SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — It’s not even summer yet and Syracuse Police have already gotten a flood of complaints about ATVs and dirt bikes illegally zooming down city streets.
A top complaint getting new attention with tactics to keep them off the streets.
It’s not your typical hot spot for ATVs and dirt bikes, but on a corner of Syracuse’s Northside, a drug test kit was needed. The Syracuse man on this mini-bike got caught with what Syracuse Police Sergeant Tom Blake says is illegal narcotics.
“What appears to be a controlled substance, they’ll test that now to see what that shows, it’s expected to be illegal narcotics,” said Sergeant Blake.
However, before Officer Kasey Fellows could test the substances, something else caught his eye.
“Got another stop, same location, looks like a Coleman mini bike as well, and Officer Fellows, detained him,” said Sergeant Blake.
The suspect gets an appearance ticket the first time caught, a 500 dollar fine, and will need to come up with $2000 to get his bike back.
“I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it’s probably fentanyl. As of late, everything tends to be fentanyl, the orange’s color, it’s fentanyl, dark purple it’s heroin, as I suspected it’s positive for the presence of fentanyl,” said Sergeant Blake.
It’s pretty typical of what police find when they stop ATVs and dirt bikes.
“They don’t have to navigate the road the way the car does, they can go over sidewalks through parks, and around areas we just can’t get to,” said Sergeant Blake.
The complaints are constant and taken seriously, and this is something new they’re rolling out as of Monday night. It’s called a courtesy letter.
If they get a lot of complaints about a particular place, and they can verify those complaints, they will personally deliver this letter and spell out the law and the financial consequences of breaking it.
“Whenever you’re trying to enforce a new rule or law, it’s always about education first, get people to understand why we are doing it,” said Sergeant Blake.
Sergeant Blake was able to verify complaints that came in about the house he found, so he paid a visit as there wasn’t just one complaint, there were multiple.
After a conversation with the man, the man walked away, confident of a better understanding of the rules of the road in the city.
“It was very cordial, we have a mutual understanding and he’s letting me know it’s not going to be a problem anymore. Sometimes it might be a case of miscommunication, people not knowing the law. Very possible. But now they know they’re duly informed,” said Sergeant Blake.
Syracuse Police say they’ll be keeping their promise and be on the lookout for ATV and dirt bike lawbreakers.
Sergeant Blake has also set up a new pipeline for your ATV and dirt bike complaints. Send videos, tips, and especially information on where they’re being stored to atvtips@syracusepolice.org. You can remain anonymous
