A police officer was attempting to stop an illegal car rally in Maryland early Sunday morning when participants smashed the windows of his cruiser.
Just seconds after the Montgomery County officer pulled his cruiser up to an intersection in Chevy Chase and called for backup, dashboard camera video shows a driver doing doughnuts as masked individuals attacked the officer’s car, obstructing the officer’s vision by spraying what appears to be a fire extinguisher.
A Maryland Department of Transportation camera showed the scene from overhead. At one point, a person jumped on top of the cruiser.
“This thing keeps evolving, and before when the police showed up, they would run and run off to another area,” Assistant Chief of Police Darren Francke said. “Now, they feel emboldened for whatever reason, and again, they’re trying to disrupt the police.”
Earlier that night, the same group gathered in Bowie before going to Camp Springs, Silver Spring, Upper Marlboro and Chevy Chase, according to Maryland State Police. In Camp Springs, troopers arrested 19-year-old Jossel Maldonado Sanabria and his 17-year-old passenger for possession of a firearm.
Meeting locations are announced on social media, and then dozens of drivers go from town to town, Francke said.
“They’re taking over the intersection from multiple directions so that they can then do doughnuts and record themselves,” he said.
Dash cam video appears to show one man apparently advertising his video by holding a sign that reads “shot by Frenchie.”
Under the law, police can do very little. They can’t pursue the drivers, so Montgomery County police hope video will catch the eyes of lawmakers in Annapolis.
“Our appeal is let’s look at this problem and before it becomes a tragedy and you have to attach a name to it, let’s do something now,” Francke said.
“When anyone sees this video, they’re gonna say, ‘This is not acceptable. How can this be allowed,’” he said.
Under the law, police do not have the right to impound a vehicle and take it away from the owner for a period of time. A penalty like that could put a stop to the behavior, Francke said.
Get the D.C. area’s top news and weather delivered to your inbox every morning. Sign up for First & 4Most, our free newsletter.
from Local – NBC4 Washington https://ift.tt/A8jDBei
0 Comments