BATON ROUGE, LA. (BRPROUD)– Wednesday night, The East Baton Rouge Metro Council received a report from the Baton Rouge Police Department on their findings about drag racing.
East Baton Rouge Metro Councilwoman, Denise Amoroso, requested a report from BRPD about drag racing after fines went up this past summer.
According to BRPD Deputy Chief, Troy Lawrence Sr., many drag racers travel from city to city for group meets. “It has plagued the city of New Orleans, it has plagued us initially in 2021, Shreveport, Houston, Dallas, and I could go on and on and on,” said Lawrence.
“They will shut down traffic, they will have spectators block off roadways,” said Lawrence.
This year, the East Baton Rouge Metro Council upped fines from $500 to $1000.
They have now set a new rule for impounding the driver’s vehicles from 10 to 90 days. In addition to the ordinance and a suspended license, the driver must visit the Department of Corrections to retrieve it.
“Thank god that our city ordinance has changed to mitigate those issues,” said Lawrence.
Councilwoman Denise Amoroso said the findings BRPD presented were low.
“I was kinda hoping for a little bit higher numbers, but every number counts,” said Amoroso.
What BRPD found in 2022 and 2023 in regards to drag racing is provided below:
2022:
- 14 felony arrests
- towed 25 vehicles
- impounded vehicles for a minimum of 15 days
- issued more than 18 drag racing citations
- issued 25 related citations
2023:
- three felony arrests
- seven misdemeanors
- towed 35 vehicles, impounded for at least 15 days
- cited 29 drivers
- cited 16 spectators
The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office agreed to work with BRPD to book those who violate the ordinance.
While bringing this up at Wednesday night’s meeting, Amoroso said that she wanted to educate the people about the dangers of drag racing. “The public will be educated and know what’s going on out there,” said Amoroso.
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