By Steven Symes 
The tide is really starting to turn against illegal street takeovers as the public is sick of their lawless behavior. Another big bust happened recently, this time in Columbus, Ohio as police descended on an event and stopped dozens of cars, arresting a number of people. This is the sort of thing we need to see more and more.
An Amazon truck driver was fired after seemingly participating in a street takeover event.
Even though the aggressive operation was conducted by Columbus police officers back on October 5, a local news station was only able to get footage of it recently. In it, we see a helicopter pinpoint where an illegal meet happens as ground units move in to trap participants.
After announcing on loudspeaker that everyone is under arrest, police throw Stop Sticks to deflate the tires on dozens of vehicles as the drivers panicked and fled. After they had to stop thanks to one or more flats, officers were there to make an arrest. Others seemed to just surrender rather than try getting away.
Ultimately, 186 people were arrested, 46 of them are juveniles, and 69 cars were impounded, one of them being confirmed as stolen. We’d call that a huge bust, the likes of which we’re seeing more often in several states. It helps that Ohio recently passed a tough law against street racing and takeovers, allowing cities and law enforcement agencies to really drop the hammer on violators.
We can only imagine how upset parents were to find out not only their kid was arrested and the vehicle the parents own has been impounded. That means lots of fines, plus some of the parents received a court summons where they undoubtedly will have to answer some uncomfortable questions.
These street takeover events couldn’t be tolerated forever. Quite frankly, we’re surprised the backlash against them wasn’t quicker and more severe, but it does seem the public’s opinion of the events has become increasingly unfavorable.
Image via WBNS 10TV/YouTube
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