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KCK residents frustrated with sideshows at shopping center

KCK shopping center parking lot sideshow
Posted at 10:03 PM, Sep 24, 2021
and last updated 2021-09-24 23:42:52-04

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Illegal car stunts happening in a shopping center parking lot on South 18th Street near Interstate 70 have people hotter than burning rubber.

"It's complete disrespect to the city, to the residents to the businesses," said Daniel Nance, who lives in the area.

According to Nance, the sideshows at 18th and Pacific, usually done for clicks and views on social media, have gotten worse in recent weeks.

Businesses in the shopping center are calling police on the drivers.

"I blocked the road off, they (police) said, 'Thanks for the help because all we can do is sit here.' They had no other recourse," Nance said.

The revving engines have drowned out those across the street at the Alcott Arts Centerrehearsing for their upcoming performance of 'Shakespeare in the Parking Lot'.

"They're trying to project, and sometimes it gets to the point where they literally, they've just got to stop," said Chuck Green with the Alcott Arts Center.

In June, Kansas City, Kansas, police shared video of a driver doing donuts at 1st and Osage when he slams into a spectator, breaking that man's neck and leg.

That video was taken in an industrial area of KCK where about 100 people were watching in person.

The new area where the sideshows are happening is busy, making for a potentially bigger audience, but it puts more people at risk.

"We're working with City Hall, we're looking at more creative ways to deal with it rather than chasing these folks around. We don't want to be doing that, that's a cat and mouse game. It's not really going to get us anywhere," said Nancy Chartrand, a spokesperson for the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department.

Some believe establishing a permanent venue for the sideshows can make it safer for everyone.

"It’d be nice if they could find a place to let them do this and give them the freedom to be able to show how powerful their cars are," Green said.

Police encourage anyone who sees these sideshows to call them.

For jurisdictions that utilize the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline, anonymous tips can be made by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com.

Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.