Police departments in multiple communities are investigating a string of street takeovers that happened across the state this past weekend.
Authorities in Shelton, Milford and North Haven all reported events that impacted their towns Saturday night.
North Haven police said that Universal Drive, which is adjacent to a busy shopping area, was inundated with vehicles and people Saturday night. They say it required the assistance of multiple departments to break it up.
“It’s scary. Very scary,” Sandy Longobardi, of North Haven, said.
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Around 8 p.m. Saturday, North Haven police say more than 1,500 vehicles converged and brought traffic in the area to a standstill.
According to authorities, shoppers were stuck in parking lots while the road was blocked by cars and spectators.
“You can’t go anywhere. You don’t know what they’re up to,” Longobardi said. “Are they destroying things? Are they hurting other people?”
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Police say there were multiple service calls near Universal Driver that were difficult to respond to, including an assault and a medical emergency. Nearby, Interstate 91 was also backed up in both directions as police worked to dissipate the crowd.
The situation required mutual aid from Meriden, Wallingford, Hamden, West Haven, Branford and state police.
Meanwhile, Milford police reported a similar incident on Saturday. They released video on Instagram of people lingering in the area, with some jumping on cars.
They are hoping to identify those people as part of their investigation.
North Haven and Milford weren’t the only targets on Saturday. Shelton police say hundreds of cars, from multiple states, planned a takeover on Research Drive. Police learned about this plan early on and were able to mobilize beforehand and turn those vehicles away.
The street takeover trend has been happening around the state for months and the question is, why?
“Honestly, they just have disregard for the law. They have disregard for public safety,” Quinnipiac University Criminal Justice Assistant Professor Kimberly Przeszlowski said.
Przeszlowski is an expert on how law enforcement has approached street takeovers. She explains that license plate readers are being used, but are sometimes ineffective because people involved in street takeovers often have false plates or none at all.
One way law enforcement is tackling this trend is by using GPS tracking. Przeszlowski said some departments have devices that can be launched at fleeing vehicles. Despite not being able to pursue them, police are still able to track these vehicles.
Przeszlowski said no-pursuit laws and a police shortage are contributing factors that have made street takeovers difficult to control.
“There’s not enough manpower to be able to prevent street takeovers, efficiently and effectively,” she said.
As these incidents happen, people are warned to take precautions and know what to do if isolated.
“I think the best thing to do is kind of stay in place,” Przeszlowski said. “Ultimately call law enforcement.”
