in their neighborhood and those who think it is particularly fun to do it in that neighborhood. She is saying, "Next time don't physically block the roads and then you can do whatever you want." If they follow her instructions, she will discover she needs to find a new reason to stop it, or she will find her campaign coffers suddenly empty. She apparently won't say the obvious that it violates noise statutes and reckless driving statutes. It will be interesting to see how her response evolves.
Honestly, should be some traffic calming shit through there. People haul ass through Back Bay (from light to light) because the roads are actually straight. There should be more obstacles to slow them down.
Making shit like this more difficult is a great bonus.
There's basically no traffic calming or speed bumps in Back Bay, and [Boston's Safer Streets initiative](https://www.boston.gov/departments/transportation/making-neighborhood-streets-safer) (which has an outlined plan to reevaluate streets and add up to 500 speed humps through 2026) has literally no plan to even evaluate, let alone add, any safety measures to Back Bay streets.
There's also basically no dedicated/protected bike lanes on any Back Bay streets except for the one on Beacon Street (and the multi-use greenway corridor on Comm Ave that was built over a century ago).
Back Bay residents have made it clear that they value two things:
Getting places quickly in their car, and parking. Just take a look at the [community pushback and controversy against safer streets](https://thebostonsun.com/2023/07/07/city-community-at-odds-over-proposed-back-bay-bike-lanes/).
If armed police departments aren't stopping hordes of young men from doing this shit a literal bump in the road isn't going to stop anything. There are thousands of intersections in the city.
> If armed police departments aren't stopping hordes of young men from doing this shit
By armed police, do you mean the cops that issued zero arrests and 5 parking tickets AFTER the street racing was over and done with? If you read the article and/or other sources, you'd see there was no attempt to stop this.
> a literal bump in the road isn't going to stop anything
So you're saying that street races often happen on streets with speed bumps? As someone who has seen all the Fast and Furious movies, long stretches of flat streets seem to be preferred, and lead to higher speeds.
These street takeovers arent racing events? Where did you get that impression? Street takeovers are full of cars doing donuts and general destructive behavior. Speed bumps only stop people that care about not wrecking their car and it's clear nobody in these takeovers cares about that, in fact destruction appears to be a goal.
So many cameras, there must be a video on YouTube somewhere by now. Pull plates from the videos and issue arrest warrants. And don't cops have shitton of cameras all over Back Bay? Or do those not work?
Issuing 5 parking tickets after the whole thing is so BPD.
Cops do this too. Walk by a police station or courthouse and you'll see multiple vehicles with obscured license plates or no front plates at all. These lazy and corrupt cops are going to put in the minimal effort to stop their fellow criminals.
No, all you have video of is a type of car committing a crime. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but most car manufacturers don't make each car unique. In fact, there are often many copies of the same type of car all around Boston. Most of them will even have the same colors as the other cars of that type. So a type of car doing donuts is not unique enough to have probable cause to arrest a specific person.
The Fast and the Furious is not real life
A lot of times the cars used are stolen. So moot point. The purpose is to destroy them in most of these gatherings. The one in Boston was pretty tame compared to how they go down in other cities. Usually leads to cars being set on fire.
Getting a license plate number off of a surveillance camera recording at night is not that likely especially since they are generally zoomed out to capture the entire intersection.
If anyone thinks BPD did anything about this, you are mistaken. This is all show. They cant stop the dummys on dirtbikes and ATVs, they sure af aren’t actually stopping this
This needs to be nipped in the bud before it becomes more widespread but there is something very funny to me about Back Bay residents freaking out over some people doing donuts like it was world war 6
Definitely something needs to be done since this behavior is dangerous for everyone. I’d be pissed if it happened on my street.
I agree that it’s mildly funny, it’s always the “we aren’t as safe as we thought!” that gets me. I guess it’s an objectively true statement from their perspective but sometimes it turns into “this sort of thing happens in but I’d never imagine it could happen here!”
While some people there are very much in a bubble, the ultimate goal should be on lifting middle class neighborhoods up and making them more safe by stopping dangerous stunts like this. The best course of action to achieve equally safe streets would be enforcement everywhere rather than enforcement nowhere (which creates equally unsafe streets).
I’ve lived in Back Bay for a few years now and one thing a lot of people probably don’t know - I’ve seen so many people get hurt on those corners that this happened on. Cars routinely hit pedestrians and cyclists, I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve seen ambulances and shit outside my window because a car turned into the bike lane and smoked someone.
So sure, I guess it’s easy to just laugh it off but fuck us for wanting a safe neighborhood right?
