DAYTON — Dayton police and area officers are increasing enforcement on illegal off-road vehicles like ATVs and dirt bikes after seeing an increase in aggressive driving that also led to an officer being injured last week.
‘We’ve received multiple complaints from citizens within the community complaining about these ATVs and dirt bikes,” said Sgt. Gordon Cairns, supervisor of the Dayton Police traffic services division. “Going up and down the city streets, speeding, racing, running red lights and driving through their yards.”
Last week, a Dayton police officer was injured while confronting a group of about a dozen ATV riders in the area of South Gettysburg Avenue and Cornell Drive Saturday.
>> CRUISER CAM: Man accused of running down Dayton police officer with ATV
“This is not only illegal, but extremely dangerous,” Cairns said. “Stay off the roads and go to the proper locations.”
Cruiser camera and body camera footage obtained by News Center 7 through a public records request shows two Dayton officers approaching the group of riders as all but one were able to speed off and get away.
Deontaye Trammell, 24, was arrested after officers said he ran down one of those officers. The officer was thrown into a traffic sign and suffered a significant cut to his leg.
Video shows Officer Luckoski got out of his cruiser and gave orders for Trammell to step off of his vehicle. Trammel restarted his vehicle and reversed at a high rate hitting a stopped truck behind him, then continued to try and drive, according to court records.
Trammell was wrestled from the vehicle and fought with officers until he was Tased and bitten by a police dog, records read.
Police found a loaded handgun in Trammell’s backpack. He has no CCW permit, is on probation, and has an open court case involving an illegal firearm, police said.
Trammell has been charged with two counts of felonious assault and single counts of obstructing official business, resisting arrest. He also is facing two weapons charges, according to the court records.
Trammell was previously convicted of assault and resisting arrest in connection to a March 1, 2016 incident where he punched a Vandalia police officer in the face.
Cairns said the issue of off-road vehicles on public streets is not an issue exclusive to Dayton. He said most urban cities face similar problems.
The city of Cincinnati has spent much of the summer cracking down on the problem in its city, posting updates on cases several times on the department’s Facebook page.
Cairns said the city has seen problems with groups of 20 or more taking up complete roads and stopping traffic from being able to flow. There also have been instances of the groups doing donuts in intersections.
“Everything we have seen so far, they are extremely aggressive,” Cairns said.
An example of the dangerousness of driving the vehicles on public roads happened last April, when nationally recognized football player Bobby Martin was killed in an ATV crash on a public road in Dayton.
Martin was a Colonel White defensive lineman who didn’t have legs and landed in the national spotlight in 2005, when he played for the Cougars.
Martin was removed from a game by an official who said he was violating rules for not wearing thigh pads, knee pads, and shoes. That ruling was overturned by the OHSAA and he was allowed to play the rest of the season.
Martin won the 2006 ESPY award for best male athlete with a disability.
“My brothers taught me to just be a man about it,” Martin said in an interview with WHIO-TV in 2005. “You’re going to get people that laugh about you and don’t know about you. Just explain yourself and go about your business.”
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