PORTLAND, Ore. — Officers made more than 180 traffic stops, arrested more than 20 people, towed over 30 vehicles and issued dozens of citations during a regional operation that targeted an organized illegal street takeover dubbed the "West Coast Invitational," which brought hundreds of drivers and spectators to Portland over the weekend.
The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) announced last week that it would be conducting a large regional mission to shut down illegal street takeovers over the weekend. Gresham police, Vancouver police, Oregon State Police and the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office assisted in the mission.
"As expected, hundreds of people attempted to establish large scale-street takeovers," Portland police reported.
PPB said on Tuesday that they conducted 184 traffic stops, issued 80 citations, arrested 29 and towed 39 vehicles over the three-day weekend.
Here's a look at what happened over the weekend:
Sunday
Sunday's first attempted street takeover, in the intersection of Southeast 2nd Avenue and Morrison Street, was broken up by police shortly before 3:30 p.m. Officers arrested a 17-year-old driver and towed their vehicle, a red 1998 Ford Mustang.
The group then tried to move to other areas, unsuccessfully attempting street takeovers in Southeast Portland and Northeast Portland, before eventually moving out of Portland, where they tried to set up takeovers in Troutdale and Clackamas County. Officers flooded all of those areas and deterred additional takeovers, PPB said.
No additional street takeovers or significant illegal street-racing events were able to take hold the rest of the day due to "high-visibility patrols and proactive policing," PPB said in a news release.
On Sunday, officers made at least 40 traffic stops, wrote 23 citations, towed eight vehicles and arrested four people. Portland police said those numbers could increase as more reports are completed by officers.
Saturday
Participants tried to take over at least six intersections across the city Saturday night, Portland police said. The first attempted takeover of the night occurred at Southeast 10th Avenue and Southeast Ash Street. Officers found and arrested a 19-year-old driver on several felony charges, including 100 counts of recklessly endangering another person and unlawful possession of a firearm. His car was towed and seized. Portland police said the first takeover was broken up in less than 15 minutes.
Some of the other attempted takeovers Saturday night occurred at Northeast 82nd Avenue and Northeast Fremont Street, Southeast Milwaukie Avenue and Powell Boulevard, Northeast Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard and Northeast Columbia Boulevard, and Northeast Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard and Northeast Lombard Street. In each case, Portland police said the takeover was broken up quickly.
Police arrested 17 people Saturday night and towed 21 cars, as well as wrote 37 citations and initiated 81 traffic stops, PPB said Tuesday.
Synaca Hall lives with her elderly mother and children near Northeast 82nd Avenue. She said they're constantly on alert due to the dangerous activity like drag races.
"I was asleep, and my son came and woke me up. And when I came out and looked outside, everybody was just all on the street," Hall said. "They parked all behind my son's car, parked in the driveway. It felt like I was in Vegas."
One driver was arrested after doing donuts near Southeast 10th Avenue and Ash Street. Another was arrested near Northeast 82nd Avenue and Fremont Street, where a man was spinning in the intersection and then fled on foot after officers used spike strips to flatten his tires. They caught him in someone's yard using a K9 unit.
Portland police said they were able to make at least 50 traffic stops, thanks to tips about these street races via social media earlier this week.
Hall said the many arrests this weekend are a relief to people like her who have been disturbed by these takeovers for years.
"I feel like they are on the mend of doing what they are supposed to do as far as cracking down on these takeovers," she said. "It's crazy because these people are taking over these neighborhoods and people getting hurt, people getting hit ... like I said before, you need to be able to sleep."
Friday
During Friday night's street-takeover mission, two people were killed when a police car had tried to pull over hit a power pole, killing the people inside.
Portland police said they cited at least two people Friday for driving without a license and/or insurance. One car, found with a group appearing to be staging a street takeover on Southeast Division Street, was stolen, while another vehicle leaving a street meetup was impounded for driving uninsured.
Police issued 63 traffic stops, wrote 20 citations, arrested eight people and towed 10 vehicles, PPB said Tuesday.
Police prepared before the weekend
Northeast Portland residents reacted with concern last week after the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) announced Thursday that "West Coast Invitational" planned street takeover was expected to bring in drivers and spectators from across the western United States.
"These events are dangerous," PPB Lt. Chadd Stensgaard said during a news conference on Thursday. "These are young, inexperienced drivers that come with high-powered cars. They bring guns to these events."
Ben Mulkey, who lives near one of the popular street racing spots along Northeast 122nd and Fremont Street, said he was concerned that the event could happen in his neighborhood.
"It puts me on edge because my oldest daughter is a driver; my middle kid wants to drive," he said. "That's a lot of people and that's a lot of bodies at an intersection to block traffic."
Mulkey said he was going to warn his kids to be careful this weekend when they left the house.
"Probably in my best interest to just tell them to avoid the area, if there is even a risk, you know?" he said. "Don't go to Airport Way. Don't go to any area where there could potentially be speed racing or circles or whatever the kids are doing these days."
That's the same advice police gave last week, warning Portlanders to turn around and avoid the takeover area rather than trying to push through the traffic.
"If you stumble across this event, go the other way," Stensgaard said.
PPB discovered plans for the upcoming event on social media, and the bureau expected that anywhere from 500 to 1,000 people could attend — similar to the number of participants and spectators that showed up at the same event in Portland last year.
"Associated with this event (last year) was a homicide, two shootings a fatal car crash and a disruption to many emergency services," Stensgaard said.