The Los Angeles Police Department has vowed to increase enforcement of illegal gatherings after recent street takeovers in which people block off streets and perform potentially dangerous car shows, following multiple deaths.
At least six people have died while attending or just being near a street takeover in the last eight months, according to the Los Angeles Times. Most recently, a 14-year-old boy was shot and killed during a takeover in Willowbrook on Aug. 14.
"It's like a warzone," former Compton Councilwoman Barbara Calhoun told the newspaper, noting the skid marks covering the intersection near her home. Another Compton resident, David Castillo, said that last March his car was struck by a car that had been doing doughnuts in the street. The crash caused his daughter, who is 13, to hit her head on a window and dislocate a disc in her spine.
Attendees of the events, who spoke to the LA Times anonymously or semi-anonymously, stood by the takeovers. One attendee known as Dora said, "it's something to look forward to. We're not bothering anyone."
Los Angeles Police Department Detective Ryan Moreno said last Thursday in a press conference that the department will begin cracking down on street takeovers, noting that "We really want to stop this from becoming a new trend where they think they can show up and take over a street, freeway, or any part of the city."
However, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Michael Downing told the LA Times, "If you really have two patrol cars out there, you can't do anything with 200 other cars on the runway. We've had officers attacked. We've had patrol cars crashed into. We've had people get run over while cars are leaving. Our hands are tied by our limited resources, and we can't really deal with the crowds."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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