Chaotic Austin 'street racing incidents' Saturday night fuel local policing discourse

Austin police responded to multiple "street racing incidents" Saturday night that officials said resulted in one officer getting hurt and several squad cars being damaged, immediately intensifying the political discourse around policing in the city.

Also, a Travis County sheriff's office spokeswoman told the American-Statesman on Sunday that two of its patrol vehicles were damaged after a crowd threw objects at them, shattering windows, and the cars had to be towed.

"Lawbreaking in this manner will result in enforcement and arrest," the Austin Police Department said in a social media post.

Police arrested two people and charged them with evading arrest, according to a statement made Sunday night. In total, police responded to four incidents across the city.

More:Austin police arrest 2 in connection to street racing events, report 4 separate incidents

Officials said the injured officer was treated and released from a hospital but offered no specifics. They described damage to several patrol cars as shattered windows and dents.

There were no reported injuries among the participants.

The incident — which led to viral social media posts — immediately fueled a long-running public debate about policing in Austin, including staffing levels and the effectiveness of officers in combating crime.

The Austin police union seized on the opportunity to blame local politicians for what happened, saying that they "continue to defund, destroy, & demoralize public safety."

State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, followed suit, tweeting his support for police in cities where "they’re undervalued, underpaid and under attack."

Austin-area U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican whose district includes a large swath of the Hill Country, tweeted an apology to police and a criticism of Austin for having "city leaders play games with your contract."

City Council members put a four-year contract agreement on hold and voted to negotiate a one-year term with the Austin Police Association, the union that represents Austin officers, ahead of a citywide vote on police oversight in May.

State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, a Democrat whose district includes western and far southern Travis County, said on social media, "This is a terrible event that happened last night in Austin. We should come together as a community to figure out how to keep this from happening again, how to keep our community safe, and how to enable our law enforcement to respond in a quick and effective manner."

More:Austin to negotiate one-year extension on police contract ahead of May vote on oversight

Videos on social media show a group of people blocking traffic at South Lamar Boulevard and Barton Springs Road in South Austin between 9 and 10 p.m. Cars can be seen doing doughnuts in the intersection as fireworks explode.

A video on Reddit shows another intersection where a truck drives through a fire, and despite an explosion, the truck appears undamaged.

Another video shows a group of people moving toward an Austin police squad car as it reverses, then shooting a firework on the vehicle that explodes on the front windshield.

Dallas Morning News reporter Allie Morris tweeted that about 12 police vehicles sped through the intersection and then left about 30 minutes after the intersection was blocked off. Police returned a few minutes later and surrounded the intersection, Morris said.

Travis County sheriff's spokeswoman Kristen Dark said two patrol cars were damaged near 700 West Howard Lane near Pflugerville after a crowd threw rocks and other objects at them, shattering windows. No deputy was injured.

According to an Instagram account reviewed by the Statesman, a large group planned to meet in Austin at 8 p.m. Saturday for the Lone Star Car Show. That account also posted multiple videos from the incident at Barton Springs Road and South Lamar Boulevard, including one video showing two women hanging out of a car while it spins in the street. The account appears to have been promoting the event with an unspecified date for a few weeks.

A review of multiple Instagram accounts shows that the coordinated meetup featured "takeover" groups from various cities across the state, including San Antonio and Houston. A post from a Texas account showed that a group of people met at the Buc-ee's in Temple about 6 p.m. before heading to Austin.

Austin City Council Member Alison Alter said Sunday that she unknowingly drove up on the incident at Barton Springs Road and South Lamar Boulevard and was able to navigate around it.

Alter called 911 to report what was happening and said she waited on hold for 28 minutes. Alter has been working in the past 18 months to increase the number of 911 operators and has since spoken to interim City Manager Jesús Garza, who was appointed Wednesday, and other city officials about the need to address the issue immediately.

Alter said the 911 staffing issue has persisted despite her demands for the city to better recruit and retain operators. She also pointed out that staffing at the call center is not related to the staffing size for sworn officers and is not addressed in the city's contract with the union because operators are typically civilians.

Duke Whitman lives near South Lamar Boulevard and Barton Springs Road and witnessed the events Saturday night. He said tires screeching and engines revving aren't uncommon for the area, but he was drawn outside when it persisted.

He estimated a crowd of 250 people stood around while cars did doughnuts in the intersection. Watching with binoculars from his balcony, he saw multiple people in the crowd get hit by the cars doing doughnuts, he said.

"My concern is 30- to 40-minute (police) response time for something that is relatively large," Whitman said. "It wouldn't take much for something like that to get way out of hand."

The event Saturday night is considered a "sideshow," in which a group blocks off a public intersection and people perform vehicle stunts. Sideshows gained popularity in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1980s and 1990s.

Illegal street racing saw a rise in Austin and across the country in 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Austin, illegal street racing led to crime in some instances, including one person being fatally shot. In September 2020, Austin police arrested 22 people and impounded 25 cars in connection with illegal street racing at a movie theater parking lot in North Austin, according to previous reporting by the Statesman.

More:Motors and mayhem: Underground car meetups surge in Austin amid pandemic

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: South Lamar, Barton Springs "street racing incidents" Saturday night