Officials vow to stop dangerous sideshows
Top police official and mayor say participants will be prosecuted
After two large sideshows wreaked havoc this past weekend, Antioch police and Mayor Lamar Thorpe issued a stern warning to participants, promising to use all resources to identify them and ensure they are prosecuted.
“These incidents bring great danger to responding officers, participants and bystanders in the environment as a whole, and let me be clear, violent disruptive behavior will not be tolerated,” interim police Chief Steven Ford said at a news conference Monday at 18th and A streets, where one of two sideshows took place Saturday night.
“As we enter the summer months, we want to remind organizers and participants of sideshows that if you come to Antioch your vehicle will be impounded for 30 days, costing you or your parents $3,000 — and that's only to get the vehicle out,” Thorpe warned. “You will also be issued a citation of $300.”
To deter more trouble, Thorpe said the City Council will consider measures authorizing police to arrest and lock up sideshow spectators for up to six months or fine them as much as 1,000. Pittsburg, Oakland, San Jose, Vallejo and Fairfield have adopted similar measures.
A video widely circulated on social media showed bystanders surrounding and kicking a police vehicle at a downtown intersection as the officer attempted to pursue a participant, police said.
Another sideshow occurred shortly beforehand around 10 p.m. at Lone Tree Way and Bluerock Drive, the same location where a large crowd had gathered less than a year ago. Bystanders threw bottles and other objects at police cars, police said.
The California Highway Patrol pursued two suspects who fled one of the sideshows, taking them into custody in Elk Grove and later booking them in Martinez on suspicion of reckless driving, evading police and assault with a deadly weapon upon a peace officer.
Ford said the police department will take a “zerotolerance approach” to stop the illegal road activities.
“If you think you've gotten away with sideshows in the past, please understand, we will do our research,” he said. “We will come to your home and we will confiscate your vehicles after the sideshow activity.”
Thorpe said he declared Antioch a “no-sideshow zone” last year. “And I'm here to tell you again that we're still not messing around with anyone.”
Since his first warning last May, Thorpe said only two attempts were made to gather for large-scale sideshows and both were “quickly disrupted and cleared.” He credited Lt. Joseph Levy's proactive sideshow enforcement team for that.
But the police department's intelligence gathering efforts have been hampered by an ongoing investigation by the district attorney and FBI, Thorpe noted. Prosecutors in late March said an undetermined number of officers were placed on leave for “a broad range of offenses under investigation involving crimes of moral turpitude.”
“With that, I want to assure the public today that that has been rectified, and has been put to test,” he said, noting another sideshow set for 1:30 a.m. Monday was prevented.
Antioch Police Traffic Unit Sgt. Rob Green said the sideshows typically draw between 50 and 75 cars and up to 200 people while usually only six officers are on patrol. That's why the unit tries to monitor social media outlets and has partnered with nearby agencies for assistance when the sideshows do form.
“I want parents out there that are buying these juveniles these cars that are high-powered — and probably out of their skill range — you guys need to think about that. You're in care, custody and control of these juveniles, and any accidents, any issues, it's going to be, it's going to be on the parents,” he said. “So I ask parents to have accountability for their kids.”
While other nearby communities have made it illegal to watch sideshows, Thorpe said the council had been reluctant to follow suit.
“While we have focused on organizers and participants with cars, we have not necessarily targeted spectators,” he said. “We've done this because we don't want to assume all bystanders are spectators and we don't want to unfairly target youth and young adults.”
Anyone with information about sideshows may call police non-emergency line 925-778-2441 or text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.