Santa Rosa Police Department
Sideshow Ordinance
1 Santa Rosa City Council Meeting
October 11, 2022
John Cregan, Chief of Police
Jeneane Kucker , Lieutenant
Characteristics of a Sideshow
• Sideshows are an informal exhibition of automotive stunts, often held in vacant lots and public street intersections in local neighborhoods
• A sideshow includes spinning doughnuts, which are
exhibitions of speed in combination with loss of tire traction, as well as other reckless driving maneuvers
• Often crowds of spectators, both in and out of cars, gather around the reckless driving exhibitions which can be very dangerous
2 Characteristics of a Sideshow
• Many times, violent incidents including fights and shootings will occur at the events
• Suspects and spectators involved in these events frequently flee the scene, resulting in high-speed vehicle pursuits • Until more recently, sideshow exhibitions have impeded law enforcement’s ability to intervene in an active incident due to the number of people and cars that show up
• Sideshows significantly effect local neighborhoods resulting in numerous calls to dispatch of loud music, speeding, blocked intersections and squealing tires
3 Impacts of Sideshows
• Blocked Roadways: Emergency Services
are completely shut off from roadways,
often without notice, impacting police,
fire, and medical responses
• Dangerous Events: Collisions, violence,
shootings, and fights occur. Participants
and spectators are hospitalized or killed
• Officer Injuries: Officers assaulted by
participants and spectators
• Public Damage: Police vehicles, streets,
signs, light posts, and signal lights
• Environmental impacts
• Private Damage: Fences, houses,
landscaping, and parked vehicles
• Nuisances: Noise from engines and tires 5
Strategies to Address Sideshows
• SRPD has towed over 100 vehicles over the past 18
months during Sideshow traffic stops and court ordered
tows
• Intel to detect upcoming events
• Upstaffing when information points to a Sideshow event anticipated in our area - Cost of over 35k so far this year in overtime operations
• Training officers in specialized enforcement codes
• Use of technology - Drones
6 Strategies to Address Sideshows
• Collaboration with our Sonoma County LE partners
• Focus on Enforcement/Education/Engineering
• Working with City Attorney’s Office on Sideshow
Ordinance
• California Assembly Bill 3 - upcoming legislation in 2025 which would suspend licenses of drivers participating in a Sideshow
• SRPD has developed well organized techniques and
tactics to resolve sideshow incidents with maximum
safety and efficiency, and to create universal procedures that enable consistent responses to sideshows with a
county-wide protocol 7
Strategies
• Engineering: SRPD worked
with Traffic and Engineering
to identify and install Botts
Dots and barriers
• Sebastopol at West now has
raised delineators
• Identified 30 intersections
that would benefit from
raised barriers
8 Sideshow Ordinance
Sections:
• 10-26.010 Name- Sideshow Ordinance
• 10-26.020 Definitions
• 10-26.030 Participants Prohibited at Street Races
and Reckless Driving Exhibitions
• 10-26.040 Spectators prohibited at Sideshows
• 10-26.060 Promoting, Organizing or Facilitating a
Sideshow
9 10-26.030 Participants: Prohibited at Street
Races and Reckless Driving Exhibitions
10 Knowingly participate as a driver at a Sideshow, Street Race or Reckless Driving Exhibition conducted on a public street or highway; or
Knowingly present as a Passenger at a Sideshow, Street Race or Reckless Driving Exhibition conducted on a public street or highway or in an Off-street Parking Facility
Proving this section includes; (10-26.050)
• Previous participant
• Previously aided and abetted
• Previously attended
• Previously present at locations where preparation were made for a
Sideshow
• Absence of mistake or accident or propensity of defendant 10-26.040 Spectators Prohibited at Street
Races and Reckless Driving Exhibitions
Makes it unlawful for any person to:
• Knowingly present as a Spectator where Preparations are being made for a Street Race conducted on a public street or highway; or • Knowingly present as a Spectator where Preparations are being made for a Reckless Driving Exhibition conducted on a public street or highway or in an Off-street Parking Facility.
Proving this section includes;
• Previous Spectator
• Previously aided and abetted
• Previously attended
• Previously present at locations where preparations were made for a Sideshow
• Absence of mistake or accident or propensity of defendant 11 10-26.060 Promoting, Organizing or
Facilitating Spectators to Gather
Makes it unlawful for any person to:
• Knowingly encourage, promote, instigate, assist, facilitate, aide, or abet the gathering of persons as Spectators at a Sideshow, Street Race or Reckless Driving Exhibition conducted on a public street or highway; or conducted on a public street or highway, or Off-street Parking facility.
• Knowingly encourage, promote, instigate, assist, facilitate, aid or abet the gathering of persons as Spectators where preparations are being made for a Sideshow, Street Race or Reckless Driving Exhibition conducted on a public street or highway, or in an Off- street Parking Facility. 12
10.26.070 – Penalties
• Misdemeanor or Infraction-Maximum of six (6) months in jail and a fine of $1,000.00, unless at the discretion of the city attorney or district attorney, the violation is reduced to an infraction.
• Defendant may be liable for the actual damages caused by said violation, the total amount may be determined by a jury or a court sitting without a jury.
• City Attorney has discretion on whether to charge as a misdemeanor/infraction with community service as option. • Discretion depending on circumstances/priors/exculpatory evidence.
• Objective is to use as a deterrent and apply accountability. 13 Recommendation
It is recommended by the Police Department that the
Council introduce an ordinance to the Santa Rosa City
Code adding Chapter 10-26 Sideshows for citing
Participants, Spectators and Organizers of Sideshow
events in Santa Rosa.
14 Questions?
15