TUKWILA, Wash. — A new video shows Tukwila police approaching a group involved in a “street takeover” before the suspects run off.
The video shows a group of street racers taking over the intersection at Southcenter Parkway and South 200th Street on October 26th to do burnouts.
“There is probably 100 or so people here, cars doing donuts,” said one officer on his radio.
When officers first arrive to the scene, it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference. The cars continue to do donuts and a man dances while hitting the top of a police car.
Eventually, after several warnings, the people in the crowd run off and the cars speed away.
A police report obtained by KIRO 7 Thursday said the investigation was still active.
That same weekend, another street takeover took place in Downtown Seattle.
Those on the scene created barricades using Lime scooters and traffic cones, according to police.
As more law enforcement officers and deputies arrived on the scene, police say the crowd tried to bait officers into confrontation, including by throwing fireworks at officers and patrol cars.
In one case, police say a man jumped on the hood of a patrol car.
Seattle police eventually made the decision to pull back, citing the hostility of the crowd and the limited number of patrol officers, as well as the fact that 911 callers were only reporting traffic crimes.
“Do we go in and escalate, which most likely will happen with that bigger crowd? Or do we sit back and let it dissipate itself?” said Jim Fuda, Executive Director of Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound.
No arrests have been made after the Seattle incident so far.
Fuda, who spent 33 years with the King County Sheriff’s Office, said that’s one of the issues.
“They feel that they can get away with it,” he said.
He said stopping street takeovers will require more officers. So does following up to track suspects and make arrests after they’ve fled.
“It’s pretty easy to catch a license plate, but then to identify the person driving with that car, having the manpower, the detective background of that many officers, to be able to put those cases together for a misdemeanor,” he said.
He said stopping these trends of takeovers will take time and accountability, showing suspects that officers can and will make arrests.
“We need more officers,” he said.
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