LAPD increases downtown patrols after recent street takeover
The Los Angeles Police Department will increase its patrols in downtown LA after a street takeover spilled into a luxury apartment complex last weekend.
LAPD's elevated presence in downtown includes patrol cars, horse patrols, foot patrols and undercover units.
"This weekend's incident in the Figueroa and LA Live corridor was extremely disturbing, and the concerns raised by residents, businesses, and visitors are absolutely justified," LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said. "Our message today is simple: the Los Angeles Police Department is fully committed to maintaining safety and stability in this vital part of our City."
Street takeovers have become a fixture of LA County over recent years, with crowds gathering in the middle of intersections as cars perform donuts or other tricks. Hundreds of people often show up at the sideshows, with dozens scattering around the area once police break it up. In some instances, crowds of people who get away from the police loot nearby businesses.
After LAPD broke up the recent downtown incident, a large crowd stormed the Circa LA Apartments, with a handful of employees trying to stop them.
"Here is a message to anyone who thinks they can come Downtown and cause trouble: LAPD will be Downtown in force to arrest you," Mayor Karen Bass said. "What happened at Circa LA Apartments is despicable. And we have zero tolerance for street takeovers. We are fighting, every day, to build back our economy."
Last August, District Attorney Nathan Hochman called for harsher penalties against participants in street takeovers.
"[These drivers] will engage in highly dangerous and often destructive and even potentially deadly actions, gearing their cars around these intersections," Hochman said last August.
Promoters typically organize the takeovers through social media, according to Hochman. In some cases, Hochman said the promoters plan the event at two or three locations in a single night to account for police breaking up the first attempts.
