INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana State Police said within the past year, they've noticed a dangerous new trend called "spinning."
Police said it's when a large group of people gather late at night in a park, parking lot, street or even interstate and perform doughnuts with their car.
"These folks are car enthusiasts, they like fast cars, and they've chosen to do illegal and dangerous activities," Indiana State Police Sgt. John Perrine said. "Everybody there maybe doesn't realize they're participating in an illegal activity. They see it posted, they see it as a car show, a car gathering. They show up, and then, this illegal activity ensues."
According to police, spinning is a trend of utilizing a public park, parking lot, street, intersections or interstate to perform an action commonly referred to as a doughnut in a vehicle. Police said several other cars are used to block roads or parking lots, and dozens of people put themselves in dangerous positions to try to record or touch the spinning cars.
Police said these events are held without proper permits, and once the cars leave the events, they are likely to race one another on the streets.
"People getting hit, people falling out of cars, cars crashing into each other, and that's just what's happening in these parking lots," Perrine said.
But that's not typically where these gatherings end.
"You have all of these fast cars in one location. It leads to illegal street racing," Perrine said. "Then, we're seeing those high-speed crashes that are affecting other families and other members of the community."
A parking lot at West 34th Street and Lafayette Road on the northwest side has been heavily damaged by a spinning event over the weekend. It's one of three locations police said they conducted a special operation to catch one of these events in the act.
Police said people are coming to Indianapolis spinning events from as far away as Kentucky.
In total, police said they've arrested more than 40 people and recovered over 80 stolen cars from these types of gatherings.
Police said there are legal and permitted spinning events in Indianapolis, but the events they're investigating are not happening legally.
"We have several other leads that we're following up on," Perrine said. "We use a lot of technology, a lot of strategies to find those folks who maybe thought they got away that night, but we have their information, and we're going to be following up."
Police arrested the following people nine people March 4:
- Eusebio Felipe Moreno Jr., 21, resisting law enforcement with a vehicle
- Luis F. Campillo, 18, criminal recklessness
- Anthony Henderson, 25, criminal recklessness
- John L. Baker, 20, resisting law enforcement with a vehicle and criminal recklessness
- Craig Murry, 23, resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, driving while suspended and reckless driving
- Shelby Waugh, 21, resisting law enforcement (misdemeanor)
- Marquis Gibbs, 24, possession of drug paraphernalia
- Patrick Gerlach, 20, criminal recklessness
- Kadryn Williams, 21, criminal recklessness
"The Indiana State Police will continue to commit necessary resources to target these illegal and dangerous events. Legitimate car clubs, concerned citizens and community members have played a vital role in providing information to assist detectives with these investigations," said Indiana State Police Area Five Investigations Commander, Lieutenant Jeff Hearon. "The disregard for public safety and personal property shown by these groups is egregious, and we are committed to holding them accountable for their reckless behavior."
The Marion County Prosecutor's Office will make the final charging decisions after reviewing the cases.