Forestry security officer Paul Broad thinks boy racers are just a bunch of mindless thugs with a mob mentality. Mr Broad was pelted with bottles during the aftermath of a boy racer protest at the weekend. Mr Broad, who has worked for Independent Security Consultants Ltd for about three years, was calledto the intersection of State Highway 38 and Goudies Rd on Friday after reports a large group of boy racers had converged on the area. "When I came to the intersection, there were cars parked on both sides of the road. "As I drove past them, within 50m I had three bottles thrown at me and they hurled abuse at me. They're just muppets." Hundreds of protesters caused chaos in Rotorua after the boy racer "park up", which was touted as being a peaceful protest, turned nasty when some of the protesters threw bottles at police. The event was a demonstration against planned legislation to allow cars used in illegal street racing to be seized and crushed. The group of boy racers converged on the Central Mall carpark about 10pm on Friday. After being there an hour the group left with the majority of the crowd heading south of the city. Mr Broad said more than 250 cars were parked along State Highway 38, about 35km southeast of Rotorua. He said three bottles were thrown at his truck and rocks thrown at a police car smashed the window. "When these guys get together they become mindless thugs with a mob mentality. It's not an experience you want regularly. "I've got a lot of respect for cops that do it." Mr Broad said Goudies Rd was a private road and used by many heavy vehicles. "It's just a matter of time before one of these guys is killed. You're looking at a 130-tonne payload on a logging truck and those things don't stop in a hurry. "It becomes a massive safety issue having these guys on this road." Senior Sergeant Denton Grimes of the Rotorua police strategic traffic unit said 31 arrests were made and five cars were impounded after the protest.
