New rules that would have allowed for fines and possible jail time for organizers and promoters of Antioch sideshows were shot down when the council chose not to advance them after all.
Last month, the City Council unanimously approved a first reading of an ordinance that would allow fines of up to $1,000 or six months of jail time for those who organize or advertise any illegal street races, sideshows and reckless driving events.
But it needed a second approval and on Tuesday, with both Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe and Councilmember Tamisha Torres-Walker absent, Councilmembers Mike Barbanica and Lori Ogorchock reversed course when the ordinance on the consent calendar — typically a place for items headed for approval — was pulled for discussion.
“Yes, I voted for this when it came out initially, but it’s been no secret that I don’t think this goes nearly far enough,” Barbanica said. “This is something that is just a feel-good thing. The reality of it is that our police department is not truly going to be able to sit there and track down who organizes a sideshow.”
When giving direction to staff earlier on a proposed ordinance, the council had agreed not to include fines for spectators because there was concern bystanders could get caught up in the sideshow just trying to get somewhere.
But a way to cite spectators is what Barbanica wanted and something he had asked the city manager and mayor for previously.
“I want an ordinance brought in front of the council where we can actually cite people for attending these sideshows,” he said. “And there’s a financial penalty associated in essence with this. So this has fallen way short of that.”
Nearby Pittsburg has such a spectator law, but Antioch Interim Police Chief Brian Addington – formerly Pittburg’s police chief – said at the last council meeting that Pittsburg has never arrested anyone for violating it. He added that when Antioch had officers dedicated to intelligence gathering on sideshow promotions, they were successful in identifying and stopping the events.
Barbanica, however, called Antioch’s proposed rules against sideshow organizers “absolutely useless” and said he would not advance the proposed ordinance.
City Attorney Thomas Lloyd Smith clarified that there are layers of different laws regarding sideshows but added that misdemeanor violations are capped at $1,000 or six months in prison.
“So you have various vehicle code violations the police can use when they encounter sideshows and those can apply to drivers,” he said. “What we found with this ordinance is a place where we saw a gap and that was around the advertising that we’ve noted, and we created a separate opportunity for the city to be able to apply that fine at the misdemeanor level.”
Smith added that police can also use state vehicle code violations to deal with sideshows.
“This is an additive tool,” he said. “This is not something that is complete in terms of the total options that the police officers have available to them when they encounter sideshows.”
Ogorchock, though, said she had voted for the ordinance on a first reading because it “was a start,” but she had hoped it would evolve into something more.
The councilwoman said that while she understood the ordinance is another tool for officers, she wanted to see what other cities were doing and “put more teeth” in it. She suggested violators could be made to reimburse those affected, such as first responders who were stopped from getting through to calls because of a large sideshow in their path.
“This doesn’t mean anything,” she said of the proposed fines for sideshow organizers and promoters. “This is just like a piece of paper … I’m not gonna vote for it just to have paper and say you have an ordinance.”
Mayor Pro-Tem Monica Wilson, meanwhile, said she “would rather see something pass as a start,” but acknowledged without the other council members’ support, a sideshow proposal would likely come back at a later date before a full council.
The new rules did not move forward because of a lack of a motion. Barbanica apologized to staff for wasting its time but said he was always clear about what he wanted.
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