9 Arrested In Day Of Dirt-Bike Mayhem

On a day of wild pack rides on New Haven streets, police caught up with and arrested nine dirt bikers and ATV drivers — and faced 50 – 60 riders who circled and tried to steal a cop cruiser.

The mayhem occurred on Sunday.

Throughout the day Independent readers reported 50 to over 100 dirt bikers and ATV riders at a time speeding recklessly, from the Boulevard to Orange Street to Edgewood Avenue, from Whalley Avenue to Dixwell Avenue to Route 80.

The police decided to pull a crew of undercover officers from other jobs Sunday afternoon in order to respond, according to Assistant Chief Karl Jacobson. They went out looking for the packs of mayhem riders — who weren’t hard to find.

For instance, Officers Jeffrey Rivellini, Anthony Magnano and Jeremy Mastroianni found a dirt biker doing burnouts in the Shell gas station lot at 1228 Quinnipiac Ave. in the Heights. The rider tried to flee when he saw officers exit their cruiser. The officers were able to apprehend him, according to Jacobson.

The rider, a 26-year-old Meriden man, was charged with reckless endangerment and possession of a controlled substance. Police seized the man’s Kawasaki 450 as well.

Officers Gregory Dash, Paul Vakos Jr., and Paul Prusinski caught up with another dirt-biker stopped on the side of Clinton Avenue near Dover in Fair Haven. That rider, a 23-year-old Fair Haven man, also tried to flee. Officers tackled him and arrested him for recklessness endangerment and possession with intent to sell, based on the 17 bags of crack and non-prescribed Tramado and Clonazepam pills they found on him, according to Jacobson.

One of the tensest moments of the day occurred on Dixwell Avenue around 6 p.m.

Officers Larnell Jackson and David Santiago were near the intersection of Bassett Street when they saw 50 – 60 ATV riders and dirt bikers driving recklessly, according to police spokeswoman Sgt. Shayna Kendall. The bikers circled the officers’ cruiser and drove on the sidewalk as well as recklessly in the street.

The officers tried to avoid the riders while also avoid endangering other drivers, Kendall said.

At one point, near the intersection of Argyle Street, an ATV driver entered the officers’ lane, heading right at them — and failed to notice an Acura driving toward him. The Acura stopped. The ATV flipped over, without colliding with the Acura, and the ATV rider fell off his vehicle, Kendall reported.

The rider fled on foot. Santiago and Jackson chased him on foot. They caught him and handcuffed him …

… at which point they noticed other members of the pack of riders trying to enter their abandoned police cruiser and drive away with it, according to Kendall. Santiago rushed back. The riders fled. They were masked and could not be identified.

All told, the officers arrested nine people in various parts of town on charges related to operating ATVs and dirt bikes recklessly. Six of the arrestees live in New Haven, Kendall said, the one in Meriden, another in Stratford, another in New Jersey. The arrestees are all 23 years old or older — the eldest being 39.

“Any time we can put a dent in this problem,” the police try, Jacobson said of Sunday’s arrests. He also spoke of the challenges police face in trying to make arrests, given a policy of avoiding car chases that could further endanger riders, cops and the public.

That has been the subject of much public debate in New Haven in recent years, including at this public forum.

The police are putting together proposals for catching more offenders. One part of the proposal will probably include a city ordinance that would allow cops to issue summonses with $1,000 fines when, through intelligence, they identify a reckless dirt biker and can head right to his home — rather than begin a lengthy process of seeking a warrant for a misdemeanor arrest. The idea is to seek to deter repeat offenses with a heavy, swift fine, but without adding to a rider’s criminal record.

“It’s a big problem. It’s difficult to address. We know how important it is to the citizens. And we want to address it. More importantly, we want to address it safely for officers and riders,” Jacobson said.

One controversial proposal has been to use drones to track riders and provide information based on which police could make arrests. That has emerged as an issue in the Democratic mayoral primary campaign between incumbent Toni Harp and Justin Elicker. Click here to read about that; pictured below is a flyer the Harp campaign distributed this weekend in advance of Tuesday’s primary.