Are some car meetups and street takeovers getting worse in Raleigh?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Car meetups, street takeovers, remain consistent problem in Triangle.
- Officers seized multiple vehicles after alleged burnouts, drifting and donuts.
- North Carolina law allows the auction of seized vehicles after a conviction.
When Raleigh police seized six cars in one weekend earlier this month, their Facebook post drew comments from residents worried the seizures signaled an increase in dangerous street activity.
But that’s not the case, according to Capt. Daniel Nieters, captain of the Raleigh Police Department’s field operations divisions staff.
“These events, along with any other events inside of the city — it ebbs and flows,” Nieters said. “There’s no consistent uptick.”
The cars seized the weekend of March 7 came from several different car meetups, according to Nieters.
“You’re talking about hundreds of vehicles, and the overwhelming majority of folks that were meeting up who are car enthusiasts were doing everything lawfully,” he said. “But then there is a portion, just like any crowd that forms, that might have something else in mind, and that is the case here.”
Street racing and car meetups have been a problem at times across the Triangle.
Last year, the Durham County District Attorney’s Office declined to press charges against a police officer who shot and injured a 16-year-old at an event in Woodcroft Shopping Center, The News & Observer reported. The State Bureau of Investigation found the officer did not use excessive force after the teen had thrown eggs at his patrol car and brandished a gun at him during a chase.
The N&O couldn’t confirm through court records what charges the drivers of the vehicles seized in Raleigh face, but the Police Department described their behavior as “burnouts, drifting and donuts” in the Facebook post.
Under North Carolina law, vehicles involved in street takeovers can be seized by police and sold at auction if the accused driver is found guilty. The proceeds of those auctions go to the school board of the county where the crime occurred, according to the North Carolina Judicial Branch.
When meetups take over the street
Local car enthusiast Kenneth Butron, 44, told The N&O he supports such seizures to keep dangerous drivers from ruining car meetups.
“We don’t like takeovers because it prevents us from being able to meet up with our friends,” Butron said. “It’s fun to see and fun to watch, but as soon as it starts to happen, typically, I leave.”
Butron was attending a car meet in Raleigh about 7:30 p.m. March 7 when he got drone footage of police seizing a white Mustang whose driver allegedly did a burnout in front of an officer. In a burnout the driver holds the car steady while spinning the rear tires, creating heat and smoke.
“I had the drone in the air already, and that’s when I started to see stuff happening,” Butron recalled. “This is the first time I have seen a police officer actually seize a vehicle.”
And though speedy cars are often associated with young men, Nieters said his officers cite people of all ages and backgrounds for street takeovers.
“It’s all walks of life ... there is no real pattern,” he said.
But when street takeovers do happen in the City of Oaks, Raleigh police will be nearby, he said.
“You’ll see our blue lights on; sometimes the blue lights will be behind you,” Nieters said. “And if someone is doing something that is egregious and unsafe ... then we’re not only going to charge you, but we’re also going to seize your vehicle under state law.”
This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 5:30 AM.
