Police made about a dozen arrests and seized some 20 all-terrain vehicles when riders from several states used the Internet to organize a mass illegal ride in the New Haven area Sunday.
New Haven police aimed to discourage the bike groups before they got going and convince them maybe New Haven is too much trouble for an illegal ride.
It's illegal to ride dirt bikes and ATVs on city streets and other public property in Connecticut. That fact alone didn't stop anyone.
"At one point on Sunday, there were 100 bikes driving down the Boulevard doing wheelies, riding red lights. It's a real safety issue," said Sgt. Karl Jacobson, head of the criminal investigation unit in New Haven. "We're very lucky no one's been killed during these rides and that's what we're here to prevent."
The New Haven, East Haven and West Haven police departments worked on the roundup alongside state police.
Nine of the bikes and quads were taken to a trailer at the police impound lot in New Haven. They can eventually be auctioned off.
The charge against the riders isn't a motor vehicle violation, it's criminal: reckless endangerment.
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"Part of the enforcement is we actually take your bike and we go to court and seize your bike," said Jacobson.
Police are appealing to the public for tips about where riders are storing their bikes.
"Provided we have the personnel, we'll set somebody out in front of their driveway for hours, if that's what it takes to get one of these knuckleheads off the street," said New Haven police spokesman Officer David Hartman.
What police won't do is chase the bikers, because that would compound the danger to the public. Still, they were able to intercept bikers Sunday.
"We couldn't just box them in and have them ram police cars," said Jacobson. "We safely got out in the areas where they didn't recognize us until we were right on top of them, and then we took them into custody."
He said state troopers blocked the highway at the Q-Bridge at one point to stop a couple bikes and make arrests.
