On Tuesday, the Antioch City Council will look at two versions of an Antioch Sideshow Ordinance to address sideshows within the city.
The council is being asked to consider two versions of a sideshow ordinance in an effort to allow the Antioch Police Department to better address sideshows before, during and after:
- Adding Chapter 4 to Title 4 (Public Safety) to the Antioch Municipal Code, which prohibits organizing, advertising, and being a spectator at street racing, sideshows, and reckless driving exhibitions
Or
- Adding Chapter 4 to Title 4 (Public Safety) to the Antioch Municipal Code, which prohibits organizing and advertising street racing, sideshows, and reckless driving exhibitions
According to the agenda, both ordinances contain proactive measures to discourage illegal sideshows, street races, and exhibitions of speed within the City, by regulating the organizing or advertising of such activities. The following activities would be specifically prohibited by both ordinances:
- Knowingly organizing a street race, sideshow, reckless driving exhibition, or exhibition of speed conducted within the City on a public street, highway, or in an offstreet parking facility.
- Advertising, within the City, a street race, sideshow, or exhibition of speed conducted or to be conducted in the City on a public street, highway, or in an offstreet parking facility.
- Advertising online, including on social media, a street race, sideshow, or exhibition of speed conducted or to be conducted in the City on a public street, highway, or in an offstreet parking facility.
- The ordinance’s definition of a spectator would apply to those who are found within 200 feet of the location of a sideshow, street race, or the site of the preparations for these activities, for the purpose of viewing, observing, watching, or witnessing the event as it progresses.
In addition, the ordinance in Attachment A contains accountability measures for spectators at sideshows, street racing, and reckless driving exhibitions, which the ordinance in Attachment B does not contain
Enforcement
- Any person who violates this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor subject to a maximum of six (6) months in jail, a fine of $1,000, or both, unless at the discretion of the district attorney or a court of competent jurisdiction, the violation is reduced to an infraction. The City may seek compliance with this chapter by any remedy allowed under this Code and any other remedy allowed by law, including but not limited to the administrative citation procedures set forth in Antioch Municipal Code § 1-5. The amount of the administrative fine is $1,000 for each violation.
How We Got Here
Antioch has been attempting to get an ordinance on the books since May of 2022, however, for one reason or another, have never been able to finalize an ordinance.
Based on voting blocks and council attendance when the Antioch sideshow ordinance has come to the agenda, the ordinance has taken different forms as to whether or not to address all participants of sideshows, or simply go after organizers.
Antioch nearly had an ordinance on the books to target sideshow organizers after a November 14, 2023 meeting directed staff to create an organizes. Originally, the ordinance included targeting spectators, however, Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker would not support the targeting of spectators so the council (with Ogorchock absent) moved forward with going after organizers.
By February 2024, the council voted 5-0 to address sideshow organizers advertising street racing and reckless driving exhibitions. But in March 2024, with Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe and Tamisha Torres-Walker absent, the ordinance addressing only organizers died in a 3-0 vote with Councilmembers Mike Barbanica, Lori Ogorchock and Monica Wilson all stating the ordinance didn’t go far enough.
After a sideshow that occurred on June 1 resulting in 6 vehicles impounded and multiple arrest, Mayor Hernandez-Thorpe vowed to bring back an ordinance.
If You Go
Antioch City Council Meeting
Tuesday, June 25 at 7:00 pm
200 H Street, Antioch CA
Agenda – click here
Barbanica Wants Organizers and Participants Cited
In case you missed it, below is a statement from Councilmember Mike Barbanica’s who released a 4:30 minute video regarding sideshows:
“Hey there, Mike Barbanica, some of you know me as a councilmember, some of you know me as a candidate for Contra Costa County Board of Supervisor district 5. So, lets talk sideshows, I am sure many of you are aware I retired as a police lieutenant, I did 21-years with the Pittsburg Police Department and absolutely loved the career.
