Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, shared new video that the police chief says shows how out-of-control a weekend “street takeover” became.
Hundreds of people at a car meetup early Sunday swarmed and damaged police cruisers. Members of the group tried to open the doors of an officer’s cruiser as she radioed for backup, and one officer who was responding was hit by a car.
News4 has new details on how police have started tracking people down and making arrests.
Video that police pulled from social media shows the parking lot pandemonium. Drivers can be seen doing doughnuts as people watch nearby.
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Video from an officer’s dashcam shows the officer’s view as she pulled into an industrial complex near the Mixing Bowl. A herd of people, some wearing masks, surrounded her cruiser.
Cellphone video that police pulled from social media and shared with News4 shows a member of the group trying to rip off the police cruiser’s license plate as the officer sat inside and radioed for help.
“They’ve all got masks on. They’re beating on my cruiser,” she can be heard saying amid banging sounds.
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Police say members of the group tried to open the doors of the officer’s cruiser.
One image that police found on social media shows someone hanging out of a muscle car’s window carrying what police called an assault-style long gun.
Soon, dozens of other officers flooded the area to try to shut down the chaos.
“Multiple people blocking my cruiser, banging on windows,” an officer can be heard saying on his radio.
One officer who responded got out of their cruiser and was hit by a driver who was speeding away.
The commercial lot where the street takeover occurred is now a mess of tire tread marks.
Chief Kevin Davis said that what happened is harmful for the whole county.
“So, what does that mean for residential and business communities? It means you didn't have any cops protecting your neighborhoods, your communities, your businesses because these criminals diverted all of our attention to handle an attack on one of our police officers,” he said.
How police say they found one suspect
Four people have been charged so far, including Dylan Heckard, 20, of Pennsylvania. Police say he was identified because he posted a selfie with a middle finger on social media and police found it.
His charges are serious and include assault on law enforcement and abduction, for allegedly not allowing an officer to move freely and willingly.
A 17-year-old from Arlington also is among those charged.
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Police say these street takeovers happen nearly ever weekend from spring through fall. Some jurisdictions have recently increased penalties for related charges.
Fairfax County says it’s tracking where the takeovers are planned so they can stop them before they start, and will have a specific unit dedicated to stopping them. They will use a helicopter to track down people who try to speed away.
“This is not going to happen again in Fairfax County,” Davis said.
