X-Trains

Kalamazoo Public Safety officers stop a Chevrolet sedan with four people inside on Water Street for suspected reckless driving in 2011. Officers stopped the vehicle during directed patrols aimed at X-Trains. (Rex Hall Jr. | Kalamazoo Gazette)

(Rex Hall Jr./Gazette)

KALAMAZOO, MI -- Residents living on Kalamazoo's north side continue to be harassed by large groups of vehicles roaming the streets through the late hours of the night.

The so-called "X-Trains," named for their association with the drug ecstasy, are essentially pop-up caravans of up to 100 cars that have left trash and sometimes violence in their wake for years. At a Monday, March 6 City Commission meeting, Douglas Neighborhood Association representatives demanded something be done once and for all.

"The activity impacts quality of life in our neighborhood and others that we frequent," said Marian Pridgeon, secretary of the Douglas Neighborhood Association. "We are asking the City Commission to direct appropriate staff to review current ordinances at their disposal to put an end to this group."

Pridgeon said she met with three public safety officers in February to talk about the issue. Neighbors are often woken between 2 and 5 a.m. to the sound of loud music, revving engines and drag racing, she said.

Community leaders have long been calling for police to address the parties, said Douglas Neighborhood Association Chair Jim Pridgeon. Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley agreed that police have been aware of the issue for years, however the pop-up parties are difficult to anticipate and respond to.

"We take different approaches and enforcement options throughout the year to have an impact on it," Hadley said. "It's kind of unpredictable. We've had overtime (patrols) out on a beautiful July night and (they saw) nothing."

In 2012, officers conducted an operation to address the issue. Three patrols led to 23 arrests on 58 separate charges, according to a Kalamazoo Public Safety news release. There were also nine misdemeanors and 22 civil infractions issued and 14 vehicles impounded.

The sting came after Kalamazoo resident Tiffany Ayers, 39, was shot and killed last year near the corner of Florence Street and North Westnedge in 2011.

"We hit it very hard and the community was supportive of that," Hadley said. "We need to get our cue from them in ramping up enforcement because we get the support from them. We're certainly willing to do that if its what they want."

Hadley said trying to catch the members of the parities can take an "enormous" amount of time and resources, which can take away from regularly occurring calls for service. Sometimes officers end up following the convoy throughout the city and into Kalamazoo County, breaking them up several times in one night.

"Generally what happens when we show up with lights and sirens is people just disperse," Hadley said. "You cant stop every car -- maybe you can stop one or two."

Hadley said the crowds are loitering outside locations open for business more often than causing harm. He doesn't believe the issue has become any worse than in years past.

Jim Pridgeon said in the early hours of Friday and Saturday night each week, after area bars are closed, the "X-Train" congregates at the Marathon gas station on the corner of Alamo Avenue and Douglas Street. Another popular location is the Shell gas station at the corner of West Michigan Avenue and South Westnedge Avenue.

Jim said they often can be found playing poker on the hoods of their cars, using drugs and making trash. Sometimes they celebrate a winning hand by firing weapons into the air, he said.

"We've had people who have found the round comes down on top of their car or roof or hits something in their yard," Jim said. "We're out here trying to get by, and you don't go anywhere Friday or Saturday night because you're taking your life in your hands."

In the last five years, Hadley said the mobile parties have become larger in size.

"The idea of kids getting together with cars and going from location to location probably isn't that unusual in any community," he said. "The difference lately is the advent in social media and the number of people you can get to one location."

Residents on the north side of Kalamazoo are tired of having to put up with the crime, trash and violence that accompanies the X-Trains, Marian Pridgeon said.

A woman in her 70s, who did not wish to draw attention to herself by being identified, cleans up garbage on the streets in her neighborhood every day. Jim said he has notified police to her presence, and sometimes fears for her safety.