Not DHS or ICE: Mass Los Angeles operation leaves 69 detained and 200 cars impounded

The operation that brought hundreds of police officers into a Los Angeles street was not an immigration raid. It was a LAPD campaign against street racing and stunt-driving gatherings, ending with 69 arrests and more than 200 vehicles towed.

The Street Racing Task Force organized the operation at the intersection of South Figueroa Street and West Alondra Boulevard on September 5. Police later planned an intervention called “Operation Street Sweeper” to monitor and predict meeting points for sideshows, using intelligence analysis and drone technology, according to ABC 7.

More than 150 LAPD officers took part alongside agents from the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Authorities also brought tow trucks and police transport buses to the area in preparation for large-scale arrests.

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We saw the lights come on and tried to drive around to find a way out. But we realized they had arrived at every intersection.

Officers moved in between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., blocking streets and alleys to prevent people from escaping. One participant told ABC 7, “We saw the lights come on and tried to drive around to find a way out. But we realized they had arrived at every intersection.”

The 700 people present were left in chaos. Some drivers crashed their vehicles while trying to flee, while others abandoned their cars and ran through neighboring residential properties. Police Chief Jim McDonnell said 66 arrests involved taking part in or facilitating the street takeover, while three concerned individual allegations of assaulting an officer. Authorities also issued 570 citations, including 128 to minors. McDonnell said many of the vehicles were stolen, rented or taken from relatives without their knowledge. “This is only the beginning,” he said, according to CBS News.

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This is only the beginning.