TURLOCK, Calif. — Turlock hopes that a new ordinance is going to help quash a growing problem with sideshows in the city.
"It is a faction where they start in one area, and they move down or up 99," said Mayor Amy Bublak. "And we get caught in the middle, and they're like, 'Hey, let's stop in Turlock and do this.'"
The crackdown actually targets sideshow spectators, potentially leaving them with an up to $1,000 fine or six months behind bars.
"This ordinance is basically to stop people from being spectators. If you don't have anybody watching, you're not going to act a fool. And as well, stop the the sideshows themselves," said Mayor Bublak.
Police said the sideshows are straining resources and one was even the scene of a homicide back in December.
In a February council meeting, Turlock Police Captain Miguel Pacheco also said sideshow spectators were seen delaying a fire engine and even jumping on it in a "horrifying" video from May 2021.
"The fact that there was such disregard for our firefighters, jumping on their fire engine and trying to just throw stuff off it -- just that type of stuff is so inappropriate. And you just think, if somebody's willing to do that, where would they go? Would they jump inside of a police vehicle and start taking the shotgun out or... something crazy like that -- we can't have it," said Bublak.
Pacheco told the city council that their police staffing can be stretched at times. Police said they had 79 instances of sideshow-related activities in 2021. That number grew to 89 in 2022.
Overall, police said the westside of Turlock sees the most activity at places near Regal Cinemas, Wakefield Elementary School and Monte Vista Crossings, a popular retail area in town.
"When these events happen, it strains our resources to say the least," Pacheco told the city council. "But we still have domestic violence, robberies, assaults, things that we have to do throughout them."
Bublak said the city pulled from other cities with sideshow ordinances and factored in what would be right for Turlock.
"For me, it's a matter of my city's not being protected. While all of our officers are there trying to officiate the stock of the sideshow. Other than that, I mean, go find somewhere else. There's places where you could do that. It doesn't need to be in a city, in the middle of an area where people are also shopping...," said Bublak.
For the mayor, success for this ordinance means not having another sideshow in town.
"If not, then there are very few and not as not as many people participating," she said. "We just want to cut down the ability for people to do harm in our community and harm others. That's it."
While the ordinance describes a spectator at a sideshow as someone who is within 200 feet of it, it doesn't mean that somebody simply passing through the area will be fined. Bublak said police will be able to discern between people participating and those just trying to get away.
She said if anybody wants to be involved in a sideshow, then they'll likely wind up with a $1,000 fine because of it. The ordinance went into effect March 30.
"If you don't want to get caught, don't do it in our city. That's how easy it is," said Bublak.
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