Global Courant
Large crowds gathering at illegal street takeovers in Alameda County could face prison sentences or fines of up to $1,000 under a proposed new law that has raised concerns among First Amendment watchdogs who worry it’s too broad and anyone can penalized who is caught near a street race.
Alameda County joins several neighboring San Francisco Bay Area municipalities in tackling the growing problem of street takeovers and crowds gathering to watch dangerous car stunts. In addition to the fine, offenders can be sentenced to up to three months in prison. The provincial board of supervisors advanced the ordinance 4 to 1 at first reading and is expected to hold a final vote on July 11.
Cities in Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma counties have all enacted similar ordinances, according to Tona Henninger, chief of staff at the office of Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley.
Miley filed the motion for the new law, saying a sideshow activity — the term for events where people take over intersections to perform dangerous stunts — has escalated in recent years in the unincorporated parts of the county.
“I know the public is painfully aware of the proliferation of sideshow activity that has taken place in other neighboring jurisdictions on highways, on bridges, in broad daylight, and at all hours of the day and night. With hundreds of cars, hundreds of participants,” Miley said.
Street takeover spectators often gather in the middle of intersections to watch motorists perform car stunts. Other times, the frenzy can pour out of the intersection.
In Compton, a mob watching a street takeover broke into a nearby gas station in April. Drivers hit and killed spectators after their cars drove into crowds, while others were fatally shot as they watched takeovers. Alameda County officials are complaining that takeovers have damaged residential areas in the unincorporated parts of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Takeovers can happen in the middle of the night on isolated streets or during the day when other drivers get caught up in the chaos.
Street races and takeovers have been around for decades, but the practice gained immense popularity during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, when city streets had little to no traffic, according to law enforcement officials.
Other jurisdictions in the state have passed similar laws to discourage spectators at street takeovers, including the City of Los Angeles, which has had a law in place since 2001.
Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez co-wrote Alameda County’s proposed ordinance, saying the law would give deputies another tool to break street takeovers. Typically, people from out of county travel to a sideshow because it’s advertised online, Sanchez said. County officials acknowledged some of the concerns of First Amendment advocates, she said.
“This will not stop anyone from reporting on these incidents,” Sanchez said. “This really gives the sheriff’s office a tool to properly address the problem.”
Alameda County Assistant. County Counsel Scott Dickey said the ordinance would give law enforcement the discretion to go after anyone who encourages a sideshow, not necessarily those recording the event or accidentally nearby.
Alameda County public defender Brendon Woods said the word “spectator” in the ordinance is overly broad because the law doesn’t specify how many people are allowed to attend the event.
“When it comes to the constitutionality of this law, I’m concerned,” Woods said. “I think there have been some ordinances passed in cities whose constitutionality has not been challenged. I expect this one to be challenged here in Alameda County.
A spectator must be knowingly present at a sideshow — and within 200 feet of the event — to be eligible for a subpoena or arrest, Alameda County officials said. Officers responding to a sideshow are free to interrupt the event, but critics of the law say sideshow participants are typically already breaking the law by blocking an intersection or driving a vehicle recklessly.
“There are already laws on the books to prevent that kind of activity,” said Mickey Osterreicher, general counsel at the National Press Photographers Assn. He added that citizens who show up to videotape the street takeovers should not be targeted by the law, as they can discourage the illegal events by recording who is taking part.
David Loy, legal director for the First Amendment Coalition, urged the county to reconsider the law, saying it violates someone’s constitutional right for a narrowly tailored purpose and leaves no alternatives for someone to get a sideshow.
“If a government agency says, ‘We promise not to abuse our power,’ there is cause for concern,” Loy said.