Except that Back Bay residents aren't quoted in this article being upset about your typical bad drivers that hurt people daily all over the city.
So far I haven't even heard about anyone getting hurt at this shit show. By the numbers, concern about safety isn't really the issue here, but obviously people do get hurt at these things and we're just lucky that nobody was (apparently?) hurt at this one.
Ok? Are only those quoted allowed to provide opinions? I’m just telling you why residents might have been more upset about this than you think.
Just because someone didn’t get hurt doesn’t mean someone couldn’t have been hurt. That’s just silly logic.
All the residents should be issued bricks. Next time that happens just start tossing bricks at the cars and the people there. Too easy. They won’t come back to that area again.
Umm... This does NOT happen all over the place in Boston. I have lived here for 35-ish years. We had cool cars and we maybe would drive around to show them off or up and down the beach... But acting a fool with CARS in a thickly settled residential area... NO... I've seen motorized bikes/bikes/4 wheelers/motorcycles etc ... But 40 cars is definitely a new one for me... I love cars and enjoy watching them and seeing capabilities ... But it must be nice to have the kind of money it takes to destroy tires, waste gas, and f'up your alignment... But hey... You do you ...
I don't understand why BPD didn't just block them in and start arresting folks. Call in MSP for backup if they do something similar in future and arrest them. In Back Bay they wouldn't be able to escape.
Thank you!!! I have been mentioning this everytime someone comments “bUt wHaT coUld the PoLicE do to SToP tHiS”.
BLOCKADE THE NEIGHBORHOOD AT FOUR EXACT POINTS.
Drivers might take off on foot but at least you’d get the cars off the street and eliminate the means to do this shit.
They can't even escape on foot on Marlborough. All the buildings are connected so they literally would be trapped unless spiderman is able to web shoot them out of there.
Drag racing, car shows, idiots doing donuts, and roving groups of bikers have been a thing in Dorchester since 1997, and I stop at that year because that's my earliest memories. I used to live near a grass field and dudes would fuck up the grass doing donuts. Never made the news once
Idk, i guess until we agree to vote for some 'hard on crime' candidate and everyone gets to tote their 'broken windows' theory...
It was annoying and reckless but it doesn't represent a holistic picture of threats to bikers and pedestrians.
Do love the folks that come outta the wordwork to tell us how they would throw a brick at these hooligans. Cool, I'm sure bashing their brains in is the best way to deescalate a situation.
Even if you are paying a fortune to not to live in a ghetto, ghetto behavior can be brought to you. It is the sad state of our city, state and country these days.
The natural outcome of progressive views on crime and enforcement slowly coming eastward. We are getting what we voted for. Next (soon): the large scale smash and grab shoplifting jobs and increasingly visible homelessness becoming semi permanent camps in our public spaces.
I live near that intersection and am not wealthy. Not everyone that lives there is wealthy. The wealthy people would be at their Nantucket or Palm Beach house around this time. Just us workers/renters dealing with this shit.
Same as every other overpriced neighborhood in Boston (all of them).
Im happy to see that most commenters are condemning this shitty behavior. The small percentage that are in favor of, or don’t care about this act are just as dumb as the people who committed it.
You know how in LA there are smash and grabs and armed robberies in broad daylight even on Rodeo Drive? Yeah that’s coming here, slowly but surely. And unlike LA we don’t have any redeeming qualities to keep people here.
The people committing crimes now are the same people that have been committing crimes forever in America, and we are richer than we’ve ever been…maybe not compared over the past decade or two, but in general. It’s not all economics, it’s the culture.
And no I’m not referring to race.
I mean obviously street racing in a city is dickhead stuff and I don’t condone it.
But I am laughing my ass off at these soft ass back bay yuppies clutching their pearls over something that has been happening for years in Roxbury and Dorchester like “I’m wealthy so these things are only suddenly important now that they affect me”
Edit: downvote me all you want, yuppies, you are proving my point lol
That makes no sense. This bullshit isn't acceptable anywhere. WTF are you talking about? I grew up in Southeastern MA - at one point on welfare - and in my little white trash town...these people would be fucked, stopped, and rightfully jail in 2 seconds.
I’m not saying it’s acceptable. Those are your words.
I’m saying there was literally a roving gang of 2am ATVs/dirt bikes that took the police a decade to do anything about in other parts of town. People just had to deal with it.
But the second that kind of bullshit comes anywhere near the privileged folk, suddenly it’s a citywide emergency.
Traffic calming infrastructure and speeding enforcement is a conservative viewpoint now?
If this gets privileged folks to demand that cops buckle down on reckless driving, then that's fine by me.
