Street chaos: Police battle a weekend of street takeovers in Tukwila, Seattle

This weekend has been a busy one for Tukwila Police and neighboring departments.

On Sunday, Tukwila Police took to Facebook to inform followers of the “street racers” they had experienced over the weekend.

According to Tukwila Police, a group of racers took over an intersection near Southcenter Parkway and South 200th Street to do burnouts.

On Friday, the groups got aggressive with the officers, prompting Tukwila Police to request assistance from neighboring departments to help disperse the crowd.

Once again on Saturday, the group was aggressive, shooting fireworks and shining lasers at officers, Tukwila Police said.

There was no word on whether any officers were injured.

Tukwila Police is planning to use videos shared on social media by those participating to recommend criminal charges and issue citations.

In Seattle, a group took over an intersection in Downtown early Sunday morning.

Police say a group of 50 people gathered at 3rd Avenue and Clay Street to watch numerous cars doing doughnuts in the intersection.

One witness said the crowd appeared much bigger.

“There was at least 100 to 150 in the surrounding area, but there was only maybe 10 or 11 different cars participating,” said Tim Brooks

Those on the scene created barricades using Lime scooters and traffic cones, according to police.

VIDEO: Fireworks thrown at police during street takeover

As more law enforcement officers and deputies arrived on the scene, police say the crowd tried to bait officers into confrontation, including by throwing fireworks at officers and patrol cars.

In one case, police say a man jumped on the hood of a patrol car.

Seattle Police eventually made the decision to pull back, citing the hostility of the crowd and the limited number of patrol officers, as well as the fact that 911 callers were only reporting traffic crimes.

No arrests have been announced after the Seattle incident so far.

We want to thank those who not only filmed themselves committing these acts, but also posted said video to social media for us. It makes the follow up work for criminal charges and traffic citations much easier for us. Also thank you (for the same reason) to the individuals with the very distinctive cars (i.e. older black Mustang with red front bumper, silver Infinity with black front end etc.)

—  Tukwila Police Department

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