American Motorcyclist June 2018

Teen Death Sparks ATV Park Discussion

Detroit Considers East Side Location

The 2017 Taser-related death of a teen who was riding an ATV illegally on a Detroit street prompted activist Oliver Gantt to initiate an effort to build an ATV park on a vacant parcel of land near Chandler Park in Detroit.

Gantt’s son was a friend of 15-year-old Damon Grimes, who lost control of the ATV he was riding after a Michigan State Police trooper Tasered him during a chase. Grimes crashed into a parked pickup truck and died from his injuries.

“They are just having fun. They aren’t doing stupid things,” Gantt said of ATV riders in an interview with the Detroit Free Press. “I think [the ATV park] would be a good thing.”

The land Gantt is considering for the ATV park is mostly grass, with a few trees and has been the site of illegal dumping.