A Republican-backed bill under consideration by the Indiana General Assembly seeks to crack down on dangerous street takeovers, which lawmakers said are increasingly an issue for law enforcement. Image from Getty Images.

By Casey Smith
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS — After a failed attempt during the 2024 session, Indiana lawmakers are reviving efforts to get tough on street takeovers, also known as “sideshows.”

Senate Bill 13, authored by Republican Sen. Jim Tomes, of Wadesville, would establish a Class B misdemeanor for “knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly operate(ing) a vehicle in a repeated or continuous manner with the intent of causing the vehicle to perform a rotational skid.” The crime would increase to a Class A misdemeanor if the illegal activity endangers another person. The penalty further climbs to a Level 6 felony if it causes someone bodily injury, and to a Level 5 felony if it results in a death.

In its current form, the measure does not apply to a person who operates a vehicle at an “off-road recreation area” or another location where such vehicle performance is permitted, such as private property.

Large-scale street takeovers — which are often organized through social media, making them difficult to predict and prevent — typically attract dozens of people who block off public roads, highways, or intersections to hold illegal street races.

Lawmakers said street takeovers have increasingly become an issue for police.

Sen. Jim Tomes. R-Wadesville. Photo provided by Indiana Senate Republicans.

In a September incident documented by Indianapolis police, crowds of people lit a circle of flames in the middle of an intersection while drivers performed high-speed donuts, burnouts and other tricks.
When law enforcement tried to break up the event, a crowd threw burning baseball bats and gas cans at officers.

In a 5-4 vote on Tuesday, Jan. 14, the committee narrowly approved Freeman’s proposed amendment to Tomes’ new bill that would do something similar — allowing civil forfeiture of a vehicle on first offense. Democrats — along with Republican Sens. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, and Sue Glick, R-LaGrange — were opposed to the addition.

Freeman, the corrections committee chairman, did not put the bill to a vote following a back and forth over possible amendments. Concerned committee members questioned, for example, whether the bill’s language should better distinguish reckless driving exhibited at street takeovers from other, more general forms of reckless driving.
The measure could next see action when the committee reconvenes in two weeks.

Doubling Down On Signal Jammers

In a different bill heard Tuesday by the Senate committee, Tomes additionally targeted signal jammers, devices that can block Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and more — impacting devices like phones, Ring doorbells and wireless alarm systems.

Senate Bill 26 creates a Level 6 felony for anyone who “owns, operates, uses, manufactures, possesses, buys, sells, or provides to another person a radio frequency jamming device.” That enhances to a Level 5 felony if the jamming device is used to disrupt a “critical infrastructure facility” or law enforcement.

Tomes pointed an incident last year in Vanderburgh County, when a signal jammer was used during a burglary as a means to thwart police.

When an officer pulled the suspect’s car over, his radio and computer stopped working.

Signal jammers are already illegal on the federal level. The Federal Communications Commission prohibits marketing, selling or using any device that interferes with authorized radio communications.

Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette. Photo provided by Indiana Senate Republicans.

The committee struggled, however, over whether state law should ban jammers altogether — with a felony attached. And some lawmakers said penalties should only apply when signal jammers are put to use.

“I use one in my house because I don’t want a drone flying over and tapping into my Wi-Fi, right? Or I might have a neighbor who I know is using my Wi-Fi signal, and I want to jam anybody from tapping in,” said Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis. “Those are legitimate, in my opinion, property owner rights that I should be able to do without becoming a felon.”

Tomes pushed back, saying that jammers could still impede critical law enforcement activities.
The bill advanced from the committee along party lines in a 6-2 vote, with Tomes willing to amend the bill on the

Senate floor to address his colleagues’ ownership concerns.

An Expansion Of Indiana’s Lifeline Law

Also advanced Tuesday was a bill to extend Indiana’s Lifeline Law, which provides legal protections to minors under the influence of alcohol who call to report a medical emergency or a crime.

The bill, proposed by Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, would extend protections to an underage person who is in need of medical help as a result of alcohol overconsumption.

Roughly 100 Hoosiers under the age of 21 die each year due to alcohol-related causes. The senator maintained that another expansion of Indiana’s Lifeline Law “would protect Hoosier students and ensure they get proper medical treatment.”

Like under current law, any person who calls for help or needs assistance will only avoid prosecution for underage drinking if they cooperate with authorities. The law also does not provide protection for other crimes, such as providing alcohol to a minor or driving while intoxicated.

Former Republican Sen. Jim Merritt first championed the “Good Samaritan” law in 2012 to decrease alcohol-related deaths among young Hoosiers. Other protections were later added in 2014.

At that time, Indiana was one of just a few states to have such a law on the books, though a majority of states now have a medical amnesty statute