The chaos that overtook parts of St. Louis last weekend -- street takeovers, a ring of fire, at least one flamethrower, shots fired, and hundreds of young people swarming city streets -- is now drawing in outside law enforcement ahead of a busy period downtown.
St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy announced the Missouri State Highway Patrol will assist city police this weekend, as St. Louis hosts the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament through Sunday, bringing tens of thousands of visitors to downtown.
Tracy warned that anyone caught doing a street takeover faces having their car spiked or towed. Parents are also being put on notice: children 17 and under should not go downtown. If juveniles are picked up for causing mayhem, Tracy says they'll be taken to a unification center -- and their parents will be notified and held accountable.
As of now, there have been no arrests from last weekend's disturbances, although Tracy says police have received many calls and tips and do intend to identify those involved.
Tracy characterized the highway patrol partnership as routine, not an emergency measure.
"You've seen on Mardi Gras, you see on these major parades, we work with them on each one of our major highways that go through Saint Louis. This collaboration is nothing out of the ordinary. We will assist each other, and those things are happening collaboratively even before this weekend. So anything that's needed, anything we ask, working with the city and city services as well, we're going to continue to do."
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, who was among the first to suggest deploying the highway patrol, says the agency already has a procedure built for exactly this kind of situation.
"This is actually a program that the patrol started recently, in the last couple of years, where they identify hotspots around the state and sort of surge some manpower to reduce crime on a concentrated basis. So I don't envision it being just like a couple of cruisers on the highways. I think they're going to use their intelligence gathering abilities to identify where they could help reduce these kinds of pop-up slideshows, as they're called, where you have literally hundreds of people taking over a neighborhood."
Hanaway also pointed to a new tool lawmakers are sending to help prosecutors and judges.
"I think the legislature did something really good in the last couple of weeks. They passed the juvenile crime bill that both has greater ability for juveniles to be detained after they commit any violent act -- which hasn't been happening -- and holds parents responsible for some of the conduct of juveniles, which, long term, is going to be the only solution."
Beyond the highway patrol, former St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch says the city's neighbors are ready to help if asked.
"We have something called the Gateway Regional Criminal Interdiction Task Force. That's 26 agencies from St. Charles County and St. Louis County that participate in these enforcement efforts. All the St. Louis County agencies, 150 officers, will get together and do this interdiction task force when they go out. So all they got to do is ask."
Hanaway noted those who'd cause trouble are aware city police are short on officers -- making outside reinforcements more significant.
Hanaway to KMOX: Highway Patrol's surge program designed for this
