NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton is vowing to crack down on those caught riding dirt bikes and ATVs, which are illegal in the city.
"These individuals operating these bikes, these knuckleheads if you will, it's all about them, it's all about them showing off and the pack mentality," Bratton said at a briefing Monday.
The NYPD says they've arrested a dozen people have been arrested so far this year for driving recklessly on the vehicles and seized over 300 ATVs and dirt bikes -- more than double the number of vehicles seized at the same time last year.
Police officials say many are irresponsible when they ride the ATVs and dirt bikes, popping wheelies and running red lights. They say the dangerous driving revs up in the spring as the weather gets warmer, and the operators ride in packs.
Police are coordinating strategies across departments, setting up chokepoints and checkpoints on bridges and local streets, relying on aviation units to see where biker groups are assembling, and monitoring social media and tips from the public check out planned biker events and rallies, officials said.
The NYPD says it will only apprehend dirt bike operators when it's safe to do so, and that there is a no-chase policy in place when it comes to those drivers because they often tend to be reckless.
Bratton says he plans to hold a "crushing" of all the seized bikes later in the spring.
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"We intend to take all of these things and just crush them," said Bratton.
"So if you are having one of your wheels taken away from you, the intent is to take them away from you permanently and destroy them," he said.
