On a night when Oakland’s police chief said the department was stretched beyond capacity, police said 300 cars were involved in a July 4 sideshow that critically injured one man when he was hit by one of the cars.
Police said they were too busy with shootings and sideshows Sunday to enforce fireworks restrictions in the city. One person died and six others were wounded in gun violence on the holiday, according to officials.
City Councilmember Noel Gallo told KCBS Radio on Tuesday that he believes the sideshow could’ve been controlled with laws allowing for stronger penalties.
Gallo said it worked once before.
"We also tried that, if I caught you in the sideshow, … I would get to keep your car," Gallo recalled. "Not just impound your car, or tell you not to do it again or feel sorry for you, but be able to take your car, and the car belongs to us."
The California State Assembly raised constitutional questions about the initiative, Gallo said, but he’s ready to return to hard-line enforcement after attempting to organize a sideshow away from Oakland neighborhoods.
"We tried before, not only working with (Sonoma Raceway and the Oakland Coliseum) … where we could organize the opportunity for a sideshow under control," Gallo said.
Gallo, who voted last month to direct $18 million from Mayor Libby Schaaf’s proposed police budget to the city’s Department of Violence Prevention and other social services, said law enforcement must cooperate with fellow agencies to clamp down on sideshows.
"(At) one time when we had put an end to some of that, they were working together," Gallo said. "But right now, they’re not."
Sideshow drivers currently can face fines up to $1,000 and prison sentences lasting as long as 90 days.
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