Image via Fox31 Denver/YouTube
Like so many other cities, Denver is grappling with kids and adults who behave like kids using dirt bikes and ATVs to take over stretches of roads. They run red lights, crowd the street, and in general just make it so law-abiding citizens have trouble getting around, all for some cheap thrills.
Have cyclists become the new biker gangs?
Footage taken by a woman who witnessed one of these takeovers in Denver shared it with local station Fox31. She was just as disturbed by the illegal behavior as she was to see a cop come across the group and go in the opposite direction.
We don’t know if that officer was responding to a call involving violence or something else urgent. Just because he wasn’t going Code 3 doesn’t mean he was available to try going after the takeover crowd.
Plus, we know police often face a lose-lose situation in cities like Denver where they’ve already seen the department funding slashed so officers are overtaxed, plus if they chase these people on ATVs and bikes they might be slammed for putting the public at risk. It’s hard to please a community which wants things both ways.
Some people think this sort of thing is just harmless fun. Those people either are participating in these street takeovers or they’re just ignorant. We’ve watched this kind of behavior in other cities transform from the chaotic takeovers to coordinated lootings, carjackings, armed robbery, purse snatchings, and all kinds of other crimes.
It’s almost like letting people do whatever they want on public roads encourages lawless behavior. We know that’s a crazy concept to some people, but this keeps playing out over and over with the same results.
For now, it seems Denver doesn’t want to really deal with this problem. If you live there, we’re sorry to say the takeovers will likely get worse and possibly turn violent before any material change happens.
Image via Fox31 Denver/YouTube
