Dashcam captures chaotic confrontation between police, car rally suspects
By: -----
Chevy Chase, MD - Two Montgomery County police cruisers were damaged while officers were inside during an illegal car rally and street takeover in Chevy Chase early Sunday morning, the department said Monday in a press release.
A video posted online by police and taken by a cruiser’s dashboard camera shows the perspective of one officer who responded to the scene at Connecticut Avenue and East West Highway. There, dozens of people stood in the roadway blocking traffic to allow a car to spin donuts in the intersection. Later, while surrounded by the spectators who were filming, jumping and dancing in front of the vehicle, the cruiser’s rear window and windshield were smashed while the officer was inside.
County investigators are asking the public for help identifying the suspects in the video, some of whom were wearing masks. No arrests were made.
The Chevy Chase rally was one of eight that the Maryland Car Rally Task Force responded to and monitored across the state Saturday night into early Sunday morning, Maryland State Police said Sunday in a press release.
“High visibility enforcement and patrols were conducted throughout the region, preventing crowds of up to 300 participants engaging in exhibition driving, disorderly behavior, and roadway shutdowns,” state police said in the release. An intersection of Fenton Street in downtown Silver Spring was also targeted for patrol.
County officers responded to the Chevy Chase car rally at around 12:39 a.m. Sunday, after they were notified that a large group of vehicles “linked to takeover activity” was making its way from Prince George’s County to downtown Silver Spring, the release said.
Officers initially monitored the group, police said, and closed intersections the group traveled through on their way through Silver Spring. The vehicles eventually traveled to the intersection of East West Highway and Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase and then proceeded to block traffic and drive donuts in the middle of the roadway.
The video shared Monday by county police shows a chaotic scene at the intersection that was captured by the dashboard camera. In the footage, lines of traffic can be seen at all four sides of the intersection, which were blocked by stopped cars and people standing and running around in the roadway. Behind them, a car performed donuts in the center of the intersection.
When officers arrived at the intersection, spectators, now considered suspects by police, walked in front of the police cruiser filming the incident to prevent it from moving into the intersection where a car was performing donuts, according to the video.
The group can be seen standing in front of the car while the cruiser’s blue and red lights flashed on them. Several of the people were holding up their phones to film the cruiser and others held camcorders.
Several times throughout the video, the suspects stood in front of the cruiser while yelling and filming the interaction, raising a middle finger and dancing in front of the vehicle to the noise of sirens.
Early into the incident, one suspect set off a fire extinguisher and sprayed the contents into the air in front of the cruiser, obstructing the view from inside, according to the video. As the cruiser navigated around the scene, the video shows the suspects jumping and running in front of the vehicle.
Several times throughout the video the sounds of smashing glass and pounding on the cruiser can be heard.
“Officers stay in your cars,” a voice said over the radio.
No officers were injured in the incident, police said Monday. Two marked cruisers were damaged, one of which sustained damage to the rear window and front windshield. It is unclear what damage the second cruiser sustained based on the video and the press release.