A massive day-long sideshow in East Oakland on Sunday April 14th took over intersections, left people injured, led to a gunpoint carjacking of a delivery truck, and the subsequent torching of the truck and a bus. Even by Oakland sideshow standards, this was notable. It caused a momentary uproar and promises to address the issue. But after several weeks of quiet, what has been accomplished?

Driver burning rubber at the sideshow at 101st and Foothill

For the uninitiated, a sideshow is when groups of cars and people take over city streets so that cars can spin donuts in the middle. It has been going on in Oakland for many years. They usually happen on Friday or Saturday nights, or Sunday afternoons and evenings. There are frequently fights, people getting hit by cars, and gunshots that are fired.

Cops typically take a long time to come, if they come at all, because they’re understaffed and dealing with other stuff.

We plan on doing a primer post on sideshows later, but for now, this vlog (yes, there are vlogs for sideshows) from that day should suffice. Skip to 1:40 and on:

Where the Sideshow Started

The sideshow began in the afternoon and made its way to 101st and MacArthur Boulevard in East Oakland. The Sideshow Task Force, which is made up of officers from OPD and other agencies, went to the sideshow. The end result:

214 vehicles were cited

27 vehicles were towed

Several firearms were recovered

Sideshow Task Force officers detaining people from a car that had a gun in it after the sideshow crowd was blocked in by police

A Drop in the Bucket

But, with hundreds of cars and twice as many people in them, that only made a dent. It also seemed that regular cops were busy with two separate shootings in East Oakland:

-2:50pm: one man shot in the 2700 block of Havenscourt Blvd

-4:16pm: two men shot at 98th & C St

The Show Goes On

With the officers all probably tied up, the sideshow continued for hours on to several other spots in East Oakland like 90th and Bancroft.

It wouldn’t be a true Oakland sideshow if people weren’t being hit by cars spinning out. Here are some of the clips of people getting hit that we were able to find from that day:

Compilation of people being hit by sideshow cars from April 14th

42nd and International

Eventually, everyone made it to 42nd and International.

The massive sideshow went on for hours without police coming. It went from daylight until night-time. Over there, a delivery truck for Smart & Final and a brand-new AC Transit bus got stuck. The truck driver tried to maneuver around the crowd, which made some of the crowd members mad. So they forced him out of the truck at gunpoint. The trucker driver gave an interview to ABC7:

“I thought I was going to die. I have a kid and I thought I’m not going to see my kid anymore.”

The crowd then looted the truck, set it on fire, and also lit the bus behind it on fire. Eventually, the crowd, after a full day of sideshow, fizzled out and it all ended. View some of the shenanigans:

The Response

The sideshow got a fair amount of news coverage due to the notable-even-for-Oakland level of destruction and violence at 42nd and International. Here’s what happened after the coverage:

The City Council unanimously voted to sponsor Assembly Bill 410, which was drafted by Assembly Member Nazarian down in Los Angeles. The bill would allow police to tow spectators’ vehicles for 30 days (previously only the ones doing donuts could be towed that long), would impose misdemeanor charges on all participants, and would make subsequent convictions felonies

OPD ramped up staffing specifically for sideshow deterrence in the following weekends

Charred remains of an AC Transit bus at 42nd and International

After a Stalled Sideshow Assembly Bill, What’s Next?

Assembly Bill 410, which would have allowed police to tow spectators’ vehicles for 30 days and impose greater penalties on people involved in sideshow, was set aside to make changes and may not move forward until next year. This would have served as a powerful tool for police since spectators, who are crucial for the formation of sideshows, would be much more likely to be deterred from attending sideshows due to the potential of a 30-day tow for their vehicles. The difference between the cost of a tow for one day and 30 days can be upwards of three thousand dollars after tow and storage fees.

With the stalled bill, what will city officials be doing regarding sideshow now, if anything? Will it be ignored now that weeks have passed and the public spotlight is off of Oakland? Will East Oakland residents be ignored and left to deal with the nuisance and mess that sideshows bring?

Vehicles being towed by Oakland Police at a previous sideshow in 2018

Involvement of City Officials

It is a bit interesting to note that no Oakland Councilmembers assisted with the drafting or introduction of Assembly Bill 410. The bill had already existed for two months after being introduced in February, but was not sponsored by Oakland Councilmembers until after the 42nd and International carjacking and arson acts. Although Los Angeles has been experiencing its share of sideshows, we haven’t seen any reports suggesting violence or a level of destruction anywhere near Oakland’s. Yet it was enough for them to draft and introduce a statewide bill.

Councilmember Noel Gallo

Councilmember Noel Gallo went to Sacramento to support the bill. He says his district is a sideshow favorite for intersections to take over, such as both 42nd and High Streets on International, as well as 42nd Ave at the 880 Freeway On-Ramp.

Before heading out to Sacramento, Gallo had not offered much for sideshow abatement in recent years beyond tough talk. For this past sideshow, he had some more tough talk for the media, with some of it directed at OPD:

“I am paying their salaries and to protect my neighborhoods and they need to deliver”

Noel Gallo

Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas’s Thoughts

Additionally, at least one councilmember, Nikki Fortunato Bas, expressed concern at a Council Meeting about imposing criminal sanctions on sideshow participants versus seeking ways to provide outlets for their time and energy.

Nikki Fortunato Bas

Moves by Other Cities

Other cities that have been encountering sideshow recently have taken steps to stop it.

Places in Contra Costa County like Concord began installing raised bumps at common sideshow spots, which would make it difficult for vehicles to do donuts there. San Jose, a city that has faced a sharp increase in sideshow frequency, has recently passed a bill that made spectating at sideshows illegal. Stockton also has a law that allows spectators to be punished. Oakland officials have yet to offer any solutions to curtail sideshows in Oakland aside from supporting the stalled legislation sideshow bill.

If you have any thoughts, experiences, or insights into sideshows that you’d like to share, leave a comment or message us.