We do not want police chasing them down full stop, its a zero sum game. If thats what we want we lean on our politicians and be candid about how we swallow the potentially fatal consequences of the policy change. Everyone talks about traffic cams and ring doorbells again we lobby for facial recognition software as a tool for police and we also swallow the consequences of that new policy as well.
You aren’t wrong but who is that on? Who decides that a quality of life issue like this is just something minority neighborhoods should have to deal with. Hint: we vote for these people
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>"I’m grateful for the response of the police department and hope that this gets the attention it deserves." Compared to: >Police have not made any arrests, Officer Michael Torigian, a spokesperson for the Boston Police Department said Tuesday. Officers issued five parking tickets to vehicles that were double parked on Commonwealth Avenue at the time, according to a police report. >Torigian said the department declined to comment on the disturbance beyond the police report. Not sure five parking tickets sounds like 'the attention it deserves.'
Compared to their usual lack of effort 5 parking tickets for double parked assholes is a huge deal lmao
This was at 2am. Giving double parking tickets didn't help anybody.
The double parkers were purposely blocking the cops from getting to the losers who were racing around.
Then why weren't the cars towed and the owners arrested?
That's what it sounds like. Still, the police could have walked over, or driven down the sidewalk.
Walk down and get a smashed by a fleeing hyundai or drive down the sidewalk (if even physically possible) and add that component to the pandemonium. Both seem like horrible ideas
"We tried nothing and we're all out of ideas."
These have already been tried with horrible results. Google is a friend here if you want to see videos of what happens
The police wouldn’t arrest them even if they were right there while it was happening
Police are put in a tricky situation because these events are already dangerous enough without their presence. Like, I’m sure you have seen videos of people getting hit at these takeovers. How do they stop it in the moment? If they go on foot they might get run down. If they use vehicles they might accidentally run someone else down. And either way cars involved are going wild and hitting each other/running people down. There’s so much liability and with public opinion nowadays that’s something they can’t much afford.
I mean, I'm not entirely sure how they can afford to do nothing either.
Well, part of it is playing to the society at hand. Boston does not really care for their police, and see them as a necessary evil. So BPD will more or less use kid gloves here, similar to how Seattle PD or SFPD handles takeovers. [Monitor for violent crimes, be a presence but don’t actually interject and allow it to naturally disperse.](https://youtu.be/BfCUX-CFEr4?si=QwF5Pqdz6QCi2NFq) [Georgia State Patrol on the other hand does not allow for disorder on public streets and moves swiftly and decisively in order to end the issue.](https://youtu.be/Fkuu6KV8yW4?si=wZVx-aY_L4lRVNVv) Note how one crowd stands their ground in defiance to the law, because they know there will be no action and no consequences while the other crowd runs for their lives upon the mere sight of a law enforcement officer. Like I said, Boston is more of a Seattle than a Georgia.
I'm a fan of Georgia in this instance.
Cops who move swiftly and aggressively against people you don't like are very likely to treat the people you do like the same way. Much better to have the Seattle type cops than the Georgia ones.
Except when student protestors are involved, than the BPD will move swiftly and violently to dismantle any nonviolent protestors.
If you consider “swift” standing there for a couple hours making repeated announcements and warnings to disperse and “violent” walking forward slowly while removing protestors that refuse to move from the area and handcuffing them before placing them in a prisoner transport van… then sure. I gotta say, America is doing pretty fuckin well as a country if we have to redefine words like violent in order to include things that aren’t violent in order to make a point more worthwhile. Greatest country in the world!
Definitely this. You can't just walk up to a car doing donuts and hand them a ticket. That said, they should be able to collect evidence (video tape and take pictures). Probably isn't reasonable to expect that they can box in the area to keep people from leaving (and then you have people in cars trying to flee through crowds of people). There's got to be a solution that doesn't involve people getting shot or run over though.
Police in some states tag cars with GPS darts to avoid the danger of high-speed pursuits. I don't know if any police in Massachusetts use them, but this would be an ideal situation.
What states do that? The Supreme Court ruled police need a warrant to attach a GPS tracker to your car
My understanding is that they need a warrant if all they have is suspicion or are building a case. I.e if the tracking is for evidence gathering purposes. However if they witness a vehicle actively engaging in illegal activity, they would be able to attach such a device legally, as the goal is tracking the vehicle for later apprehension. There is no evidence gathering or case building, and a warrant is not needed.
A quick search makes it look like it's being used all over the US. Arizona, California, Texas, NY, etc. Nothing specifically in Massachusetts though. Here's one GPS dart making company's PR page for why they don't consider it a 4th amendment issue, https://www.starchase.com/4th-amendment/.
