An Illinois State Police trooper who stumbled upon a car “sideshow” near Chicago’s Goose Island early Sunday got quite a surprise when the crowd of people swarmed his squad car, jumped on the vehicle, and busted its windshield. His dash camera captured it all and we’re going to share it with you.
And we are learning of another big “sideshow” that unfolded in the Loop this morning. A crowd launched fireworks, blocked off streets, and watched souped-up cars spin donuts in the middle of Upper Wacker Drive. We’ll show you videos of that, too. At least one person was arrested for throwing fireworks at officers during this incident.
Fortunately, the trooper was not seriously injured yesterday morning. But a couple of hours later there were at least two other incidents in Chicago—on the northwest and southwest sides—that resulted in Chicago police officers receiving minor injuries from shattered windshield glass.
The trooper was heading west on Division Street around 1:55 a.m. when he arrived at the Chicago River bridge and noticed that the roadway was being blocked by people who had gathered for a “sideshow” — an event promoted on social media where crowds block off streets so drag racers can do donuts in the intersection.
His dashcam video shows what happened next:
Chicago police sent units from two nearby districts to help disperse the crowd, which a supervisor said had grown to about 300 people. Officers said the group threw fireworks at them, too.
“Give these bad guys a f*cking avenue to get out of here,” a Chicago cop said. “That’s all we can do.”
No arrests were announced after the Goose Island incident.
There was a replay in the Loop early on the Fourth of July as a crowd overtook Upper Wacker Drive at Columbus Drive around 3:15 a.m. In this video, a firework explodes on the hood of a CPD squad car:
BREAKING: Crowd of people in the Loop attack Chicago police after some civilian cars do donuts in an intersection. Crowd shoots fireworks and physical hit CPD vehicles. pic.twitter.com/cDTqExvgLz
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) July 4, 2022
Here are some videos of the action from Snapchat:
Once again, Chicago police officers reported that the crowd threw fireworks at them. At least one person was detained for launching fireworks at police. Charges have not yet been announced.
In other sideshow confrontations, crowds of people threw rocks and fireworks at Chicago police officers while others climbed onto occupied CPD squad cars as cops responded to disturbances on the city’s northwest and southwest sides early Sunday. Two officers received minor injuries, and three patrol cars were damaged, according to CPD reports. No arrests were made.
You can read about those incidents in our story from yesterday.
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