PORTLAND, Ore. — Police across the Portland metro area are preparing for a large-scale street takeover that they believe has been planned for this weekend. The illegal event, which bills itself as an annual competition called the "West Coast Invitational," drew participants from across Oregon, Washington, California and Idaho to Portland last summer and may have involved as many as 1,000 drivers and spectators, according to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB).
"We anticipate this to be a significant event this weekend here in Portland," PPB Chief Bob Day said at a Thursday press conference with other metro area law enforcement leaders. "Obviously, it involves vehicles so it could go to other jurisdictions."
Day and others at the news conference said they all planned to pool their resources and deploy extra patrols through the weekend to respond. They declined to discuss specific tactics or information about where the takeover could be held, but PPB Lt. Chadd Stensgaard noted that Northeast Portland streets like Marine Drive, 122nd Avenue, 158th Avenue and Airport Way have historically been popular takeover sites because they offer wide-open stretches of road.
Watch the full news conference:
Portland has been dealing with a rise in street takeover incidents in recent years, a trend that Stensgaard blamed on the rising popularity of the events on social media.
"The people that participate are doing it for social media likes, it's to increase their influence or status, to get sponsors on social media platforms and to make money," he said.
The incidents often cause traffic backups, and some have led to injuries and fatalities from either the cars themselves or guns brought to the events. Last year there were two shootings, one homicide and one fatal car crash associated with street takeovers, Stensgaard said, along with disruptions to emergency services.
"There is a degree of violence associated with these events, in addition to just really poor driving behavior," Day said.
Oregon passed legislation last year to crack down on street racing and takeovers by increasing the penalties for reckless driving and organizing takeovers, giving police the ability to seize cars involved in the incidents. Stensgaard and others emphasized the enhanced penalties at the news conference, warning any would-be participants to rethink their plans.
Spectating alone isn't illegal, Stensgaard said, but any driver participation is illegal and any action to help block the road is illegal, and he said Portlanders should steer clear of the event this weekend. Police already know about it, he added, so there's no need for people to call 911 to report the takeover unless they're in direct danger.
"If you stumble across this event, go the other way," he said.
In the past, police have struggled to find ways to safely break up street takeovers due to the large crowds and the atmosphere at the events. PPB has also blamed low police staffing levels.
It's not yet clear whether the new legal penalties are helping to cut down on takeover events. Police did stage a previous multi-agency intervention during a street takeover in April, resulting in six arrests and 12 cars towed, and Stensgaard said on Thursday that the ability to tow cars from the events has been a major asset, along with a commitment from the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office to work closely with police to prosecute street takeover offenders.
Day and other law enforcement officials said they didn't have specific data on hand to show whether there's been an impact on the frequency of the takeovers since the passage of the new laws, but he added that police do see people begin to disperse when officers arrive at individual incidents.
"The appearance that this is happening unchecked is just unacceptable," Day said. "That's why it's so important that we be out there and we be engaged and that we send a message that this isn't going to be tolerated. Granted, I readily admit that none of us can do it all, none of us can do it all on our own or even all together; if we get 1,000 people or 500 people, whatever the case may be, it's going to be challenging. But we're 100% committed, even if it's just one person at a time and one arrest a time."