Richmond police bust attempted Bay Area sideshow takeovers from out-of-town cars, as far south as Los Angeles

ByAndrew Morris KGO logo
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Richmond police bust attempted Bay Area sideshow takeovers from out-of-town cars, as far south as Los Angeles
Richmond police say approximately 200 vehicles from as far south as Los Angeles traveled up to the San Francisco Bay Area for sideshows over the weekend. Police in SF, Oakland and Vallejo all worked together to thwart their plans.

RICHMOND, Calif. (KGO) -- The Richmond Police Department said it thwarted a large, coordinated attempt at multiple sideshows from moving into Bay Area cities, along with the help of a team of neighboring police departments.

About 200 vehicles, some driving up from as far south as Los Angeles, traveled up to try and hold the late night sideshows, the Richmond Police Department said on its Facebook page.

The groups of cars had first set their sights on San Francisco, then Oakland, and Vallejo for sideshows, but found law enforcement agencies that were ready and waiting in each city, according to Richmond police.

RELATED: Video shows hundreds defying stay-at-home order for big sideshow in Sacramento

Sideshow organizers ultimately decided that there were too many officers no matter where they went, and told everyone to go home, according to the Richmond police department's Facebook post.

RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Oakland PD warns illegal sideshow participants, speeding drivers not to abuse 'Slow Streets'

The city of San Francisco has been considering extra measures to crack down on sideshows amid COVID-19 shutdowns, which Mayor London Breed said have increased during the coronavirus pandemic.

RELATED: Sideshow crackdown: SF proposes impounding cars for minimum of 2 weeks