Cops shift tactics for street takeovers as the bloody events tormenting LA neighborhoods worsen

Police are making more arrests at the out-of-control Los Angeles street takeovers as cops attempt to gain control of the ongoing scourge.

From the start of the year through July 11, cops made 249 arrests at the chaotic takeovers — including 11 felony collars, Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Mike Bland exclusively told The Post.

“These felonies were largely as a result of violence that occurred,” he said. “These takeovers are crime scenes.”

This year’s arrest figures put the department on pace to exceed its numbers from 2025, when police made 292 arrests over the course of the entire year, including 24 felony collars.

Bland described most takeover participants as teenagers — adding that the action heats up in the summer when the weather is warm and schools are out.  

Just last weekend, a pair of takeovers in the San Ferando Valley resulted in tragic consequences for young people there, Bland said.

Two spectators were seriously injured when a car rammed into them Sunday night near Plummer and Haskell Avenue in North Hills, with wild video from the scene capturing the moment a spinning black sedan slammed into the pair.

About 4 miles away, on Parthenia Street and Wilbur Avenue in Northridge, another takeover crash injured spectators that same night. Shocking video of the incident showed a white vehicle ramming the crowd, striking pedestrians and a cyclist.

Police are investigating both incidents, with the North Hills collision being probed as a hit-and-run.

In a move meant to intensify the fight against these illegal events, the LAPD last month shifted its anti-takeover efforts away from a central office and into the department’s regional traffic divisions.

The change was made because LAPD officials believe the department can better prevent takeovers by bringing enforcement to the neighborhoods where they occur, Bland said.

Takeovers happen all over the city, but are especially concentrated in the Valley, South LA and downtown, where Mayor Karen Bass in March ordered more patrols after a wild takeover mob stormed a luxury apartment complex.  

Organized on social media and often occurring with little notice, the illegal gatherings draw hundreds of cars and gain momentum in the summer months.

Many participants are members of street gangs, while others belong to car clubs that have ventured into criminal enterprise. Cops say the gangs and clubs engage in car theft, human trafficking, gun running, drug dealing and smuggling.

Some of the car clubs employ a hierarchy like that of motorcycle gangs, with dues-paying members from different chapters in different states. Many come from towns along the Interstate 10 freeway, in the corridor running from Los Angeles to New Orleans.

Cops track the takeovers by monitoring activity on social media. Police use drones and helicopters to identify the people and vehicles involved, especially in cases where crowds are thick.

Gunplay is also common at takeovers. In 2025, cops seized 18 firearms at the events. Early last Monday morning, a spectator at a takeover in Boyle Heights was shot twice by a gunman who remains at large.

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell warned against the gatherings.

“They attract gang members, stolen vehicles, gunfire, and reckless driving,” McDonnell said in a video posted online Monday. “Innocent people have been shot, seriously injured, and killed.”

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