However, that being the case, I have been on scene where we have had large groups of individuals and had to work with those large groups of individual to break up that activity. Whether it be sideshow type activity or large parties.
I will tell you from experience, if you hear that all we have to do is cite an organizer and the whole thing is going to crumbling down. That is ridiculous. We should be giving our officers the tools, as elected officials, giving them the tools to be able to go out and cite anybody who is there depending on the situation. I am not talking about people who are stuck in their cars waiting to get through a sideshow. I am talking active participants who are out their videoing, cheering them on, jumping ahead to the next sideshow and doing it again. These are causing havoc in our communities.
Recently, I was talking to some of the firefighters and they had an engine stuck in a sideshow and could not get to an emergency they were headed to. What would happen if, heaven forbid, they were on their way to a house fire, on their way to a non-breathing person, what if the police couldn’t get through if a violent crime was occurring. What if an ambulance couldn’t get through if someone was in a car accident and they needed to be taken to the hospital. These aren’t just innocent little sideshows and people expressing themselves as we have been told by elected officials.
This is much more than that. This is property damage to our communities, out of all of our pockets, anyone paying taxes, damage to our communities. This is the potential for emergency services not able to get to wherever they are headed. Its only a matter of time before somebody is seriously hurt, or worse.
I am asking you to push your elected officials, reach out to them and tell them enough. We have had enough. And to stop playing games and taking potentially a very strong ordinance and watering it down.
Let me give you an example of what I am talking about.
I proposed that we not only cite anybody involved with the sideshow, but active participants. The folks with the video cameras, surrounding the sideshows, those obviously there to participate. And that was met with resistance from politicians. For the life of me I can’t understand why we would not want to give our officers the tools to do that.
It doesn’t mean they are going to cite everybody that is there, it means it’s a tool that they have when they get there and they need to break up a sideshow. Start passing out citations and see how fast that breaks up.
But, what happens. We have elected officials that say what we need to do is just cite the organizers. Do we want to cite the one organizer sitting behind their computer or the many out there causing these issues. I say both. We do both.
Don’t let your elected officials fool you. Put pressure on them to enact these municipal codes that give our police the authority and ability to take action. Right now, and I just spoke to a police chief, do you have the ability to cite spectators surrounding sideshows, cheering it, on egging it on, videoing it, posting it on social media, that chief told me no. We have no ability to do that.
So as long as we continue to tolerate this, as long as we accept this from our elected officials, we are going to see this continue. Push your elected officials to put a stop to this. Please!
My name is Mike Barbanica and I a running for Contra Costa County Board of Supervisor District 5, have a nice day.”
Previous Stories:
- June 11 – Editorial: East County Must Take Regional Approach With Sideshow Ordinance
- June 2 – Antioch Police Impound 6 Vehicles, Make Multiple Arrests During Sideshows
- March 14, 2024 – Antioch Rejects “Absolutely Useless” Sideshow Ordinance
- Nov 16 – Antioch Opts to Place Ordinance Focus on Sideshow Organizers
- Oct 26 – Antioch Agrees to Create Ordinance Directed at Sideshow Spectators
- Sept 25 – Antioch Police Say 1 Arrested After Weekend Sideshow Activity
- Aug 15 – License Plate Readers Coming to Downtown Antioch
- Aug 9 – Antioch Mayor Claims Sideshows and Crime is Down
- Aug 9 – Antioch Man Charged with Reckless Driving and Felony Hit and Run
- Aug 6 – Antioch Sideshow Damages Water Main, Vehicle Also Enters Delta Waters
- July 5 – Updated: Hundreds Gather for Fourth of July Sideshow in Antioch
- Jan 12 – Antioch Police Tow 2 Vehicles, 1 Citation in Latest Sideshow Response
- May 16, 2022 – Antioch Mayor Says Council Will Take Up Policy to Target Sideshow Spectators
- May 15, 2022 – Antioch Police Respond to Two Sideshows, Officers Vehicles Attacked
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