Police have ‘zero tolerance’ policy for reckless driving after problems with car shows

Nampa police say they now have a zero tolerance policy for reckless driving since recently cracking down on drag racing and parking lot damage.

Nampa Lt. Jamie Burns, a police officer for Nampa for 22 years and the officer heading the patrol unit focused on reckless driving, said the problem began a few months ago with car gatherings in the former Kmart and J.C. Penney Co. store parking lots.

The former Kmart is on Caldwell Boulevard near Karcher Mall. The former Penney’s store is on Garrity Boulevard near Interstate 84.

The gatherings resulted in burnouts and other damage to the parking lots, Burns said. That, along with incidents of reckless driving down Nampa’s thoroughfares, led the department at the end of September to adopt its “zero tolerance” stance.

“We made the choice of if we witnessed a violation, we’re going to make arrests for reckless driving, and we’re going to tow the vehicles,” Burns said by phone.

After Nampa Police Chief Joe Huff signed the polilcy memo, Burns said he witnessed three cars racing down Nampa’s 12th Avenue at 100 miles an hour.

“I told all three of them, ‘I need you all to share this information among your friends,’” Burns said. “You guys do a lot of work on your cars and we’re going to tow them and it’s going to cost you money to get them out because you’re driving in this manner where you’re going to kill somebody.”

They were charged with reckless driving and their cars were towed.

The three drivers were not part of a car club, Burns said.

A few months ago, Burns said officers noticed large gatherings of car enthusiasts with their cars in the Kmart lot. They also noticed donuts and burnouts on the parking lot after the cars were gone. The officers learned that the gatherings did not have the property owner’s permission, Burns said.

On Saturday, Sept. 24, Burns said, officers made contact with a car club to ensure that its members were not damaging the property. Later, when officers returned, they found cars doing donuts and burnouts.

Nampa police posted on Facebook on Sept. 29 that police would be cracking down on the car shows.

“When officers were back at the gathering and taking enforcement actions, some in the car rally crowd lashed out with physical aggression and a mob-like mentality,” the post said.

Three arrests were made as a result of the Sept. 24 visit, according to Carmen Boeger, spokesperson for Nampa police. One man was arrested for resisting arrest; another for felony possession of a controlled substance and obstruction; and the third for obstruction, assault on a law enforcement officer, and carrying a concealed weapon while intoxicated.

That was when Huff decided to write the memo.

The Facebook post a few days later drew opposition from car enthusiasts and community members.

“I’m a Nampa resident & I support car culture,” one commenter said. “Hassling citizens is not real police work.”

The Police Department understands that some car shows do not result in reckless driving, Burns said, but it wants to maintain Nampa residents’ quality of life and keep people safe.

“Our citizens here in Nampa deserve that good quality of life and not have to worry about two or three or more cars racing down a major thoroughfare here and blasting through a red light,” Burns said. “The next thing you know, we got a fatality on our hands.”

‘It is too fast’: Meridian officials slam Idaho Transportation Department over Eagle Road

How fast can you drive on streets with no posted speed limit? What Idaho law says