3 weeks before Austin street takeovers, another one was reported
Austin Police Department Chief Joseph Chacon said his officers are already training for the possibility of future street takeovers, so they can better respond to the ones reported over the weekend.
AUSTIN (KXAN)-- Austin Police Department Chief Joseph Chacon said his officers are already training for the possibility of future street takeovers, so they can better respond to the ones reported over the weekend.
But one neighbor said it is already happened before– in his neighborhood– and wonders what happened with that investigation.
On a calm Sunday afternoon in January, the typical traffic of the Loop 360 Bridge turned into stopped traffic and sounds of racing engines.
"A flash mob appeared, probably had 200 to 300 vehicles that took over the entire 360 Bridge area," said Dennis, who lives in the area and wanted to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.
He said the cars completely blocked access to the bridge, taking over the underpass, too.
"Proceeded to do a burnout competition for probably about two hours underneath the bridge," he said.
Dennis said his wife called APD, but he said they did not show up.
In a press conference Tuesday, KXAN asked Chacon if he knew about this takeover report.
"Even I, at the position that I am, which I don't have visibility into everything, have seen this happen in other large cities such as Dallas and Houston," he responded.
Although Chacon did not touch on the Loop 360 report, he said APD used a tip from San Antonio to prepare for possible upcoming ones.
Dennis said he and his wife also reached out to Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis about the incident.
In a statement to KXAN, Ellis said her office turned over the report to APD, and APD informed her it followed up with Dennis and his wife.
She also added city leaders will discuss with APD any possible connections between the street takeovers that happened Saturday and the others her office reported.
“The incident near the Loop 360 bridge reported by our D8 constituents was a threat to public safety, and our office immediately contacted the Austin Police Department on the matter. On Feb. 8, APD contacted Ms. Edwards to inform her a directed patrol had been initiated for the boat ramp area for Sundays within the time period of when she was reporting the crowd gathered. The APD representative also shared a direct contact number to ensure future reports wouldn’t go unaddressed.
Several arrests have been made in connection with this weekend’s illegal racing event. The interim City Manager, Mayor, and City Council will have continuing discussions with APD to assess any relation between the incidents from this weekend and others our office has already reported.”
-Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis, District 8
Dennis believes Saturday's street takeovers could have been prevented.
"Seeing what happened Saturday night in Austin just sent chills up our spines, because that's exactly what happened on that area of Lake Austin at the 360 bridge just three weeks ago," he said.
Dennis said he worries it could happen again, and said he wants to see more arrests from these incidents, as well as increased police funding and staffing.
"Until the city does something and helps enables the police to get out there and do their job, people are just going to keep doing this rampantly, because they're having fun doing it, and they know they can get away with it," he said.