ATV and dirt-bike riders suing Washington, D.C. are saying the city’s latest initiative to crack down on illegal road vehicles may be a racist effort aimed at the city’s poor youth.
A lawyer representing a number of ATV and dirt-bike riders in cases against the city, Dave Shurtz, told WJLA police officers in D.C. have a history of unfairly targeting minority riders of the illegal off-road vehicles.
“The police cannot get out there and grandstand, and say we’re protecting the public while at the same time they’re targeting young black males with deadly force,” Shurtz told WJLA. “Drunk drivers kill people, but are they getting run off the side of the road, stomped out, beat down, humiliated in front of everyone just because of the part of town?”
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) recently dropped the hammer on operators of the illegal off-road vehicles, releasing pictures of roughly 245 riders they are looking for in connection to crimes. Police are offering a $250 dollar reward to anyone who can identify or locate the suspects and their vehicles.
ATVs, dirt-bikes and minibikes are illegal on D.C. streets and sidewalks, but the law is being regularly ignored by gangs who police say intentionally attract attention so they can be chased. Once police arrive the gang of ATVs will disperse and start driving on sidewalks and through alleyways, making pursuit difficult and dangerous. (RELATED: DC Police Crack Down On Illegal ATVs On City Streets And Sidewalks)
Police say they cannot discuss ongoing lawsuits but note ATVs and dirt-bikes are illegal on any District street and are posing a threat to safety. In April a group of ATV riders were seen blocking an ambulance transporting a sick child to the hospital.
Police Spokesman Dustin Sternbeck told WJLA, “With regards to the illegal dirt bikes and ATVs our community has told us in no uncertain terms that they want us to do something about this and we are in the process now of identifying the riders and they will be prosecuted.”
Shurtz represents the family of Arnell Robinson, a 20-year-old who died after a police cruiser stuck his dirt-bike. He also represents Terry Cain, who claims police brutally assaulted him after catching him on a dirt-bike in Southeast D.C., reports WJLA.
While Cain was reportedly getting beaten by police a pedestrian began filming on their phone. D.C. police seized the phone and returned it later without the sim card and video footage. The ACLU sued on behalf of the pedestrian, Earl Staley, and settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
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