Police: Video shows drivers flee after 200-car ‘takeover’ of Simsbury streets

SIMSBURY — Police say 200 drivers took over the streets Friday with “reckless and dangerous behavior,” including evading officers at high speeds.

In a Facebook post, Simsbury police said nearly 200 cars drove through town “revving engines and doing donuts in parking lots” around 11:30 p.m. Friday night.

The “takeover” disrupted town streets, police claimed, as the large group of drivers drove from Windsor, into Bloomfield and down Route 189 into Simsbury.

“This is a new trend.

Groups gather in masses and do ‘takeovers.' These takeovers often occur in intersections where they block the entire intersection and rip donuts. They did not block any intersections in Simsbury that we are aware of,” Simsbury police said in their Facebook statement.

As result of the “reckless and dangerous” driving, police attempted to make two traffic stops. But police dash camera video shows the two drivers sped away from the officers.

“If you see this type of reckless and dangerous behavior, we encourage people to call the police, remaining non-confrontational and away from the activity,” police added.

Under the the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training policy, officers are not supposed to engage in pursuits unless “the officer has reasonable suspicion to believe that the driver or occupant has committed or is attempting to commit a crime of violence, or there are exigent circumstances that warrant the need to apprehend the suspect in a timely manner because of the potential for harm to the public if the apprehension does not occur.”

“Pursuits of fleeing motor vehicles may present a danger to the lives of the public, officers, and those vehicle occupants involved in the pursuit,” according to the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training policy regarding pursuits.