TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – Like clockwork, dozens of cars show up to party, play music, and prepare to street race. But it isn’t an official, organized event. In fact, it’s held in a Meijer parking lot.
Paul Wisner III said on Friday and Saturday nights, people gather in the Meijer at 1500 E. Alexis Road and they aren’t there to shop.
“It appears as if it’s a parking lot takeover,” Wisner III said. “If you’re familiar with street takeovers, it’s just in a parking lot, there’ll be donuts, there’ll be racing back and forth over here in the side lots.”
Wisner III first noticed the cars back in September while picking up medication for his daughter.
“I was almost struck as I was trying to get into the pharmacy area. I got passed by some guys on dirt bikes, some guys on motorcycles, four-wheelers, there was a car doing donuts, it was just very unsafe conditions to be in a closed environment here in a parking lot,” Wisner III said.
Wisner III said he had contacted police during the takeovers, and waited for officers in the parking lot, but no one showed up.
13 Action News reached out to Toledo police for any reports related to the takeovers since September when Wisner III first noticed the parties in the parking lot. They only had one report.
The report stated that a person “Came to Meijer to participate in the car show meet up…” and was chased in the parking lot by people who “Acted like they had guns on them.”
A spokesperson for the Toledo Police Department said when police respond to takeover situations, they can issue citations for reckless driving behavior or disorderly conduct. If they notice several takeovers in the same location, they will monitor the area or parking lot.
“Outside of any reckless driving behavior or disorderly conduct from any participants, the business that owns the parking lot itself ultimately determines if vehicles can be there or if they are trespassing,” wrote the spokesperson in an email. “If the business calls and states that the participants are not permitted to be on the property, then we can order them to disperse or possibly charge them with criminal trespass if it rises to that level.”
13 Action News contacted Meijer for a comment about the takeovers.
“Like any business, people sometimes gather in our parking lots,” a spokesperson wrote in an email. “On the infrequent occasion that it becomes distracting to customers, we partner with local law enforcement to resolve the situation.”
Wisner asserts that even though there was only one police report on file, the takeovers have been happening for weeks. He hopes something can be done.
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