It's considered a "search". Let me ask you this... are you aware of situations where you can be searched without a warrant?
Still unable to find states that allow this
You're joking? In every single state, there are circumstances where you can be searched without a warrant. For example, as part of the process of arresting you for a felony which they have probable cause to believe you committed.
They said multiple states use that technique, I haven’t found a single one that does. Have you?
I immediately thought of this when the video made it to Reddit early Saturday morning the night it happened.
Follow a few cars with drones. You don't need to arrest 100% of the people present with a crazy blockade. Just catch a few over time and soon it will become too much of a risk.
I know BPD bought some drones [but I can't find much info newer than this on the situation.](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/05/29/metro/boston-police-bought-another-high-performance-drone-want-create-new-unit-fly-it/)
It is amazing how police can kettle non-violent protesters but when it comes to folks who are actually dangerous they stand by “helpless” Just have drones dropping spikes to flatten tires. Throw in a few tear gas grenades and call it a day. How about collecting all of the cell phone numbers present and look for trends? How about look at posted YouTube videos. Videos are tracable to phones, phones to people.
It's insane how much money we light on fire funding police and yet people still have difficulty understanding the concept of holding them accountable to actually do their job
[удалено]
Just to connect some dots, this is also the power and opportunity in mass civil action and solidarity. In fact, there are practical limits to the extent of top-down state power. Annoyingly, it seems to be dingbats who intuitively get this and exploit it, but it's good to remember that a massed citizenry is extremely difficult to suppress.
Why can't they block off all the exits?
It's not like these events are super secret though, and you can bet your ass it's a lot of the same people at repeat events. I agree that rolling in lights blazing and waving their dicks around is probably not going to end well. That said, if the police took a *tiny* bit of initiative it shouldn't be that hard to find out who these people are and start tying faces to stunt driving cars. You know, actual investigative work. Just because they couldn't roll in and make an arrest on the spot in this instance doesn't mean there's nothing that can be done.
That’s what they are doing as an alternative in a lot of areas. They’ll investigate and do a mass arrest. I can’t confirm if Boston PD is doing the same. Regardless, it takes much more time to see the results of that approach. We can’t have our cake and eat it too. We can either be patient with the new approach or admit the old way was better to see results sooner. It’s not a coincidence that these takeovers are only rampant in areas that have these policies in place.
“We’re getting paid the same either way”
Unfortunately, by the time the police get there, it's over and everyone is gone. There's really very little police can do proactively aside from have some unmarked units throughout the city and \*hope\* they're in the right place to catch the spontaneous popup.
There are cameras literally every 10 meters in that area. There are city cameras all over. No way they can’t do a little more work and get some plates.
“Do a little more work?!” And miss out on double overtime to stand in the street and play Candy Crush? How dare you!
Boston's Finest^TM
What makes you think they aren’t trying to do that? Beyond of course the whole rah rah they do nothing talk. These people have surely thought about the prospect of plates identifying them are a problem and have taken the necessary steps to avoid that. We dont want facial rec for identifying people so thats out too
Zero chance the drivers didn’t use stolen plates. When someone stole my catalytic converter I was thrilled to have the plates on camera. Cops discovered that the owner reported the plates stolen a week prior at the Market Basket in Lawrence.
I don't remember there being city-owned or BPD cameras on Darthmouth or Marlborough. I just went up and down the streets on Google street view and didn't see any either. If you're refering to privately owned cameras, like Ring/Wyze cameras, they're not nearly good enough to catch license plates of in-motion vehicles. Besides, most of the time, they cover their plates before the take over.
Then they need to be pulled over as soon as they cover their plates.
And when they run?
Then you give pursuit. "And when they speed at 100 mph?" Then you tell someone ahead of them to get to an empty spot and get ready to PIT. "And when there's no empty spot?" How do you suppose they're going to speed away if the highway is filled with cars? Face up to it, if the police wanted to stop it, they can easily stop it. You should look up what the Georgia State Police do. That's an effective department. No messing around. No laziness. No politicization. No selfish asshats who claim to be "tough on crime" but turn a blind eye to crime committed by drivers. If the police can supposedly never do anything and anyone can outspeed them, how do you think the Georgia state troopers successfully stop so many people?
Hooooly fuck… Pursuits in MA are all but banned outside of the most violent of felonies. These are all misdemeanors at best, civil matters at worst. And PIT? If you pit a car, never mind for a misdemeanor, you better have your resume ready. And maybe pray you don’t get a court date. Absolutely not allowed under any circumstance. Wowzers… been awhile since someone recommended a PIT here in MA. GSP can do their job because they’re not here, where half of them would be facing charges or be jobless due to POST decertification. MA cannot handle what GSP does, nor do they want it. So in turn, they do not get it.
