The actions of police in Birmingham, Alabama, are being reviewed internally after video was published of an officer running into a pedestrian with his police cruiser earlier this week. The officer struck the pedestrian while responding to a call relating to a collection of drivers engaging in “Exhibition Driving.”
“The Birmingham Police Department has been made aware of several social media videos regarding an Exhibition Driving incident that occurred on January 1, 2023, in the 900 block of 3rd Avenue North involving Birmingham Police Officers and several of participants of Exhibition Driving,” the department wrote in a statement. “The Birmingham Police Department is currently in the process of reviewing the actions of our officers in this incident.”
In the video, a Dodge Charger (among other vehicles) can be seen doing donuts in the middle of a public intersection as a man, also in the intersection, films on a smartphone. An officer then shows up in a marked cruiser—a Ford Explorer—with sirens on to stop the display.
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The officer lines his SUV’s nose up with the nose of the Charger, backing the car up for some distance. After the Charger’s driver stops briefly, the man who was filming the donuts, steps between the vehicles with his hands up. As he steps in front of the cruiser, the officer accelerates, bumping the pedestrian, and moving him several inches in the process, though he remains on his feet.
The pedestrian is, however, knocked off balance, and staggers out from between the vehicles. As that happens, the officer accelerates again and deliberately crashes into the front of the Charger.
In its statement, the Birmingham Police term Exhibition Driving calls like these as “chaos” and say they have led to injuries and death. City Council Member Clinton Woods, meanwhile, called the situation “tricky” and blamed the pedestrian who was struck by the officer for putting himself in harm’s way, while speaking to WBRC.
Birmingham officials say that stunt driving exhibitions such as this one are anything but uncommon. Indeed, dangerous driving displays got a lot of media attention in 2022, with cities across the U.S. responding to so-called “takeovers,” in which some drivers perform stunts in unsanctioned, unprotected areas.
As part of its plan to deal with the events, Birmingham officials have increased their use of portable speed strips in the hopes of slowing down fast driving. The Birmingham Department of Transportation says that the city’s police force has ordered another 50 strips, and is awaiting their delivery.
“It will move [driving exhibitions] out of areas where we have seen it in the past and help us safe up certain areas,” Woods said. “Hopefully, push that behavior where it can be done without risking so many lives.”
