I live off of Edgewood and hear and see the bikers at all times of the day. They do donuts in the park and force law abiding families and park goers out of the way so they can take these joy rides. They have almost run over my family with their " wheel popping antics" and cops said they couldn't do a thing.

Its not going to be until an innocent motorists causes accidental ( and unavoidable) injury or death to one of these ignorant law breakers until something is done. Only then it will be because an opportunistic family member of said lawbreaker sues the innocent motorist and city of New Haven for damages. These people have nothing to lose, thats why they do the reckless behavior in the first place....
Trust me, i have seen it happen its only a matter of time.

officers are called off of pursuits of known felons with warrants, sometimes ORDERED off of pursuits of cars KNOWN to have weapons....tell me, do you think the administration will let them pursue a dirtbike? And who will you sue when an accident occurs? The dirtbiker (YEAH RIGHT!!) or the cop? Are you going to support his children and pay the electirc bill when it comes after he loses his job because a superviser told him to stop chasing BUT you the citizen feels he should continue?

Cops hate the dirtbikers, not one of them wants to see them out there, most of them wishes the guy would wipe out (even if they wont admit it) but there is only so much they can do. I feel bad for them, because they want them gone probably more than we do!

But hey, lets keep blaming the cops, that's what they are there for.

age old dilemma, you hate cops until you need them. you want them to stop speeders, but how dare they stop you for running a stop sign. you want them to help you thru the traffic backup, but why are they being hired to work a construction spot?

make up your mind people

schwimmer, I wish you would contact the New Haven Register/New Haven Independent with your experiences as a hospital worker. City residents seem to think that accidents caused by these riders are few and far between, and our media outlets are all too willing to make everything look rosy in this city, including ignoring covering street gang crimes (they cover crime as if it is occasional and then neglect to even mention the word "gang"). We need to force the media to expose these incidents and show the real consequences behind the actions of the riders. Recently, a dirtbike festival of sorts was held in South Carolina, and there were several fatalities, as well as loss of limbs and other serious injuries. Now, I could care less if these idiots hurt themselves on their bikes - they are assuming their own personal responsibility while riding - but they also assume the responsibility of the safety of others when they are riding illegally on our streets, and in that case, my concern is for all residents who encounter these fools.

Plenty of us are outraged, but nothing major will be done legislatively until the *lawmakers* know how many accidents/injuries/fatalities these idiots cause.

schwimmer, I suggest that you start to collect anonymous data on all of these incidents that you see come through the ER: dates, gender, age, injury/fatality of both riders and residents who "got in their way." Then you should email your logs to our aldermen, state reps, etc. Contact Justin Elicker and he can provide you with contact info for others who need to hear your stories. We must target the right people.

I agree the police have a big challenge stopping the dirt-bag bikers, and I also agree that publicity in the Register would help get the issue into the eye of people living in neighborhoods not yet plagued with this menace. What gets my blood boiling is knowing that part of the riders' thrill is getting away with something in a very public view!

More than publicity, we've got half-a-dozen people running for mayor; let's all ask each candidate how they would deal with this issue in particular, and Quality of Life issues in general. They all say they're for "better schools" and "more jobs", but the dirt bike problem is literally where the rubber meets the road for many residents.

Yes, let's get the mayoral candidates to take a stand –shouldn't be too hard because the dirt bikers probably don't vote anyway.

I haven't yet gotten a good video/photo of a biker going past (I walk my dogs all over my neighborhood 2X/day), but if I do can anyone suggest a good place to upload it? SeeClickFix is OK, but that's preaching to the choir. Do the police welcome this kind of citizen's input?

the officers feel like these riders are "punking" them down, and get very frustrated when they FINALLY catch one and the person gets his bike back within hours!

I've heard many of them complain about the (&^%$@ and wish they could do more. They are ordered not to chase, period. To disobey a direct order is putting their jobs on the line. To chase and have the person cause and accident is putting not just their jobs but their OWN freedom on the line. I don't blame them, I wouldn't do it either. Their chief says don't chase and you don't ever go against your chief, especially this one. Not if you value your job.

If anyone has any real suggestions, I truly believe the officers would welcome the help.

Older dirt bike/ATV complaints that pre-date the conclusion of the police undercover operation (see www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/9_arrested_in_dirt_bike_sting/) will be closed. We do not expect the dirt bike/ATV issue to be completely solved, but it will be helpful to policing efforts to distinguish new reports from those before this operation.

Please open up new SCF issues as dirt bike/ATV issues re-occur. Thank you.

Older dirt bike/ATV complaints that pre-date the conclusion of the police undercover operation (see www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/9_arrested_in_dirt_bike_sting/) will be closed. We do not expect the dirt bike/ATV issue to be completely solved, but it will be helpful to policing efforts to distinguish new reports from those before this operation.

Please open up new SCF issues as dirt bike/ATV issues re-occur. Thank you.