Advice: Don’t Do Burnouts In The Police Station Parking Lot

Three Michigan idiots are in police custody after they revved up their cars in front of the police station in Dearborn.

Police Chief Had Begun On Crackdown On 'Burnouts'

A little back story to set up this tale of dumbness. Young men stopping traffic to do 'burnouts' in their hot rods has been a Detroit area problem for years. Dudes have been known to stop traffic on a busy freeway to do burnouts preventing motorists from getting to their destinations. Many times, they would post videos of these stunts to social media.

Burnouts, also known as 'peel outs' are defined as the practice of keeping a vehicle stationary and spinning its wheels, the resultant friction causing the tires to heat up and smoke.

Enter Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin, who began a crackdown on this practice after taking office five months ago. Shahin's crackdown has led to a 680% increase in moving violations, most for reckless driving, which encompasses burnouts.

Crackdown Has Led To Cars Being Impounded

Shahin's tough love policy has led to confiscation of some vehicles after the drivers were busted for flaming out.

After one Mustang was impounded for a burnout, three drivers arrived at the Dearborn Police headquarters, and with is what to have been thought as maybe some kind of protest immediately began flaming out in the police parking lot, as if daring officers to do something about it. They even leaned out of the windows and taunted officers.

This was an idea that probably should have been thought out a bit more. You see, police parking lots have lots of cameras, and it's real easy to find you, once your license plate has been spied.

“When this happened, I was in my office and I could hear the sounds, and so were some of my other members of the department,” Shahin told WDIV News. “I literally looked out my window and saw these kids doing the burnout right in front of the police station.”

Not Only Were They Arrested, Their Cars Were Seized

Not only were the trio tracked down and arrested, two of the vehicles were forfeited to the police, so there will be no revenge burnout.

“If you’re reckless driving–and I want to be clear here–if you’re you’re driving recklessly and you’re putting people’s lives in danger, your car’s going to be pulled over, you’re going to be arrested, your car’s going to be impounded, and if it meets the criteria, the vehicle will be forfeited, if you’re putting other people’s lives at risk,” Shahin said.

The public reaction to the bust was nothing short of joy. Residents who have put up with burnouts and high speed shenanigans around Dearborn have been delighted by Shahin's crackdown. Now, it they could only do something about those motorcycles doing wheelies.