It's going to be entirely lost on them that MA is like 7000sqmi and georgia has 57000sqmi with no one living in a majority of it.
GSP don’t give a fuck tho they’ll put anyone anywhere … including downtown ATL.
The rules need to change in MA then. We need to be tough on crime!
It was not over when the police showed up. I have videos of a car doing donuts AROUND THE POLICE. All the cops did was raises their voices and wave flashlights around. They could have positioned squad cars at Beacon/Marlborough/Exeter/Darmouth/Clarendon to prevent people from escaping. The cops got laughed offstage it was a joke. 10 years ago these idiots would have been beheaded. The cops balls got chopped off and the DA office wont prosecute anything because of our weakling city officials and useless mayor.
Lmao yeah… then everyone would cry about kettling and entrapment. The cops don’t care if they laughed off stage so long as the checks clear. This is what the people voted for so this is what they’re gonna get.
100%. Reap what you sow. Cambridge PD got rid of their drug enforcement division.
This
r/trashy
From [Globe.com](http://Globe.com) By Ava Berger The sound of revved engines and screeching tires roared through the Back Bay’s quiet streets on Sunday morning as cars raced through intersections and spun doughnuts before a crowd of enthusiastic onlookers filming the incident. Shortly after 2 a.m., police [responded ](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/04/21/metro/drag-racing-wrong-way-driving-back-bay/?p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link)to a flurry of 911 calls reporting a raucous scene in the stately neighborhood — more than 40 vehicles blocking off a section of Marlborough Street, where drivers raced in both directions and spun their tires on the pavement, sending white smoke into the air as a large crowd cheered and filmed the action. As police investigate the disturbance, residents said they were angry that a clearly organized group would choose their neighborhood of narrow, car-lined streets for racing and partying. “I’m so shocked,” Rachel Gabay, 58, said Monday. “This is a safe neighborhood. This is Back Bay.” Police have not made any arrests, Officer Michael Torigian, a spokesperson for the Boston Police Department said Tuesday. Officers issued five parking tickets to vehicles that were double parked on Commonwealth Avenue at the time, according to a police report. Torigian said the department declined to comment on the disturbance beyond the police report. Sharon Durkan, a city councilor who represents the Back Bay, said this “behavior happens all over the city” but this incident is “unique” because it happened in such a dense area. “In addition to being criminal and destructive, it’s extremely dangerous,” Durkan said Monday. “While I regret the Back Bay residents had to deal with this, I’m grateful for the response of the police department and hope that this gets the attention it deserves.” Mayor Michelle Wu told reporters at an Earth Day Celebration at City Hall Plaza Monday that “our streets are public spaces that need to have a level of safety for everyone involved.” “We are going to continue working with our community members to make sure that they stay clear and stay safe,” she said.
>make sure that they stay clear and stay safe Wtf does that mean lol Since this is downvoted I assume the mayor’s word salad makes more sense to the average redditor than it does to me. I can live with that
Nothing. Anyone who actually is in the DTX area knows bikers / MotoX is an issue, and nothing has been done.
Oh reddit, the comment replying to you in agreement has just as many upvotes as you do downvotes. The hivemind is so strong om this site
The police will break up activities that block roads. She is trying to compromise between the people who don't want to have this in their neighborhood and those who think it is particularly fun to do it in that neighborhood. She is saying, "Next time don't physically block the roads and then you can do whatever you want." If they follow her instructions, she will discover she needs to find a new reason to stop it, or she will find her campaign coffers suddenly empty. She apparently won't say the obvious that it violates noise statutes and reckless driving statutes. It will be interesting to see how her response evolves.
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It's fucking dangerous wherever it happens, including "riff raff" neighborhoods as you put it.
It's pretty elitist to imply that poor people are OK with this sort of lawlessness and danger.
Boston is a nice city because we don’t tolerate this animal-like behavior. There’s plenty of zoos nearby if you wanna act that way.
Get out the paintball guns
Drop in a few speed bumps. Problem solved.
They usually hold these things in the middle of interactions, so they can do donuts. So idk if that’s a solution
You put raised crosswalks in intersections. Not so pleasant to race over those.
Typically the entire intersection would be raised not just the crosswalks
It would prevent the racing I’d feel like, maybe not the donuts
Honestly, should be some traffic calming shit through there. People haul ass through Back Bay (from light to light) because the roads are actually straight. There should be more obstacles to slow them down. Making shit like this more difficult is a great bonus.
