It’s all the cars’ fault! Progressive Seattle lawmaker who’s pro-defund the police and once condoned looting demands recall of Kias and Hyundais to tackle soaring vehicle theft in city – but refuses to concede soft-on-crime policies are to blame

A Seattle council member who supported calls to defund the police has a new idea to reduce car thefts: ban cars.

Tammy Morales is among a group of progressive lawmakers from Democratic cities who blame automakers Kia and Hyundai for rising car crime and demand they make their products harder to steal.

The Washington state capital launched a lawsuit against the manufacturers last year after videos of car thefts trended on TikTok, and is now calling on federal regulators to enforce a nationwide recall.

But the Socialist leader had little to say about the city’s soft-on-crime policies, which have seen the number of car thefts more than double in the past five years.

“I won’t comment on the motivations of young people other than to say that they are young people and when they are given a challenge, especially on social media, they like to take it on,” she said.

Teen vandals known as the ‘Kia Boys’ gained a following on TikTok after video tutorials showed viewers how to bypass the cars’ security systems

But the cars are increasingly being used as mobile battering rams by thieves targeting stores

The Seattle Police Department has lost about 600 officers since the City Council began defunding the department in 2020.

In that time, car thefts have risen from fewer than 4,000 to last year’s record 8,379.

The cuts began with the riots that swept through the city in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis by a white police officer, riots that Morales is said to have defended.

“What I don’t want to hear is our voters being told to be civil, not reactionary, and being told that looting won’t solve anything,” she said at a council meeting at the time.

“I do wonder why people are so much more bothered by looting than by the knowledge that black people are being murdered all over the country.”

Thefts from the two car brands began to skyrocket the following year after online tutorials on how to bypass the security features went viral.

TikTok videos then showed cars being stolen and driven indiscriminately by joyriders through major Midwestern cities like Milwaukee, Chicago and Columbus.

The vandals behind the viral carjackings, some of whom were as young as 12, called themselves “Kia Boys.”

The car thefts were fueled by a Tik Tok trend where users showed how to steal Kia and Hyundai vehicles that lack basic security features

Four teenagers were killed after a Kia Sportage they allegedly stole crashed (pictured) in Buffalo, New York

The cars are often used as getaway vehicles, but sometimes sustain so much damage that they are left behind at the scene of the raid

Self-proclaimed “Kia Boyz” Ralphe Manuma (left) and Ardrell Davis, both 18, were charged with theft and vehicle crimes in December after using a stolen Hyundai to attack gas stations in the Seattle suburb of Eastgate

The pair held an employee at gunpoint and made him open a till, then assaulted him when he failed to open a second.

According to Seattle police, thefts of Kias have increased 363 percent in 2021 alone, while thefts of Hyundais have increased by a whopping 503 percent.

Tammy Morales has supported police measures on the Seattle City Council, where salaries average $218,000 — another half as much as the national figure

Councilor Morales: ‘I have not heard that these stolen cars are used for burglary’

The trend went national and in 2022, four teenagers, including a 14-year-old mother, were killed after a stolen Kia Sportage crashed in Buffalo, New York.

Two self-described Kia Boyz were charged with theft and vehicle crimes in December after using a stolen Hyundai to attack gas stations in the Seattle suburb of Eastgate.

Ralphe Manuma and Ardrell Davis, both 18, are said to have targeted six garages in one night in September.

In one attack, the pair held an employee at gunpoint and forced him to open a cash register.

When he could not open a second one, one of the suspects hit the employee in the back of the head with a gun, King5.com reported.

Between 2011 and 2021, nearly 10 million Kia and Hyundai cars sold in the US were not equipped with immobilizers and could therefore be easily and primitively started with just a flat-head screwdriver and a USB cable.

The two manufacturers settled a $200 million lawsuit brought by owners last May, promising to install new security software on 8.3 million existing cars, while drivers would pay up to $300 for steering locks and other theft prevention tools.

But that hasn’t stopped Councilmembers Against Car Thefts from Baltimore, New York City, Seattle, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Austin from demanding a total recall.

“The issue resonates beyond just an inconvenience; it traumatizes our communities,” said Baltimore City Council Member Zeke Cohen KomoNews.

“Kia and Hyundai’s failure to install standard theft prevention technology on their vehicles has left our cities scrambling to clean up the mess.”

In a statement to DailyMail.com earlier this month, a Hyundai spokesperson said the company is taking measures to reduce theft, including making immobilizers standard on all vehicles produced from November 2021.

“Thieves discovered a specific method to bypass the vehicles’ security features and subsequently documented and promoted their exploits on TikTok and other social media channels,” they said.

According to Seattle police, thefts of Kias have increased 363 percent in 2021 alone, while thefts of Hyundais have increased by a whopping 503 percent.

And they are increasingly being used as mobile, disposable battering rams for a wave of thieves targeting shops in the seaside city.

“I have not heard of these stolen cars being used for destruction,” Councilor Morales said.

‘The resolution and the lawsuit are actually about corporate social responsibility.

“It’s young people who can get to these cars very easily and steal them.”

Democrats hold all nine seats on the Seattle City Council, where salaries average $218,000 — again half the national figure.

Morales, previously the city’s human rights commissioner, is the longest-serving member since he was elected in 2019.

But her latest comments were not well-received by residents of a city plagued by homeless drug users and experiencing its highest homicide rate in three decades.

Baltimore City Councilman Zeke Cohen also supported the recall: “The inability of Kia and Hyundai to install industry-standard theft prevention technology on their cars has left our cities scrambling to clean up the mess,” he said.

‘Shall we now concentrate on arresting and imprisoning the thieves? KIA could be worried about their own car problems,” someone on X tweeted.

“Use tax dollars to sue a car company for damage done by criminals and do nothing about the criminals because it’s corporate greed that causes teenagers to steal cars? Is that correct?’ asked another.

“Morales is an enabler for all car thieves and doesn’t care about the victims,” a third wrote.

‘She wants to punish Kia/Hyundai, not the real thieves. She’s a disgrace.’