Police Seek Help in Identifying Suspects in Illegal Sideshow

Oakland police said today that they’re seeking the public’s help in finding people who injured an officer and engaged in other illegal activity, such as firing guns, during a sideshow in East Oakland early Saturday morning. Police said officers responded to the area of 100th Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard at about 12:40 a.m. on Saturday after they received reports of gunshots and sideshow activity.

One of the responding officers was struck in the face by a bottle that was thrown and suffered several major facial lacerations, according to police. The officer was taken to a local hospital where she underwent emergency surgery, police said. A cinder block was thrown through the window of another officer’s police car, shattering a passenger window and denting the car’s quarter panel, police said.

Alameda County sheriff’s deputies and California Highway Patrol officers responded to the scene and helped Oakland officers to break up the sideshow and issue 22 citations and tow four vehicles, according to police. Oakland police said they’re investigating the incident to identify those who were involved in illegal activity, including the assaults against the officers.

They said they are asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident or captured the assaults on video to contact the Oakland Police Department’s felony assault unit at (510) 238-3426. Oakland police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering a reward up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case. Oakland Police Chief Sean Whent said in a statement, “Identifying and arresting the individuals responsible for this violence is a priority.”

Whent said, “Traditionally, sideshow activity picks up in the summer months and we are working on strategies to help us address this illegal activity. As we are aware and as this recent incident has reminded us, a sideshow is a serious situation that poses a threat to both officers and community safety.”

Sideshows are spontaneous gatherings on local streets and freeways in which participants engage in reckless driving, such as speeding and performing dangerous stunts.

By Bay City News

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