SPRINGFIELD, Va. — Fairfax County Police are deploying a so-called "civil disturbance unit" after an incident over the weekend in Springfield where members of a street takeover swarmed an officer's car.
Also known as bangers, street takeovers usually involve a large crowd gathered to watch people driving recklessly in circles.
At around 3 a.m. on Sunday, an officer patrolling the area tried to stop the scene behind a warehouse in the 6600 block of Electronic Drive in Springfield.
Police released dashcam video of her approaching the crowd, but instead of them dispersing, they began to advance towards the cruiser. Moments later, they began to swarm the vehicle and climb on top of it.
Chief Kevin Davis said the fact they decided to stay and confront police is highly unusual and concerning.
“I believe we narrowly escaped a line of duty death scenario,” Davis said. “Those were perpetrators wearing masks as cowards trying to open her car's door and I believe they fully intended to drag her out of the car.”
It took dozens of officers rushing to the scene before the large crowd began to disperse. Investigators said the same people were responsible for a similar event in Prince William County.
Dispatch calls revealed an officer was hit as one of the drivers tried to escape. The officer suffered minor injuries.
“I have a busted wrist right now but we're turning around to chase them down,” the officer said during the call. “I was walking up to the officers needing help when the driver turned into me and hit me with his side view mirror and window.”
Davis said they’ll have officers with the civil disturbance unit ready to respond to potential takeovers by gathering leads through online analysts receiving information. The unit aims to avoid having only one officer respond to a similar scene since the recent incident proved flashing lights are no longer enough to stop the group.
The wild scene was captured by numerous videos posted to social media. FCPD shared some of them, which captured people vandalizing the patrol cruiser by trying to remove the license plate and banging on it. In another video, at least one unidentified person could be seen holding an assault-style gun.
FCPD identified four suspects in the incident, including a 17-year-old boy from Arlington. Detectives have obtained petitions for felony hit and run, speed to elude, and no operator’s license.
Carlos Matinez, an 18-year-old from Woodbridge, was charged with reckless driving after a crash involving a cruiser. The following day he was issued a summons for reckless driving.
Dylan Heckard, a 20-year-old from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, is facing abduction, assault on a law enforcement officer, obstruction of justice, and wearing a mask in public.
Another 18-year-old, Ronal Urrea-Hernandez of Baltimore County, is facing felony hit and run, speed to elude, and no operator’s license.
Police said bangers have become a weekly problem across the DMV. In most cases, they’re jumping jurisdictions to avoid being detected.
“They’re doing this for the purpose of utter chaos and disorder,” Davis said. “It’s beyond unacceptable behavior. I think we can’t get used to seeing this every Monday morning. This isn’t boys being boys. They’re criminals.”
Detectives are asking anyone with more information to call them at 703-922-0889. You can also report anonymously to Crime Solver at 1-866-411-TIPS.