DETROIT (WXYZ) — Street racing and drifting will not be tolerated in Detroit: That’s the Detroit Police Department's message after officers apprehended three people and confiscated 12 cars at Patton Park over the weekend.
Police have been cracking down on street racers over the past few years, but people living in the neighborhood say they are fed up and want a permanent solution.
"They come here all hours of the day and night, doing burnouts, donuts, drag racing, loud exhaust, so loud that we can't even hang pictures because the exhaust sounds just rattles it off from our walls," Joseph Zendt, a concerned resident, said.
Zendt lives in the area and for him, this is a huge safety concern.
"My neighbors next door to me have small children and they’ve tried to walk down to the park a few times, they’ve almost been run over by people doing close to 70 mph out of that park," Zendt said.
Another area resident, George Morris, says the parking lot needs a permanent solution.
"Lock it up, put a barricade if you have to. When it's about to close send two units over here," George Morris, another concerned resident, said.
In a statement to 7 Action News, Keith Flournoy, deputy director of the Detroit Parks and Recreation Department, says:
"In the short term, we will be increasing our own after-hour patrols and locking the gates at 10 p.m. We are looking at long-term solutions, as well, such as adding speed bumps in the parking lot and additional boulders along Richard street to prevent vehicle access, similar to other areas of the park."
- Keith Flournoy, deputy director of the Detroit Parks and Recreation Department
DPD will also be monitoring the area moving forward. In a statement to 7 Action News, 2nd Deputy Chief Rudy Harper says
“Detroit Police Department will have teams on the ground and in the air monitoring around the clock to address this ridiculous and dangerous behavior,”
- Rudy Harper, 2nd deputy chief with the Detroit Police Department
The police are also urging the community to report such incidents by calling 911 and also share any videos of the incident as it will help with identifying suspects.
