Vallejo Sideshow Spectating Ordinance Raises Civil Rights Questions
“He wants YOU to speak up because…” by Tony Fischer Photography is licensed under CC BY 2.0
We all remember the illegal street racing from Grease in the L.A. aqueducts– “going dumb” in cars is as old as the Model T.
On Tuesday the Vallejo City Council unanimously approved an ordinance to make it illegal to “knowingly encourage, promote, instigate, assist, facilitate, aid, or abet” sideshow activity here. This means that if a person is on the sidelines cheering on the scene they can be cited for up to $1,000.
Sideshows are endemic in Vallejo culture– just listen to E-40 “ghost ride the whip” or Mac Dre “gas, break, start to dip.” They are not only an exciting activity for Vallejo youth, the very nature of them being illegal just adds to their transgressive sexiness.
But they are also a hot mess for residents and law enforcement. Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams referred to sideshows here as “terrorism” on Tuesday night, and he’s not far off the mark. Participants take entire city blocks hostage by drawing upwards of 1,000 people to witness the spectacle, block traffic, and freak out people’s pets (hey, it’s a thing). But according to Williams, participants also throw M80s, drink and urinate in public, litter, and destroy property.
On July 4 of this year, VPD reported that “roughly 1,000” participants converged at sideshows throughout the city, tying up an already understaffed police force and bringing in people who don’t even live here to wreak havoc. Officers reported being lobbed with fireworks and witnessing “over 30 rounds of automatic gunfire” near where they were attempting to tow vehicles.
The question of how to deal with sideshows is complex. Some have advocated for harm reduction by giving enthusiasts a legal place to do their thing, though the liability issues that raises are valid. California Assembly Bill 410 even went as far as to try and make repeat participation in sideshows a felony– it died in committee.
Legal analyst and former prosecutor Steven Clark questions the constitutionality of making it against the law to stand in a public place and watch activity that is illegal, such as reckless driving.
“It’s a legitimate public safety concern to go after participants in sideshows,” he told me. “It’s a dangerous activity and tremendously unsafe. But at the same time you have to reconcile that there’s a difference between criminal participation and merely standing around.”
Clark says that there are very few exceptions in the law that allow for criminalizing watching illegal behavior. Dog fighting, for example. But such activities generally take place on private property, not a public street.
“If I watch two people fight on a public street, that’s not a crime,” he said. “I don’t have to intervene. I can just stand there and watch if I’m on public property.”
In fact, should a case end up in court, Clark said there are specific jury instructions that say that mere presence at a crime scene is not enough for a criminal conviction.
Clark, who is in San Jose, said that a similar ordinance against sideshow spectating there has resulted in the law “not being tested” yet in any courts. Such laws have yet to be challenged in appellate courts to determine their constitutionality. Violators in SJ are generally given the opportunity to do deferred judgements, such as picking up litter or other community service. Once completed, offenders can have their cases dismissed.
The real question is whether or not such crackdowns have reduced sideshow activity. It hasn’t appeared to have worked, according to SFist.
One aspect of the spectator’s law in other cities involves making it illegal to post about sideshows on social media, which certainly raises First Amendment issues. not to mention the fact that participants use coded language and aliases, making it long and costly to figure out exactly who they are.
Cassandra Wilson was recently appointed to the Housing Commission in Vallejo and voiced her concern about the new law on Twitter.
“It’s disappointing that the Vallejo City Council voted to criminalize the spectators of sideshows when they have steadily held in communities of color,” she wrote.
VPD Spokesperson Brittany Jackson told me that the department might try and cite people who promote sideshows online.
“In instances where there are those promoting sideshow activity online and we receive enough information to appropriately follow-up, we will cite those spectators/participants if they can be identified,” she said.
Jackson assured Vallejo residents that the VPD will focus on bona fide spectators and not people there by happenstance.
“While the act of engaging in sideshows and our subsequent response is highly spontaneous and circumstantial in nature, we can reassure the public that we will take the necessary steps to properly assess whether someone is a participant, spectator or non-participatory passerby.”
-I am waiting to see if City Attorney Veronica Nebb has a comment.
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