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Boston police seize 11 motorized vehicles as safety, noise complaints abound
The seizures happened in Mattapan and Dorchester on Sunday.
Boston police seized 11 motorized vehicles, from mopeds and dirt bikes to ATVs and a rental box truck, over the weekend in Dorchester and Mattapan as the city seeks to address resident complaints surrounding the safety and noise concerns the vehicles present.
The department, in announcing the seizures on Wednesday, said the vehicles were seized by members of its Auto Theft Unit on Sunday.
Around 7:46 p.m., officers saw drivers of two dirt bikes and an ATV near Norfolk and Morton streets in Mattapan “operating in an unsafe manner while in clear violation of the ordinance relating to the operation of recreational vehicles within the City of Boston.”
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“The officers later located the offending vehicles as they were being loaded into an awaiting rental box truck behind Saint Matthew’s Parish Church in the area of 33 Stanton Street in Dorchester,” police said in a statement. “The two dirt bikes and the ATV were seized and towed away from the scene. The lone suspect remaining on scene, an adult male from Haverhill, will be cited and summonsed for his violations of the Auto Laws and associated City Ordinances.”
Later that night, at 9:06 p.m., officers were in the area of 27 Gallivan Boulevard in Dorchester in response to the “overwhelming number of community complaints” surrounding the vehicles on city streets, according to authorities.
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Officers stopped another rental box truck and ultimately seized it along with eight dirt bikes and mopeds they found inside it, police said. Two men from Lawrence will be summonsed to appear in court as a result, officials said.
Earlier this month, city leaders turned their attention to the perennial presence of the motorized vehicles throughout Boston, particularly in and around Franklin Park, as calls to police flared up. A front-page story in the Boston Herald simply described the situation as “out of control.”
But officials have also indicated there are no straightforward solutions.
ATV and dirt bike enthusiasts across the country, who are often Black teens and young men, have portrayed their riding as a robust subculture, arguing that it keeps at-risk youth out of trouble and therefore, saves lives.
Boston police, meanwhile on Wednesday, told residents that anyone with information “relative to the storage or reckless operation of these recreational vehicles” who wants to contribute to the investigation anonymously can call 1 800 494-TIPS or text “TIP” to CRIME (27463).
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