Riverside: Yet another advantageous police raid on car enthusiasts
Riverside County was the location of the latest police raid this past Friday. No, not for a meth lab or prostitution sting or any crime in progress whatsoever, but for the gathering of a group of car enthusiasts. This operation was apparently such an important event that over 100 CHP and local police officers from 7 cities came together to surprise about 150 vehicle owners that night. They blocked off all exits and began interrogating and processing the cars under the premise that they were gathered for illegal street racing.
Problem is, there was no actual street racing occurring, only a group of owners passionate about their cars who chose to gather and swap advice and stories. Yet it seems that according to statements by police, almost any person who modifies a car in a certain manner must be a street racer or at the very least a spectator.
And of course most street racers modify their EG Civics sparingly with a single strut tower bar and a set of NGK blue wires. Even a modestly lowered car could get a bad rap at this Riverside bust, especially if it was a budget import.
Aha! That seems to be the point here. The group of vehicles gathered at this particular Riverside parking lot were mostly Japanese imports. According to The Press Enterprise article, there were a variety of vehicles there including Hondas, Fords, and BMWs, yet Honda always gets the final demerits.
If you were ticketed or had your car impounded at this raid, I sincerely hope you won’t think twice about standing up and fighting your case. People may fall behind or make mistakes concerning car maintenance and that’s what fix-it tickets are for. The idea that others had to go through the inconvenience of not only that night but the future waste of time and money for a mere “suspicion of street racing” is ludicrous.
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