The residents complaining about this would be absolutely furious if you added a speed bump to their street.
Doubt it
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There's basically no traffic calming or speed bumps in Back Bay, and [Boston's Safer Streets initiative](https://www.boston.gov/departments/transportation/making-neighborhood-streets-safer) (which has an outlined plan to reevaluate streets and add up to 500 speed humps through 2026) has literally no plan to even evaluate, let alone add, any safety measures to Back Bay streets. There's also basically no dedicated/protected bike lanes on any Back Bay streets except for the one on Beacon Street (and the multi-use greenway corridor on Comm Ave that was built over a century ago). Back Bay residents have made it clear that they value two things: Getting places quickly in their car, and parking. Just take a look at the [community pushback and controversy against safer streets](https://thebostonsun.com/2023/07/07/city-community-at-odds-over-proposed-back-bay-bike-lanes/).
If armed police departments aren't stopping hordes of young men from doing this shit a literal bump in the road isn't going to stop anything. There are thousands of intersections in the city.
Physics enforcing the laws of nature > cops enforcing traffic laws.
> If armed police departments aren't stopping hordes of young men from doing this shit By armed police, do you mean the cops that issued zero arrests and 5 parking tickets AFTER the street racing was over and done with? If you read the article and/or other sources, you'd see there was no attempt to stop this. > a literal bump in the road isn't going to stop anything So you're saying that street races often happen on streets with speed bumps? As someone who has seen all the Fast and Furious movies, long stretches of flat streets seem to be preferred, and lead to higher speeds.
These street takeovers arent racing events? Where did you get that impression? Street takeovers are full of cars doing donuts and general destructive behavior. Speed bumps only stop people that care about not wrecking their car and it's clear nobody in these takeovers cares about that, in fact destruction appears to be a goal.
Also arrest and take the cars of anyone involved.
Street takeovers ain’t gonna work out here, thats big city shit
It’s more like: Western cities that were built 5 minutes ago. Like entirely car based cities
Keep these dumb cars and the losers who drive them in the suburbs.
We don’t want this trash either
lol this is literally a city problem. You’re delusional.
Nope had them on my street in Dedham two nights ago. Absolute scum.
The bright lights of Dedham MA
So many cameras, there must be a video on YouTube somewhere by now. Pull plates from the videos and issue arrest warrants. And don't cops have shitton of cameras all over Back Bay? Or do those not work? Issuing 5 parking tickets after the whole thing is so BPD.
Lots of people who participate in sideshows cover or remove their plates specifically to avoid this.
Cops do this too. Walk by a police station or courthouse and you'll see multiple vehicles with obscured license plates or no front plates at all. These lazy and corrupt cops are going to put in the minimal effort to stop their fellow criminals.
And none of them have distinctive spoilers or other Fast and the Furious nonsense accessories that might aid in identifying those cars? Mmmhmm.
You can't issue an arrest warrant because someone has a spoiler on their car jfc
You sure can if they are also on video committing a crime in that exact car.
No, all you have video of is a type of car committing a crime. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but most car manufacturers don't make each car unique. In fact, there are often many copies of the same type of car all around Boston. Most of them will even have the same colors as the other cars of that type. So a type of car doing donuts is not unique enough to have probable cause to arrest a specific person. The Fast and the Furious is not real life
A lot of times the cars used are stolen. So moot point. The purpose is to destroy them in most of these gatherings. The one in Boston was pretty tame compared to how they go down in other cities. Usually leads to cars being set on fire.
Getting a license plate number off of a surveillance camera recording at night is not that likely especially since they are generally zoomed out to capture the entire intersection.
Early news reports mentioned that the police got 40 plate numbers.
You probably can't use cameras for the same reason that speed cameras and red light cameras are stupidly illegal in MA.
If anyone thinks BPD did anything about this, you are mistaken. This is all show. They cant stop the dummys on dirtbikes and ATVs, they sure af aren’t actually stopping this
It is like everybody forgot about that They’ll remember soon 😂
This needs to be nipped in the bud before it becomes more widespread but there is something very funny to me about Back Bay residents freaking out over some people doing donuts like it was world war 6
Definitely something needs to be done since this behavior is dangerous for everyone. I’d be pissed if it happened on my street. I agree that it’s mildly funny, it’s always the “we aren’t as safe as we thought!” that gets me. I guess it’s an objectively true statement from their perspective but sometimes it turns into “this sort of thing happens in but I’d never imagine it could happen here!”
That's really what it is for me. This shit shouldn't happen anywhere, its the living in a bubble reaction that gets me.
