I was standing on Winthrop between Derby and George when this dirt bike was riding around. I called the police the first time I saw it. Over the next twenty minutes it must have ridden by ten times, with three different drivers. I saw it run the light at George and Winthrop and the one at Derby and Winthrop. I saw it going the wrong way on Derby. While I was there Alderman Sergio Rodriguez happened by. He called the police, also. They never appeared. A prompt response would have fixed this problem.

Thx John

The bike is back. It's riding up Winthrop to Chapel or Edgewood and turning left.

He was on Chapel and Sherman over the weekend also. Going the wrong way on Chapel. Something really needs to be done before some one gets hurt. I understand that there's not any place for them to legally ride. New Have has a lot of open land they need to find some place designated for them to ride.

Saw him Saturday pm, wearing a Planet of the Apes mask and a hood. No way to ID him or his fellow nuisance who rides with him. Whatever happened to the Quad' Squad?

I agree -- they are back. After incredibly successful Quad Squad crack down, last few weeks (October 2009) been seeing dirt bikes on Whalley in Beaver Hill/s/Edgewood/Westville. One a single, another day, a group of four or five.

the single -- the driver looked so young I can't imagine he even has a driver's license.

I have no sympathy as to their having no place to ride. Who bought the bike? What urban dweller bought this bike with nowhere to ride?

Many open spaces ban offroading because the vehicles do nothing for preservation of open land, nothing -- they only degrade no matter how planned and controlled. We are are sorely short of open land in Connecticut.

I saw the green bike this weekend, too. The police had this problem fixed, but they seem to have taken their eyes off the ball, and now the problem is starting to come back.

I was just driving East on Edgewood around 4:30 Sunday afternoon, when two guys on lime green dirtbikes drove right at me, going the wrong way down the one-way street. I called the cops and they said they'd look into it as soon as they could... As I turned right onto Park St a few blocks later, there were three officers on motorcycles standing on the sidewalk. I told them about it, and they said their hands are tied. They told me in no uncertain terms that they could and would do nothing about it. One of the cops even said that the riders had done the same thing to him that morning on his way to work. In any case, they said that if they chased them and the kids got hurt, it would be on the cops, so their hands are tied. They said that there needs to be some sort of community uproar about it to stop them.

The lime green dirt bike was buzzing around most of Saturday afternoon. I called the police twice, but apparently they still can't take care of this. The Quad Squad, launched with so much fanfare this spring, was supposed to solve this problem, and for a while they did. Whatever happened to them?

It's 12:05 pm on Monday, and they're back on the streets.

Someone in the area should do the following:
Contact Leo Bombalicki. He is (was) charge of the Quad Squad.
Call 946-6316 for his contact # and cell.

It is true that the city has a no-chase policy in regards to bikes and quads. HOWEVER that does not mean that the police have no responsibility to monitor and observe the kids and make an arrest and confiscation if/when it is safe to do so. The police could have tailed the riders and possibly found where they lived and make the confiscation there.

Yaakov, I believe the officers were incorrect in their assertion that there was nothing they could have done, and hopefully someone in the police department will read these posts and help out with this situation.

I can sympathize with the police on the no-chase issue. There are too many people in this city eager to criticize the police for doing their duty. However, that's no reason to give up on the problem. Lime-green was roaring down the sidewalk on Sherman at Edgewood yesterday and missed running down my dog by only a few feet because he wasn't paying attention to pedestrians like me.

It's not just the danger this kid poses, or the nuisance he is. For me, it's his very public in-your-face, no-one-can-stop-me attitude that gets me angry when I see or hear him around my home.

*somebody* must know where this kid lives and stores his bike. Let's find out and tell the police. If enough law-abiding citizens speak up, we can change this situation.

I'm relatively new to the neighborhood, but maybe somebody else reading this board know some of the leaders in the community, maybe some of the clergy? Maybe they would be able to help identify the individual?

I've tried several times to follow the bike but they seem to swap riders at various locations around the neighborhood. I have been sitting in Dunkin Donuts when the bike is riding around and contact the police but it seems they haven't been able to catch them yet. We'll keep watching. If you see it again call it in immediately until it stops.

I saw the bike at Orchard Street a week ago. I talked to an officer. He told me he knew but that he was not allowed to chase him for danger that he might cause more harm than good.

Hoepfully the quad squad gets this kid off the street.

I agree with bbnoonan. Even though this isn't the most serious of crimes, it creates an atmosphere of pervasive, unchecked lawlessness, and that's corrosive for our neighborhood.

"I'm relatively new to the neighborhood, but maybe somebody else reading this board know some of the leaders in the community, maybe some of the clergy? Maybe they would be able to help identify the individual?"

That's a great idea. Why don't you wait outside the church. Eventually these kids will be so racked with guilt they'll show up to ask forgiveness for their sins! LMAO.

"That's a great idea. Why don't you wait outside the church. Eventually these kids will be so racked with guilt they'll show up to ask forgiveness for their sins! LMAO."

That has nothing to do with it. The fact is, you need voices of influence in the community on your side or there's no way to succeed in getting menaces like this off the street. In other cities I've lived in, local clergy have been able to help identify people and cement community pressure against such menaces.

Laugh your @#$% of if you wish, but the fact is, this can work.

New Hell, your comment was uncalled for and contributes nothing to the conversation. Yaakov's comment may have been naive (it was a bit simply stated, my friend) but at least it was a statement suggesting some positive action towards resolving this issue.

Yaakov, many of us responding on this thread are 'leaders' in the community and as one of those 'leaders' I know that most of us are aware and seeking the location of the bike. Send me an email off line and we can talk more about the organizing efforts in this neighborhood. kevin@westrivernsc.org

these bikes need oil to mix with the gas so they must be buying it locally (libby,s or new have cycle ) go there to start the investigation i'm no columbo but this seems easy

have also seen him (if same lime green bike) go all the way up edgewood way and up around hopkins, too. ran the light at forest and edgewood. nice mug, btw.

At tonight's meeting of the Chapel-Ellsworth Block Group, Lt. Hassett reported that they seized a green dirt bike yesterday. He also told us that there are two dirt bikes left in the neighborhood--another green one and a black and red one.

Sounds like this one is fixed?