More than 200 car daredevils and spectators scattered into the night just before midnight, when a new task force suddenly appeared on the streets east of downtown Los Angeles. But 50 people were getting citations early Saturday.
Los Angeles police have set up a Street Racing and Tracking task force to crack down on street racers, and it was activated when officers got reports of a large crowd on the streets in the industrial area southeast of the Civic Center, a traffic sergeant said in the early hours today.
Task force officers located the street racers in an industrial area at 11th and Mateo streets at about 11:15 p.m. Friday, said Sgt. S. Bailey of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Central Traffic Division. Many of the racers scattered, but officers issued misdemeanor citations to 50.
The task force has been operating two weeks and before this weekend had made 14 misdemeanor arrests and issued 74 citations, Bailey said.
“If you’re driving a modified car we can stop you, inspect your car for stolen parts and send you to a state referee,” he said. “In two weeks we have inspected 47 vehicles, sent 21 to a referee and impounded 11.”
