Officers say that they’re using a number of new tactics to penalize drivers who break the law long after the act
September 30, 2023 at 11:28
Philadelphia Police are taking new action to reduce and eliminate the practice of illegal side shows in their city. Using video footage, they’re targeting the cars involved and impounding them after the event. Once found and impounded, the police might end up getting to keep the cars.
According to authorities, several illegal car meets and side shows happened in the city on September 16th and 17th. A new law gives the police the right to find and impound cars used in such events long after the event is over. That’s exactly what the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) is doing too as they announced on X / Twitter.
In the first post it made, there’s a lime green Dodge Charger with black racing stripes in three photos. In the first, the Dodge is at one of the sideshows, and in the next two photos, it’s on a flatbed tow truck. PPD warned at the time that “there is more work ahead” and said that they picked the car up in New Jersey so crossing state lines doesn’t deter them.
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Photos PPD
The next day on September 20th, the PPD posted another set of photos. This time, the first showed a blue Infiniti coupe at a sideshow event. Just like the first tweet though, the second two photos showed the car on a flatbed. The police said again that there was “more to come.”
According to local news organization PhillyVoice.com, police are targeting at least one more vehicle from the same set of events. Authorities also shed light on how exactly they’re selecting vehicles to go after. Firstly, getting just one video of a car involved at one event may not be enough.
In the case of the Charger, officers linked the same car with the “same modifications” to several events in the area over the course of months. Interestingly enough, they haven’t contacted or charged the registered owner with anything as they have yet to be able to prove that they were driving the car at the event.
Nevertheless, they charge $175 for towing the car, $25 each day for the first five days that it’s impounded, and then $30 per day after that. That’s a hefty fine and could prove to be one that’s debated in court. Police say they expect to hear from the owner’s lawyer at some point.
It’s worth noting that Philadelphia isn’t the only city engaging in this sort of tactic. Louisville Police made waves when they did something similar back in June.