Three people were arrested last weekend for traffic violations related to riding ATVs and other off-road vehicles, Atlanta police said. In one case, an ATV stolen from the Fulton County Police Department was recovered.
The Atlanta Police Department, along with the Georgia State Patrol, impounded several vehicles and issued more than a dozen traffic citations after receiving information about a large gathering of ATVs and dirt bikes, according to a statement sent to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week.
Six calls were made to police regarding the riders between June 9 and June 11, police said.
An officer was dispatched to a call for an injured man near the 600 block of McDonough Boulevard, but was blocked by about 80 four-wheelers and dirt bikes riding in the area, according to an incident report. Damone Proctor, 32, the injured man, was charged with several counts including no tag, failure to maintain lane and reckless driving. He was “left in the care of Grady detention,” the report said.
Nearby, on Moreland Ave. in DeKalb County, a juvenile who appeared to be talking to a passing motorist while driving a dirt bike was pulled over. He was arrested and cited for driving while unlicensed and illegally operating an off-road vehicle.
That same day, Pierre Jenkins was seen driving recklessly in a group of motorists when the ATV he was riding stalled out, a report said. He got off and ran a short distance before laying on the ground near the 100 block of Joseph E Lowery Blvd, where he was arrested, an officer wrote. Jenkins was allegedly driving an ATV that had been stolen from the Fulton County Police Department a few days before.
The police department will continue partnering with neighboring agencies and GSP to ensure the safety of motorists “as we approach the summer months,” the statement said. “We will proactively and aggressively enforce traffic laws throughout the city while holding those motorists who display a reckless disregard for safety accountable.”
Law enforcement plans to meet with the Atlanta City Council to discuss the problem soon, according to a police spokesman.
ATLBikeLife, a group that says it advocates the phrase "Bikes Up, Guns Down," recently posted videos that appear to show police trying to stop the riders. (Note: some of the video comments contain profanity.)
The sight of these vehicles on city roads is not a new phenomenon.
In June 2015, police said about 400 dirt bikes, ATVs and other motorized vehicles were traveling in a group, with several drivers running red lights and driving on the wrong side of the road. Two men were arrested during that rally, including "Love & Hip Hop Atlanta" star Kirk Frost.
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