What are authorities going to do?
Over the April Fools weekend, a big crowd converged in a downtown Atlanta intersection for a rowdy takeover event. Footage of that event was broadcast out to media, which behaved like it was some rare glimpse even though we can find scores of these videos all over social media. But the big story is people who were in attendance told reporters at Fox 5 Atlanta this summer is going to be huge for street takeover events.
Learn how police are using drones to bust street takeovers here.
During that recent event there was a huge crowd, which at one point mobbed a car that was in the intersection, climbing all over it. We’ve seen this sort of thing at other street takeovers. Violence is common, with shootings, people getting run over, fist fights, and more. These gatherings are anything but innocent fun.
The guys interviewed on camera the day after the downtown Atlanta takeover, faces in full view, bragged to the reporter about how crazy the whole thing was. It’s obvious they don’t fear the cops will figure out who they are and arrest them, even as they threaten that bigger events are coming in the near future.
What we want to know is what are authorities going to do about this? The takeover crowd is full-on challenging law enforcement. This is like telling a guy to show up in front of the saloon at high noon. If police do little to nothing, this kind of thing is going to truly explode, just like these guys threaten.
Other cities have really cracked down on street takeovers. That requires resources, something we hear the Atlanta police lack for reasons we won’t get into. Considering these takeovers are dangerous and a magnet for other crimes like human and drug trafficking, something needs to be done. It remains to be seen what the response will be.
In the meantime, YouTube allows these guys to post videos and brag about breaking the law in Atlanta. We’ve included some as evidence, but be warned they are full of language and other things you don’t want to watch in front of kids or at work.
Source: Fox 5 Atlanta
Images via YouTube