Police step up crackdowns
Kent Police are cracking down on illegal street racing in the city’s industrial valley.
Illegal street racers from as far as Oregon were among the 112 people busted by police after midnight on July 26 at a private business lot in the 20300 block of 59th Place South. Police officials initially reported that 80 people were cited.
Kent Police plan more busts throughout the summer.
“We consider it a success,” said Lt. Ken Thomas, who oversaw the July 26 arrests. “We plan to do more. We are not going to condone illegal street racing in Kent.”
Street racers have driven to Kent for at least 20 years because of the enticingly straight, empty streets that are available late nights in the Kent industrial area.
Prior to the bust, patrol officers had noticed crowds of 100 or more showing up in Kent to race recently. With a hot summer evening on July 25, Thomas said officers expected a big crowd.
Police worked with the Washington State Patrol on the bust. WSP provided a Cessna fixed-wing aircraft to help spot the street racers gathering at the empty private lot behind a couple of warehouses.
Two dozen police officers arrived in patrol cars to block 37 vehicles at the private lot. The 112 people, including 20 younger than 18, were cited for trespassing on private property, as well as for unlawful attendance.
But they weren’t the only race fans who came by during those early-morning hours to the parking lot.
“At least 100 more people showed up after the initial arrests,” Thomas said.
The late-arriving attendees escaped citations because they turned their vehicles around after seeing the lights of the patrol cars.
Of the 112 cited, most were in their late teens or early 20s, Thomas said. One man brought his 11-year-old brother to watch the races. Police also arrested a man in his late 30s for investigation of driving under the influence. Military personnel from Puget Sound-area bases also were cited. None of those cited were from Kent.
The racers gather at public lots in South King County and then decide where to go to race that night, Thomas said.
There are a couple of private lots where racers are known to gather. Public street racing also continues, although the rumble strips installed last year by city workers have helped keep racers off of a couple of streets. Rumble strips are different than speed bumps. Rumble strips can easily be driven over by trucks or other vehicles that use the streets at the speed limit.
“They’ve done an OK job,” said Kent Police Sgt. Rafael Padilla, who is in charge of traffic patrol. “They’ve deterred them from a few areas. But they still race on 54th (Avenue South).”
The rumble strips also caused street racers to find new sites.
“It has pushed them onto private property,” Thomas said. “They raced before on the street in front of the business.”
The site used July 26 gives racers a quarter-mile track and sits out of public view behind two warehouses. Racers like the lot because there is plenty of parking for spectators, Padilla said.
Police reached agreements with the private businesses to get “no trespassing” signs posted. Those postings enable officers to cite racers and spectators for trespassing, as well as illegal attendance. It helps businesses, too: in the past business owners have had problems with litter and damaged flower beds on their property following race gatherings.
Police are looking into taking repeat offenders to jail rather than allowing them to go home and sending a trespassing or unlawful race-attendance ticket in the mail.
“We want to be able to take them to jail to act as a deterrent,” Thomas said.
Typically, first-time offenders for trespassing and racing receive 18 months of supervised probation, a $100 fine and costs and assessments that add up to about $450, said Paul Petersen, Kent Police spokesman. A judge also could send the person to defensive-driving school and issue an order to stay out of areas of racing.
Eventually, police hope, the new crackdown on street racing might keep racers out of Kent.
“That’s our goal,” Thomas said.
Kent street racing crimes
• Racing – anyone who willfully participates in a contest of speed with one or more vehicles. Penalties of up to one year in jail and up to $1,000 fine.
• Unlawful race attendance – It is unlawful to attend illegal street races. Penalties of up to one year in jail and up to $1,000 fine.
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