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San Francisco police step up sideshow crackdown
San Francisco police step up sideshow crackdown. The police towed away the car of a Pittsburg man after it was seen doing stunts.
SAN FRANCISCO - The San Francisco police crackdown on illegal sideshows is expanding.
The police towed away the car of a Pittsburg man, who they say took part in a sideshow in San Francisco last month.
The car was seen doing dangerous driving stunts on Sept. 19 in the Mission District.
Police say photos show the driver hanging out of the sunroof of his car, holding a traffic cone, while his car was doing donuts in the street.
Last week, a new law in California imposes a harsher punishment for those who participate in illegal sideshows by allowing courts to suspend a driver's license for up to six months for participating in the illicit car stunt shows.
"Illegal sideshows continue to devastate families, claim innocent lives in our communities, and create serious risks for our youth," said Assemblyman Vince Fong who authored the bill. "Proactive enforcement is critical to stopping dangerous sideshows before they start..."
RELATED: Weekend sideshows erupt in San Francisco, Oakland
Sideshows are a stubborn and growing problem for law enforcement agencies throughout California.
In the Bay Area, officers have been trying to aggressively intercept the stunt driving events, issuing fines, towing cars, and sometimes making arrests.
In Fairfield, spectators can be fined a $1,000 under a new city ordinance. Vallejo implemented a similar ordinance to curb what city's leaders call "street terrorism."
"They are spinning donuts, disrupting our citizens, throwing fireworks at our officers, throwing bottles, it's been a problem," said Vallejo Police Captain Jason Potts.