San Jose’s rocky relationship with lowriding is taking an unexpected turn: The city will have a police car turned into a cruise-ready piece of art.
The San José City Council voted Tuesday to donate a Ford Crown Victoria Interceptor to transform it into a lowrider, a customized car with hydraulics that allows it to bounce or descend, hugging the road. The United Lowrider Council of San Jose will convert the car as the San Jose Police Department retires the last of its iconic patrol vehicles used since the late 1990s.
City officials said the move is an important gesture to rebuild a relationship with the lowrider community, which has deep roots in San Jose’s Latino community. Latinos make up 31% of San Jose’s population, according to the 2022 U.S. Census.
“The Crown Vic (car) project is a symbol of the collaboration that is beginning to occur between the United Lowrider Council of San José and our San José Police Department,” Councilman Peter Ortiz told San José Spotlight.
David Polanco, president of the United Lowrider Council of San Jose, said cars have a history of sparking conversations and providing opportunities to dissolve barriers. The council is a collective of nearly 70 local lowrider clubs that host events including back-to-school fundraisers and Halloween “trunk or treats” for kids. Polanco said the collaboration on this effort between his organization, SJPD and the city has been five years in the making.
“As lowriders, we are role models for a lot of these kids,” Polanco said at the meeting. “If we can show that positive interaction between San Jose police and us, it will be a big help.”
The retired police car will be donated to the San Jose Police Historical Society, a subsidiary of the San Jose Police Officers Association. When complete, the lowrider will be displayed as art for the community to see.
A San Jose police spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
San Jose has been a center of lowriding culture since its initial popularity in the 1940s. A cornerstone of lowriding culture is cruising, banned in the city for nearly four decades until authorities overturned the “blatantly racist” ban on last year, a move the police opposed.
San Jose put on its first annual Lowrider Day on September 1, lining East Santa Clara Street in front of San Jose City Hall with dozens of customized cars, live music and cultural celebrations.
The budding relationship between lowriders and the city’s police hit a roadblock earlier this year on Cinco de Mayo, when police, in coordination with Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol, closed several freeway ramps that They essentially isolated the east side of the city from downtown festivities. that included the cruise. Local and state officials denounced police practices as racist.
Councilors Ortiz, Omar Torres, Sergio Jiménez and Domingo Candelas responded to the Cinco de Mayo blockade with a memo calling for better communication about road closures near large events. Ortiz said the memo has since led to the formation of a committee between the city, police and the United Lowrider Council of San Jose.
“(The committee should) make sure everyone is aware of the festivities, get feedback from the police, get feedback from the lowriders to hopefully have a productive and peaceful Cinco de Mayo celebration,” Ortiz told San José Spotlight.
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2023-09-20 23:54:32
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