Wednesday, 12 June 2024

San Francisco/Oakland Sideshows Out of Control, Police Refuse to Intervene


San Francisco's Bay Area is transformed into Mad Max dystopia as thousands of jeering fans descend on back-to-back sideshows

Acrid smoke is greeting San Franciscans on their way into work this morning after another terrifying night of sideshows took Oakland and the waterfront.

Police refused to intervene and not a single arrest was made among the thousands who risked their lives as cars tore round their city centers in what has become a routine occurrence.

Onlookers were sent flying as cars plowed into them at one event in Oakland, and a torched Chevy provided a grisly centerpiece to the Embarcadero spectacle as tire smoke reduced visibility to near zero.

'We are on our own here,' tweeted one resident. 'Why do we pay taxes again?'

A torched Chevy provided a grisly centerpiece to the sideshow at Embarcadaro

A torched Chevy provided a grisly centerpiece to the sideshow at Embarcadero

Hundreds of hooded youths descended on the intersection of Grand and Lake Park Avenue in Oakland in the early hours of Sunday morning to see dozens of drivers who had assembled.

Two circling cars are seen smashing into each other in one grisly video before a crowd of onlookers rushes in to jump on their hoods.

Seconds later they are sent flying as one of the cars accelerates at speed, flinging them onto the street as it disappears out of frame.

Residents of the waterfront leaned out of their balconies to film the chaos unfolding in the streets of Embarcadero which was so crowded that some attendees had to stand on the roofs of their own cars to see the action.

Police were called to what they described an 'active exhibition of stunt driving' in Embarcadero and Washington streets at around 2.10am.

But they sat on the sidelines as the waterfront area was transformed into an apocalyptic scene of smoke, fire, lasers, fireworks and squealing tires.

'This is well outside the control of SFPD,' wrote one horrified observer. 'This requires City Leaders to find additional resources and support our troops on the ground.'

'SFPD when I call says 'We can't arrest them all!',' added another.

'OK, I say. How about arrest a dozen or so? Impound the cars. No? OK, arrest 3 or 4. One? Can you arrest even one? I'm an old man and I could arrest one.'

Fireworks, smoke, and lasers reduced visibility to near zero as the cars hurtled past

Fireworks, smoke, and lasers reduced visibility to near zero as the cars hurtled past

Spectators were sent flying after trying to attack a driver who then accelerated at speed

Spectators were sent flying after trying to attack a driver who then accelerated at speed

A Chevy Camaro which broke down in front of the of Pier 1 building was set on fire as cheering spectators leapt on top.

Vehicles and spectators melted away as police eventually arrived with reinforcements but by 3am the action had moved to the intersection of Valencia and Cesar Chavez streets in the Mission District where passengers clung to the vehicles as their drivers struggled maintain control.

A motorist was beaten and hauled out of his car which was then stolen when he accidentally drove into an area taken over for a sideshow in Menlo Park in April.

Video showed him apologizing to a fellow spectator, who proceeds to pull a mask over his face and force him out of the car before driving off and pulling 'donuts'.

More events were reported in Oakland at points Grand Avenue before Sunday night was over but again no arrests were reported.

More than 30 sideshows were reported last July 4 in Oakland, and residents fear the phenomenon will only accelerate as the summer proceeds.

'Looks like these are starting to come together with a degree of sophistication now,' wrote one.

'When your mayor and the police can't maintain law and order you call in the National Guard,' added another.

Footage shows motorists doing donuts and shooting fireworks off a popular bridge in Oakland. The video was filmed from the middle of the Bay Bridge around 3:15am PT, with hundreds of spectators seen looking on

Motorists doing donuts and shooting fireworks off the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.  On the middle of the Bay Bridge around 3:15am Pacific Time, with hundreds of spectators looking on

The event was part of a string of 'sideshows' that sprouted across the Bay Area starting around 11 pm, including this one in nearby Mountain View that saw a female spectator break her ankle after being struck by a spinning car. Cops are investigating the incident

The event was part of a string of 'sideshows' that sprouted across the Bay Area starting around 11 pm, including this one in nearby Mountain View that saw a female spectator break her ankle after being struck by a spinning car. 

Video from the bridge, meanwhile, shows hundreds of people gathered as the cars spins in circles, coming dangerously close to spectators

On the bridge, meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered as the cars spun in circles, coming dangerously close to spectators

In those clips, no one appeared to be hit - though at points, participating cars looked to come close

Participating cars came close to hitting spectators

One person was seen waving the Palestinian flag as smoke from the burnouts billowed through the air

One person was seen waving the Palestinian flag as smoke from the burnouts billowed through the air

The bridge was blocked for nearly 20 minutes, bringing traffic to a halt as fireworks went off

The bridge was blocked for nearly 20 minutes, bringing traffic to a halt as fireworks went off

In one snippet, a young motorist (not pictured) appeared to have his car stolen by some other revelers after he hit reportedly one of their vehicles doing the dangerous stunts

A young motorist had his car stolen by some other revelers after he hit one of their vehicles doing the dangerous stunts

As if writing, no reports of an automotive theft were immediately aired

Carjacking is endemic in the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area

Word of the woman being injured by a wayward car were confirmed by the police force in neighboring Mountain View, some 30 miles south

A woman was injured by a wayward car in neighboring Mountain View, some 30 miles south of San Francisco

There, the 20-year-old from Pittsburg sustained a broken ankle after being struck, cops said - pegging the person as part of a group gathered at Middlefield Road and Bernardo Avenue (pictured)

The 20-year-old from Pittsburg, California, sustained a broken ankle after being struck

The group, footage from the site shows, appeared to be just as giant as the one on the bridge, but convened about four hours earlier, around 11:30pm

The crowd was just as large as the one on the Bay Bridge

Video shows spectators there leaping out of the way of cars spinning at high rates speed, as smoke from fireworks and the burnouts created further chaos

Spectators leaping out of the way of cars spinning at high rates speed, as smoke from fireworks and the burnouts created further chaos

The woman who was hit was not seen on video, but clips continue to circulate of the takeover, which was the third of at least seven so-called sideshows - a term being used by cops to categorize the increasingly common occurrences

There were at least seven sideshows - a term being used by cops to categorize the increasingly common occurrences

The first surfaced around 11pm in Menlo Park (not pictured), a community just north of Mountain View, which is seen here

The first sideshow surfaced around 11pm in Menlo Park, a community just north of Mountain View

here, dozens - if not hundreds - of spectators were reported, seen watching the vehicles as they did donuts close by. The intersection, as was the case with the bridge and the one in Mountain View (pictured(, remained clogged for nearly 20 minutes, cops said

Dozens - if not hundreds - of spectators were reported watching the vehicles as they did donuts close by. The intersection remained clogged for nearly 20 minutes, cops said

Next came the Stanford area, where a sideshow roughly 15 minutes later closed off another crossway for another 15 minutes - this time at the corner of Coyote Hill and Page Mill roads

Next came the Stanford area, where a sideshow roughly 15 minutes later closed off another crossway for another 15 minutes - this time at the corner of Coyote Hill and Page Mill roads

The previously mentioned one at Mountain View was next. Video from that procession - where cops confirmed the woman suffered a broken ankle - is now going viral

Mountain View

Then, more than two hours later, another two sideshows surfaced a few miles up the coast in Oakland, where officials recently passed an ordinance to toughen legal steps it can take against those involved in the street-stopping events. As if writing, it remains unclear if any arrests were made

Two hours later, another two sideshows surfaced a few miles up the coast in Oakland


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