Authorities have arrested a man who they suspect of vandalizing a Philadelphia police vehicle two weeks ago – while dressed as a giant banana.
Shane Thomas, 18, was taken into custody Wednesday morning at his Plymouth Township home, police say. As he was being escorted to a police cruiser, Thomas verbally assaulted a group of reporters with a string of profanities.
Thomas is accused of being among hundreds of young adults who gathered for an illegal "car meetup" that turned violent. Police say participants were throwing items and, in one instance, tried to set a police car on fire.
Thomas, who wore a banana costume to the event, was caught on video vandalizing a patrol wagon, Lieutenant Dennis Rosenbaum told reporters. He's now facing charges of aggravated assault on a police officer, criminal conspiracy, risking a catastrophe and riot, according to reports.
The incident happened on September 21. Between 9:30 p.m. Saturday and 4:33 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to at least four locations -- in the Northeast, South Philly, near the airport, and in front of City Hall -- where large groups, ranging in size from 50 to over 200 vehicles, had gathered to watch or participate in illegal street racing, drifting, and other reckless activities.
Meetups are not uncommon on weekends in Philadelphia, but Deputy Commissioner Michael Cram said that investigators believe the actions were in retaliation against police and the work they've done to fight illegal car meets.
"It was just the aggressiveness at some of the locations. Like the incident outside of City Hall was aggressive," Cram said. "They physically went after our officers and they were jumping on our car, they broke the windshield. Out at Bartram Island in Bartram, once again, they jumped on a police car and destroyed the police car, while the officers were in the car."
Some of the meets were more violent than others, and they involved fireworks, car crashes and vandalism. Officials say one officer and one civilian were hurt and are expected to be okay. A number of other officers were attacked, and five police vehicles were damaged, including broken windshields and flattened tires.