Riots in Tacoma WA now. Police cruiser attacked.

[Coyotesfan97]

We are dangerously close to the edge of P-F’s terms of use, but I will repeat the old saw here that police were originally as much about protecting the criminals from the vigilantes as the other way around back in the day. Or so I’ve heard.

I was struck by the biography of Frank Hamer how many times the Texas Rangers prevented mobs from taking suspects.

[Lost River]

The sad thing is the taxpayers will still write a big check even if it is ruled justified....

I wish someone from the citizens review board was on board.....

Seattle's review board includes previous felons and undocked "community members"

And that is "being judged by a jury of your peers"?

There is not a chance on hell I would continue to work there under those conditions.

[idahojess]

These folks holding these street races and drifting contests on public streets must not be aware that Governor Inslee has prohibited outdoor gatherings with more than 10 people, from a maximum of two households.










^
[sarcasm]

[Borderland]

TL;DR: the crowd surrounded the officer. He attempted to drive out of the crowd, not into it.

Allow me to provide the context that CNN omitted:

Since COVID started, western Washington has seen a lot of misbehavior on the roads: people driving over 100 mph on the interstate, people driving twice the speed limit on city streets, and crowds of "Fast & Furious" fans (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_%26_Furious) gathering to race in the street, make noise, and generally act like children. The first two types of behavior tapered off after coverage from local news outlets and aggressive ticketing by LE.

The third is growing. At first, these people gathered late on weekend nights in warehouse districts away from people. Now they're racing in more populated areas, including a couple of rallies in downtown Seattle, blocking off stretches of highway to race, and racing through residential neighborhoods. This has also gotten a fair amount of coverage from local news outlets, including when these guys do doughnuts while surrounded by a crowd and injure onlookers when a driver loses control. Again, if these folks confined this activity to the edges of town, I doubt that anyone would care.

This crowd chose to block the intersection of Pacific Avenue, the biggest street in downtown Tacoma, and 9th Avenue, one of the biggest arterials in the city. When the police showed up, the crowd surrounded an officer's vehicle and began to beat on it. The officer hit the siren and lights then tried to drive out of the problem. That's where CNN picks up the story.

With any luck, the Tacoma PD can leverage some of the new support for using facial recognition technology to identify and arrest the rioters at the Capitol to sort out this mess. I'd bet that there were any number of outstanding warrants in that entire crowd, and especially among those who chose to assault the officer's vehicle.

But we'll have to wait and see whether what's good for the goose is also good for the gander.


Okie John

I've seen a lot of in-your-face driving around here lately. I was almost hit walking thru a parking lot a few days ago. I waited for the driver to exit the vehicle after she parked for 5 minutes. She never got out. I see people driving on I-5 20-30 over all the time. Never used to see that. I have a bad feeling about this.

[Totem Polar]

These folks holding these street races and drifting contests on public streets must not be aware that Governor Inslee has prohibited outdoor gatherings with more than 10 people, from a maximum of two households.





^
[sarcasm]

I actually LoL’d because this whole thing is so ludicrous.

On the subject of driving like asshats, I saw *a lot* of insane driving by the import tuner crowd during the first major shutdown here March-April-May. Like, 100+mph on arterials marked at 45 (that most take at 50-55). Not highways, arterials connecting neighborhoods. It was pretty out of control for a bit there.

[Guerrero]

Isn't tonight a school night?

[Joe S]

I actually LoL’d because this whole thing is so ludicrous.

On the subject of driving like asshats, I saw *a lot* of insane driving by the import tuner crowd during the first major shutdown here March-April-May. Like, 100+mph on arterials marked at 45 (that most take at 50-55). Not highways, arterials connecting neighborhoods. It was pretty out of control for a bit there.

Since our first lockdown in NYC (late March to July), we've had an explosion of folks riding mopeds and legal/illegal streetbikes, nearly entirely ignoring traffic laws, running reds, occasionally riding on sidewalks, etc.

[Lex Luthier]

Since our first lockdown in NYC (late March to July), we've had an explosion of folks riding mopeds and legal/illegal streetbikes, nearly entirely ignoring traffic laws, running reds, occasionally riding on sidewalks, etc.

Here in Burn-It-To-The-Ground-Zero, we've been seeing much the same. The extreme increase in carjackings is the most risible effect, but there is a huge increase in stolen cars, chases, rolling gunfights, and lots and lots of street races. The typically harsh winter weather has only abated the trend somewhat.

Are any of you elsewhere seeing armed folks committing catalytic converter theft?

[Tabasco]

Here in Burn-It-To-The-Ground-Zero, we've been seeing much the same. The extreme increase in carjackings is the most risible effect, but there is a huge increase in stolen cars, chases, rolling gunfights, and lots and lots of street races. The typically harsh winter weather has only abated the trend somewhat.

Are any of you elsewhere seeing armed folks committing catalytic converter theft?

An acquaintance in the Oakland hills, CA saw a crew or three working to remove his converter. When he yelled at them from his front door, one replied "shut up, bitch", and continued without interruption. Don't know if they were armed or not.

[Dog Guy]

These events have been a problem in CA for years, especially in the Bay area, but also Sacramento and LA. They call the "side shows". They have had bystander injuries and fatalities from loss of control.