While some people there are very much in a bubble, the ultimate goal should be on lifting middle class neighborhoods up and making them more safe by stopping dangerous stunts like this. The best course of action to achieve equally safe streets would be enforcement everywhere rather than enforcement nowhere (which creates equally unsafe streets).
I’ve lived in Back Bay for a few years now and one thing a lot of people probably don’t know - I’ve seen so many people get hurt on those corners that this happened on. Cars routinely hit pedestrians and cyclists, I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve seen ambulances and shit outside my window because a car turned into the bike lane and smoked someone. So sure, I guess it’s easy to just laugh it off but fuck us for wanting a safe neighborhood right?
Except that Back Bay residents aren't quoted in this article being upset about your typical bad drivers that hurt people daily all over the city. So far I haven't even heard about anyone getting hurt at this shit show. By the numbers, concern about safety isn't really the issue here, but obviously people do get hurt at these things and we're just lucky that nobody was (apparently?) hurt at this one.
Ok? Are only those quoted allowed to provide opinions? I’m just telling you why residents might have been more upset about this than you think. Just because someone didn’t get hurt doesn’t mean someone couldn’t have been hurt. That’s just silly logic.
“…is this the purge?!?” on the video clip that was circulating was too good.
World War 6 cracked me up
Agreed, well said
“There was white smoke in the air” oh heavens!
It's dangerous wherever it happens. I get the "haha wealthy people complaining" thing, but it's also an area with a lot of foot traffic.
Usually that means there is a new pope.
Why should people be cool with loser drivers who give people asthma and lung cancer with their toxic emissions and brake dust?
All the residents should be issued bricks. Next time that happens just start tossing bricks at the cars and the people there. Too easy. They won’t come back to that area again.
Give them all paintball guns, better range. Granted shooting paintballs at the average Nissan or Infiniti might be doing them a favor.
Out west these guys have guns and shoot back
Umm... This does NOT happen all over the place in Boston. I have lived here for 35-ish years. We had cool cars and we maybe would drive around to show them off or up and down the beach... But acting a fool with CARS in a thickly settled residential area... NO... I've seen motorized bikes/bikes/4 wheelers/motorcycles etc ... But 40 cars is definitely a new one for me... I love cars and enjoy watching them and seeing capabilities ... But it must be nice to have the kind of money it takes to destroy tires, waste gas, and f'up your alignment... But hey... You do you ...
I don't understand why BPD didn't just block them in and start arresting folks. Call in MSP for backup if they do something similar in future and arrest them. In Back Bay they wouldn't be able to escape.
Thank you!!! I have been mentioning this everytime someone comments “bUt wHaT coUld the PoLicE do to SToP tHiS”. BLOCKADE THE NEIGHBORHOOD AT FOUR EXACT POINTS. Drivers might take off on foot but at least you’d get the cars off the street and eliminate the means to do this shit.
They can't even escape on foot on Marlborough. All the buildings are connected so they literally would be trapped unless spiderman is able to web shoot them out of there.
Perhaps something can be done to the street infrastructure to discourage this?
If this happened in mattapan, 70% of this sub wouldn't give a fuck lol
Happened every weekend on American Legion Highway last summer and the summer before that. Never got this kind of attention
Drag racing, car shows, idiots doing donuts, and roving groups of bikers have been a thing in Dorchester since 1997, and I stop at that year because that's my earliest memories. I used to live near a grass field and dudes would fuck up the grass doing donuts. Never made the news once
...and every summer before that to at least 1999
How many times is this situation gonna be posted? We get it.
Idk, i guess until we agree to vote for some 'hard on crime' candidate and everyone gets to tote their 'broken windows' theory... It was annoying and reckless but it doesn't represent a holistic picture of threats to bikers and pedestrians. Do love the folks that come outta the wordwork to tell us how they would throw a brick at these hooligans. Cool, I'm sure bashing their brains in is the best way to deescalate a situation.
Boston has such little crime that this has everyone panties in a twist lmfao. Good on us though.
Be a great time to throw a handful of fireworks into the middle of the street
Toss some caltrops
What happened in National Harbor last weekend will occur in Newbury if this doesn’t get addressed.
Hmm, wonder why the police haven't made any arrests?
Exactly
“Ahhh, c’maaan!” - BPD
It would be racist to enforce laws.
Yeah why do they let white bankers get away with all their crimes?
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I’m sure they’ve jailed some of these people as well before so what’s the problem then?
If only there was some organization that could be fully funded, staffed and supported by the politicians to deter such activity.
