California police arrest 56 after illegal street takeover where cop car was vandalized: 'Recklessness won’t be tolerated'

A sheriff in southern California issued a warning to those who participate in illegal street-takeovers after 56 people were arrested in relation to the vandalization of a police cruiser.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said that an officer from the Highland Station was on the way to a call when he encountered the "side show" in the street near Highland Avenue and Victoria Avenue.

'This type of recklessness won’t be tolerated.'

The officer ordered the people to disperse, but they instead attacked the police cruiser and vandalized it.

"[S]pectators surrounded the marked Sheriff’s patrol vehicle and proceeded to vandalize the patrol vehicle. The spectators damaged the windshield and body panels of the patrol vehicle," read the statement.

Police said an investigation led them to identify car clubs associated with the takeovers and sideshows. They said the participants would post videos on social media showing them driving stolen cars and displaying firearms during the incidents.

Investigators obtained search warrants, and they were able to obtain a stolen Dodge Hellcat and several stolen firearms.

Police said that they orchestrated "Operation Consequences" in combination with members of numerous law enforcement agencies on June 1. Police busted up a group of people in the car clubs who were using an abandoned property to practice their takeover maneuvers. They arrested people as they tried to flee from the location.

'Arrests will be assured, and cars will be impounded if these street-takeovers continue.'

Of the 56 people arrested, 37 were adults and 19 were juveniles, according to the sheriff's office.

“This type of recklessness won’t be tolerated in San Bernardino County. Arrests will be assured, and cars will be impounded if these street-takeovers continue," said San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus.

Street takeovers and side shows have been a growing problem across the U.S., and some have even turned lethal. In one incident from Jan. 2023, a 13-year-old boy was struck and killed by a motorcycle that was travelling over 100 miles per hour at an illegal street takeover in St. Petersburg, Florida. Police arrested his father for neglect because he had brought the boy to the race.

Adelanto is a city of about 39k residents about two hours northeast of Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert. San Bernardino County is the largest county in the U.S. with over 22k square miles of area.

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