4 arrests made in connection with Santa Rosa sideshow; police sought extra help to curb Friday night activity

Santa Rosa police placed a call for extra help from neighboring agencies Friday night after a sideshow broke out at the intersection of Sebastopol Road and West Avenue.

Members of the crowd threw rocks and bottles at police and patrol cars, including a beer bottle that struck the hood of one car at 8:50 p.m., according to a news release from the Police Department.

No injuries were reported.

The activity continued until just past midnight, and officers made four arrests, issued 18 citations, conducted 54 traffic stops and called for six vehicles to be towed, the department said.

Officers were able to take down several license plate numbers for investigation by the traffic unit for suspected sideshow activity. One of the arrests occurred after a suspected intoxicated driver hit a patrol car. No one was injured as a result of the crash, and the patrol car sustained only minor damage, according to police.

The call for mutual aid from neighboring agencies went out after Santa Rosa police reported “escalating behavior” that started with large crowds of people and cars at the intersection at 6:30 p.m. At the beginning, crowds of at least 200 people would block the road to allow vehicles to enter the intersection from the parking lot to perform sideshow tricks before returning to the parking lot, police said.

Twenty officers from six agencies responded to the request for help, including the the Sheriff’s Office, Santa Rosa Junior College police, Sonoma State University police, Petaluma police, Cotati police and the California Highway Patrol). Additionally, the Sheriff's Office helicopter did overflights to monitor the activity.

While the helicopter was overhead, several people began to shine laser lights at the helicopter, police said.

Police said three of the arrests were on suspicion of reckless driving and the other was on suspicion of driving with a suspended driver’s license.

Sideshows, or dangerous vehicle demonstrations in which drivers perform various tricks including doughnuts and figure-eights in proximity to a crowd, got their start in Oakland in the 1980s. They’ve proliferated in Sonoma County since the onset of the pandemic, according to authorities.

Santa Rosa Police Chief John Cregan, who began in his post in July, has vowed to take a more aggressive response to curb increased sideshow activity, citing instances of violence, including shootings on April 6 and May 5, as well as risks to bystanders and property damage.

The activity has been centered in southwest Santa Rosa, but popped up this summer in other corners of the city, with neighbors raising alarm over illegal fireworks, gunfire and streets littered with broken glass.

You can reach Staff Writer Kathleen Coates at kathleen.coates@pressdemocrat.com or 707521-5209.