CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is taking an aggressive approach to tackling and curbing street takeovers across Charlotte. By the end of the year, thanks to a new law making them illegal, the agency will have even more tools to go after folks who participate and organize street takeovers.
Reckless driving is the main charge people participating in street takeovers faced -- with that comes court fees, points on your license, and in some cases arrests and cars taken away.
But with the new law, the agency hopes to help discourage drivers from participating in this dangerous behavior even more.
“If it is just people gathering, showing off their cars we have no problem with it and we never have,” said Lieutenant Christopher Rorie, with the CMPD Transportation Division. “The problem we have is when that small percentage of individuals start gathering and doing stuff they should not be doing in the streets.”
Rorie called the behavior egregious and says it puts lives at risk.
“These guys and girls are doing stunts at intersections, and these kids are getting really close… doing videos,” Rorie said. “If something goes wrong and hits one of these kids then we have to talk to their parents to tell them their child is not coming home.”
Since February, the agency has given out 111 citations, made 28 arrests, and seized or put on evidence hold 75 vehicles.
“We will tow that vehicle to an impound lot,” he said. “We will collect all of the evidence we can, pictures, look at its tread, look at modifications to the car and process that.”
Additionally, 14 guns have been seized in street takeovers. CMPD said once the car is on evidence hold, a court order is needed to get it released.
Starting Dec. 1, street takeovers will be illegal. It includes several stunts like burnouts, doughnuts, drifting and wheelies. Violators will face at minimum a $1,000 fine. There are tougher penalties for repeat offenders, and police can go after organizers.
“If you are organizing a street takeover where people are coming out to take over an intersection… we can now charge with a misdemeanor,” Rorie said.
Taking over parking lots is also a problem.
“We have spoken to a lot of business owners about that,” he said. “That is considered a public vehicle area and the new statute does apply. Plus, you can be charged with reckless driving in parking lots.”
Since CMPD stepped up its efforts, investigators have started seeing a decrease in the number of street takeovers and the number of people participating in them.
Meanwhile, one woman who lost her 6-year-old son because of a street racing crash is calling for people to think twice about participating in this dangerous behavior.
Brandi Birrittier said she feels pain when she sees folks performing dangerous stunts like burnouts, wheelies, and street takeovers.
“I feel mad, angry, concerned and then following that sadness because I lost my son to street racing,” Birrittier said.
Back in 2021, her 6-year-old son Liam was killed because of a spontaneous drag race. He was traveling in another car with his father when they were hit by racers in Gaston County.
“Two people were convicted last November,” she said. “So, they've been in prison since then and in the meantime, I've been trying to spread as much awareness as I can.”
Earlier this month, the life of a 17-year-old was cut short in southwest Charlotte because of two other drivers who engaged in a spontaneous street race. They were driving about 100 miles per hour, more than double the street limit in the area. The teenager was only a few minutes away from home when he was killed.
Street racing is already illegal in North Carolina, and as street takeovers become illegal starting Dec. 1, CMPD hopes they'll have even more tools to go after reckless drivers.
“There are actual state statutes for spontaneous street racing and in that particular case, we charged in that case,” Rorie said. “We hope that this new statute and the statutes we already have will discourage this behavior.”
Birrittier supports the efforts.
“It's probably the happiest thing I've heard in a while, as far as what's been done to make our streets safer,” she said.
Meanwhile, she continues to share Liam’s story and push for harsher punishment for street racers.
“There were a couple of components to Liam's accident. There was a street race, there was excessive speed and there was DWI,” she said. “I mean, it was a lot. So basically, whichever way we can go with it to get stiffer penalties.”
Whether it is street racing or street takeovers, CMPD warns these activities are dangerous, and police are using every tool they have to arrest, cite, and fine violators. The department hopes stronger laws will lead to even more crackdowns on these activities.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.