Oakland Street Takeover Gets Truly Wild

Thus continues the city’s descent into madness.

Oakland, like so many cities in California and elsewhere, is increasingly descending into widespread lawlessness. A great example of how little criminals there respect the law came via a massive street takeover event in the wee hours of May 6.

See the gun-toting street takeover that shocked Memphis here.

According to Oakland Police Department, its helicopter was flying overhead, observing at least 250 cars taking over an intersection. We’ve seen events of this size before, but this still constitutes a huge sideshow or takeover.

As people who were watching the takeover noticed the helicopter, instead of scattering one of them started shooting a green laser at it. This is a method criminals use to confuse the instruments and blind the pilot of the aircraft and is something most departments consider quite serious. Oakland police barely even mentioned it.

In addition, people were shooting off fireworks, another mainstay at these larger street takeovers, which help add to the confusion. Several vehicles were on fire when police arrived and for some reason someone in a Subaru was ramming one of them, a Nissan Z. After hitting the other car a few times, the driver jumped out of the wagon, laughing along with his buddies.

Police say they impounded almost 80 vehicles in the aftermath of the street takeover. But they didn’t say anything about arrests, something which wasn’t mentioned in any local reports about the lawless activity.

Likely, most of the cars impounded were stolen, as were the cars that the takeover crowd lit on fire. What most people seem to not understand is most vehicles used in these events are stolen. That’s why these kids have no problem thrashing them for some thrills. It’s not like they have to pay for the repairs.  

Even if police had arrested anyone involved in this violent, lawless event, it’s not unreasonable to wonder if any of them would’ve spent a minute in jail, let alone faced any long-term consequences through the court system. That right there is the main reason why street takeovers, car thefts, and other crimes are on the rise – these kids know that and they laugh at the lack of consequences.

By Steven Symes

Steven Symes is an accomplished automotive journalist with a passion for all things related to cars. His extensive knowledge and love for the automotive world shine through in his writing, which covers a diverse range of topics.

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