The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has seen enough illegal activity on its streets, announcing that law enforcement will begin taking extra steps to stop the street takeovers that have been plaguing the city.
LAPD Detective Ryan Moreno said on Thursday that those participating in or attending illegal street takeovers will have their vehicles impounded for up to 30 days. According to Moreno, the department usually impounds between five and ten cars on a weekend, but warned that if street takeovers continue, that number will go up.
“We really want to stop this from becoming a new trend where they think that they show up and take over a street or a freeway or any part of the city, that they’re just going to be able to do whatever they want,” Moreno said, according to Fox 11.
“Cars will start disappearing really soon,” he added.
The announcement comes after a street takeover last Sunday in L.A.’s Willowbrook neighborhood led to the shooting death of a teenage boy, the Los Angeles Times reported. L.A. County Sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of street racing and a shooting to find the young male unresponsive with apparent gunshot wounds.
On the same night, a separate street takeover just over a mile away led to a mob looting a 7-Eleven store, stealing food, lottery tickets, and tobacco products. The mob was captured on a video that quickly went viral on social media. Police did not reach the store until the looters had left, per the LA Times.
Video shows ‘flash mob’ of looters ransack 7-Eleven in Los Angelespic.twitter.com/39moaiyfCb
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 19, 2022
Street takeovers have also plagued the city’s newly rebuilt $600 million 6th Street Bridge. Last month, the city closed the bridge four times in five days because people continued to use it to perform illegal stunts and record TikTok videos.
At the time, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said the department couldn’t rely on arresting people to stop the trend of illegal activity on the bridge. “We’re not going to arrest our way out of this,” he remarked. “Despite the hundreds of impounds and citations and arrests, we still see the proliferation of this. So I’m asking for the public’s help and support and assistance.”