Earlier this month, illegal vehicle meetups known as “street takeovers” unfolded in several Massachusetts communities. State and local police are cracking down, and a Cape Cod legislator has filed a new bill he says is aimed at preventing them. But it’s not without critics.
JENNETTE BARNES: In a street takeover, drivers block public intersections, do doughnuts or other stunts, and sometimes race. In some places, more than a hundred spectators have gathered. Representative Steven Xiarhos, a Barnstable Republican, has filed a bill that would specifically outlaw these events, including riding in the vehicles and intentionally obstructing traffic to participate or observe. Alleged violators could be arrested and jailed for up to two-and-a-half years. Xiarhos says there’s no law against takeovers per se, though many of the activities are already illegal.
STEVEN XIARHOS: What typically happens is if they do get caught, then they're issued a ticket for driving to endanger, which is just a ticket. So we need to make it more serious, define what a street takeover is. … Put some teeth into it, which includes the ability to not only give fines, but make arrests when you need to, and confiscate and forfeit the vehicles involved.
BARNES: Before the bill was even filed, his plan caught the attention of Boston media, who pointed out that it criminalizes just being a spectator at a street takeover. Separate from the arrest provision for obstructing traffic, someone who knowingly chooses to attend or view the event could be fined up to $250 for a first offense and up to $500 thereafter. Boston journalist Dan Kennedy, a professor at Northeastern University, wrote about it on his blog, Media Nation. He sees reason to be concerned about how such a law could be used against the public — and journalists.
DAN KENNEDY: I find the language troublesome. I understand that his intent is to go after people who were there deliberately, to watch this, but why? They're spectators. … It seems to me that if you're in the representative's position, what you want to do is, you want to go after the people who are actually participating.
BARNES: Once the bill was published, Kennedy told CAI it defines “spectators” even more broadly than the Florida law that Xiarhos said he was using as a reference. Florida demands that officials consider specific evidence of participation, such as gambling on the event, filming it, or posting on social media. Kennedy says criminalizing assembly is a civil rights issue.
KENNEDY: The First Amendment guarantees freedom of assembly, and I think that when you are talking about these street takeovers, as dangerous as they may be, the people who are showing up to watch are simply engaging in their constitutional right to assemble.
BARNES: But Xiarhos, a former Yarmouth police officer, says the bill targets people who participate or attend intentionally, and he says he wants to protect the public. At one recent takeover in Boston, a police cruiser was set on fire.
XIARHOS: Being a news reporter and — or just kind of standing there innocently, that's not what we're talking about. Sometimes these events are planned and people are going there on purpose to participate.
BARNES: He says like most bills, it’s a starting point for revision. A Democrat, Representative Chris Markey of Dartmouth, has filed his own very different bill on street takeovers. It focuses on reckless driving in a group of two or more vehicles. Markey’s bill doesn’t mention spectators, though it adds a penalty for being disorderly while wearing a mask. Police say people wore masks in a takeover in Randolph. Both bills call for vehicles to be forfeited. Law enforcement officials and Governor Maura Healey have outlined work they’re already doing to make arrests, issue hundreds of civil citations, and seize two vehicles under the Controlled Substances Act. A spokesperson for Healey says she appreciates new proposals to enhance public safety.
