Sideshows on the Peninsula and in the South Bay drew large police responses and reports of unruly crowds that reportedly threw things at passing cars and, in one instance, stomped on and bashed in a patrol vehicle.
In San Jose, just before 7 p.m. Saturday, police and a witness video indicate that officers were called to Winchester Boulevard on the west side of Santana Row, after a spectator was reportedly hit by a vehicle participating in a sideshow.
A statement posted Sunday by Paul Joseph, acting chief for the San Jose Police Department, said a reserve police officer was trying to reach the injured person when “his patrol car was overrun by spectators who prevented him from providing aid.”
The witness video, which was circulating on social media, showed several people punching and kicking the SUV as it backed out of the scene. One man wearing a ski mask could be seen jumping onto the vehicle’s hood and stomping and kicking the windshield.
Joseph said investigators are working to identify the people who attacked the vehicle, which left the officer with minor injuries. No immediate arrests were made in part because the crowd broke up before more officers arrived.
“This conduct is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our city,” Joseph said. “Know that we will expend every effort to identify and apprehend all involved.”
In San Mateo County, the presence of hundreds of spectators prompted a police response from the sheriff’s office as well as the California Highway Patrol and Redwood City police to the intersection of Woodside Road and Alameda de las Pulgas, near Woodside High School in unincorporated Redwood City.
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Participants and spectators started to leave the site as law enforcement began to arrive en masse around 3:30 p.m., and two men unlucky enough to catch the attention of sheriff’s deputies were chased to an Arco gas station at Woodside Road and Santa Clara Avenue.
One of the men reportedly tried to hide by getting into the vehicle of a motorist pumping gas, but along with the second man was caught and arrested. The sheriff’s office identified them as being 23- and 22- years-old, hailing from San Francisco. They were booked into jail on suspicion of resisting arrest.
Anyone with information about the San Mateo County sideshow can contact Sheriff’s Sgt. Doug Richardson at [email protected] or 650-363-4911. Tips can be left anonymously with the sheriff’s office at 800-547-2700.
