This past weekend saw numerous street takeovers in Seattle, Tukwila and other neighboring cities in Western Washington.

According to the Tukwila Police Department (TPD), a group of “street racers” occupied an intersection near Southcenter Parkway and South 200th Street on Saturday to perform burnouts.

“Last night, officers once again faced a hostile vehicle crowd that fired fireworks and pointed lasers at our officers,” TPD said on social media. “The crowd eventually dispersed.”

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A street takeover – also called a sideshow – is an illegal demonstration of automobile stunts. This typically involves a person or group of people in a vehicle blocking traffic at an intersection or street to do donuts or race. Street takeovers generally attract the attention of large crowds, who film them for social media.

Tukwila police officers expressed their gratitude to those involved in the recent street takeovers who posted on social media that they committed the illegal act.

“We would like to thank those who not only filmed themselves committing these acts, but also posted said video on social media for us,” TPD said. “It makes it much easier for us to follow up on criminal complaints and traffic reports. Thanks also (for the same reason) to the people with the very distinctive cars (e.g. older black Mustang with red front bumper, silver Infinity with black front end, etc.).”

The night before, Friday, TPD had to respond to another street takeover. The group involved in Friday’s side event allegedly acted aggressively toward responding officers, prompting Tukwila police to request help from neighboring departments to help disperse the crowd.

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“Two nights in a row we had unwelcome guests in the form of ‘street racers’ on the south end of town closing an intersection and causing burnouts,” Tukwila police wrote on social media. “The incident could be summed up as an unacceptable waste of time and resources that multiple jurisdictions need to address.” Thank you to our partner agencies who responded to help.”

Street takeovers in Seattle

A group took over an intersection in downtown Seattle early Sunday morning, marking three days in a row of street takeovers in the area.

The Seattle Police Department (SPD) reported that a group of approximately 50 people gathered at the intersection of Third Avenue and Clay Street to watch numerous cars perform donuts and other dangerous stunts. According to a witness, the crowd appeared to be much larger.

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“There were at least 100 to 150 in the area, but there were maybe only 10 or 11 different cars involved,” Tim Brooks, a witness to the takeover, told KIRO 7.

According to the SPD, the crowd even set up barricades with Lime scooters and traffic cones to prevent the police from intervening. According to KIRO 7, the crowd continually attempted to provoke officers into a confrontation, including by throwing fireworks at officers and patrol cars. One man even jumped onto the hood of a patrol car.

Due to the hostility of the crowd and the limited number of patrol officers, the responding SPD officers were forced to retreat. At the time of this reporting, no arrests have been announced following the Seattle incident.

Contributor: KIRO 7

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and email him here.