Montgomery County residents could face $5,000 fines for participating in street takeovers under a bill that cleared a council committee Monday, Oct. 5.

The Public Safety Committee voted 2-1 to send Bill 27-26 to the full Montgomery County Council, as first reported by The Banner. Councilmember Sidney Katz, the committee chair, and Councilmember Dawn Luedtke voted yes. Councilmember Kristin Mink abstained.

The bill would ban participating in unlawful races, speed contests and stunt driving. It also prohibits organizing or promoting a street takeover, acting as a timekeeper or flagger, and requires anyone at a takeover to leave when police order them to disperse.

Interim Police Chief Darren Francke testified in support of the measure, telling the committee that officers regularly encounter weapons and stolen cars at these events.

"We find guns. We find stolen vehicles. We've had shootings at these events in other counties," Francke said.

Francke warned that without stronger enforcement tools, a fatality in Montgomery County is a matter of time.

The committee amended the bill to raise the fine from $1,000 to $5,000. Luedtke said participants often gamble large sums on car races during takeovers and argued the penalty needs to be steep enough to deter them.

Mink said she supports the bill's goals but worries the language as written could restrict peaceful protests. She wants the full council to add what she called "a little clearer protections" for protest activity before passing the measure.

Councilmember Andrew Friedson introduced Bill 27-26 on June 16. Co-sponsors included Council Vice President Marilyn Balcombe, Katz and Luedtke. At the time, then-Police Chief Marc Yamada and State's Attorney John McCarthy both publicly backed the legislation, according to a county press release.

The bill responds to a string of dangerous incidents. On Feb. 22, a large takeover that started in Prince George's County spilled into Silver Spring, where participants damaged two police cruisers at East West Highway and Connecticut Avenue.

An officer was inside one cruiser when the rear window was broken and the windshield shattered, according to Montgomery County police. Three suspects were later arrested.

A separate April 4 shooting at the Kensington Safeway parking garage during a car rally left two people with gunshot wounds.

Neighboring Prince George's County passed its own street takeover ban unanimously in May, making it illegal even to attend such events, according to DC News Now. Penalties there include up to 60 days in jail and fines starting at $1,000.

No date has been set for the full council vote on Bill 27-26.