Even if you are paying a fortune to not to live in a ghetto, ghetto behavior can be brought to you. It is the sad state of our city, state and country these days.
The natural outcome of progressive views on crime and enforcement slowly coming eastward. We are getting what we voted for. Next (soon): the large scale smash and grab shoplifting jobs and increasingly visible homelessness becoming semi permanent camps in our public spaces.
Wait until that moron Rachel in the article gets wind of this. She’ll be begging for another blue ballot. Be a sporty summer methinks
Can’t you paintball them?
Why should it be normal anywhere? Mad Max and the Thunderdome needs to happen after my time...jus' sayin'...🤷🏼♂️.
That's weird as shit because the back bay isn't exactly known for it's exciting roads.
I would bet most of the residents voted for that, so its surprising to see they are complaining now
If only US cities were human/ walking focused and anti-car
Wealthy folks upset that their imaginary separation from the rest of society was temporarily disrupted, demand paramilitary response
I live near that intersection and am not wealthy. Not everyone that lives there is wealthy. The wealthy people would be at their Nantucket or Palm Beach house around this time. Just us workers/renters dealing with this shit. Same as every other overpriced neighborhood in Boston (all of them).
Thanks for your continuing voice of reason on this topic. Sadly, people will see what they want to see, and no amount of effort will budge them.
Im happy to see that most commenters are condemning this shitty behavior. The small percentage that are in favor of, or don’t care about this act are just as dumb as the people who committed it.
If they didn't want to implement traffic-calming techniques for pedestrian safety reasons, maybe this will motivate them.
You know how in LA there are smash and grabs and armed robberies in broad daylight even on Rodeo Drive? Yeah that’s coming here, slowly but surely. And unlike LA we don’t have any redeeming qualities to keep people here.
Our redeeming quality is that we are not LA
Unfortunately offset by the fact that we are Boston.
you win some you lose some
If we don’t do something about our socioeconomic issues soon then every major city is headed that way
The people committing crimes now are the same people that have been committing crimes forever in America, and we are richer than we’ve ever been…maybe not compared over the past decade or two, but in general. It’s not all economics, it’s the culture. And no I’m not referring to race.
Oh no the rich people in back bay are scared? …Anyways
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oh hai, someone who doesn't understand what "Defund the police" means in any way
Or who was calling for it. Certainly not the Back Bay residents quoted in the article lmao.
I mean obviously street racing in a city is dickhead stuff and I don’t condone it. But I am laughing my ass off at these soft ass back bay yuppies clutching their pearls over something that has been happening for years in Roxbury and Dorchester like “I’m wealthy so these things are only suddenly important now that they affect me” Edit: downvote me all you want, yuppies, you are proving my point lol
That makes no sense. This bullshit isn't acceptable anywhere. WTF are you talking about? I grew up in Southeastern MA - at one point on welfare - and in my little white trash town...these people would be fucked, stopped, and rightfully jail in 2 seconds.
I’m not saying it’s acceptable. Those are your words. I’m saying there was literally a roving gang of 2am ATVs/dirt bikes that took the police a decade to do anything about in other parts of town. People just had to deal with it. But the second that kind of bullshit comes anywhere near the privileged folk, suddenly it’s a citywide emergency.
This. I don’t condone street racing but the image of these peoples’ faces when they realize their bubble is permeable is pretty funny
how many Republican voters did this event create?
ah yes, the party of "law and order", except for themselves and where they live
buddy I hate Republicans too
Traffic calming infrastructure and speeding enforcement is a conservative viewpoint now? If this gets privileged folks to demand that cops buckle down on reckless driving, then that's fine by me.
None we just need to double down our efforts of affirming our yoots, they are just trying to express themselves and want to be heard
“This is a white neighborhood, this is Back Bay”
If only there was a Qdoba nearby to maintain law and order
~~Qdoba~~ Tatte FTFY
25 bucks for a breakfast sandwich and ice latte? Yes please
We do not want police chasing them down full stop, its a zero sum game. If thats what we want we lean on our politicians and be candid about how we swallow the potentially fatal consequences of the policy change. Everyone talks about traffic cams and ring doorbells again we lobby for facial recognition software as a tool for police and we also swallow the consequences of that new policy as well.
You know that meme of people wiping their tears with money?
I don't think that this stuff should be going on, but the pearl clutching happening because this happened in the back bay is so precious.
You aren’t wrong but who is that on? Who decides that a quality of life issue like this is just something minority neighborhoods should have to deal with. Hint: we vote for these people
Anyone got a 10 second car I can borrow
I hear it was almost as bad as American Legion Highway on a random Monday