Milwaukee police leaders told elected officials plans were in place for mass arrests at future street takeovers, as the rapidly occurring and mobile events continue to trouble the city and department.
In response to calls for further action, police officials on Thursday, April 30, said the department has “robust plans” in place for the arrests, but declined to share more specifics publicly.
“We don’t want to advise the street takeover individuals of what our goals are,” said Inspector Sheronda Grant at a Public Safety and Health Committee meeting.
Street takeovers are large gatherings where crowds block off intersections to watch drivers perform doughnuts and other stunts. Police over the weekend responded to several takeovers, drawing concerns from the community and elected officials. Takeovers became prominent in the city last summer.
The plan for increased arrests comes as the department said communication gaps affected the difficult-to-police events between April 25 and 26, when nine takeovers took place.
Grant told council members alerts were not being sent to all of the department’s districts when takeovers were occurring in the city and, at times, residents were seeing but not reporting the events when they occurred.
“What took place Saturday evening [April 25] into Sunday morning [April 26] was that our districts were operating in silos,” Grant said.
That internal communication gap has since been rectified with the city’s Department of Emergency Communications, which handles taking 911 calls and dispatching, Grant said.
Moving forward, police officials said they were confident officers would identify and arrest those who participated in previous events.
Milwaukee county prosecutors have filed at least one felony charge related to a takeover in Glendale on April 26. Allen Mendoza, a 20-year-old from Illinois, told authorities he came to Milwaukee to observe a takeover and fled officers for about 2.6 miles, reaching speeds of over 100 miles per hour.
Mendoza is charged with operating a motor vehicle to flee or attempt to elude an officer and second-degree recklessly endangering safety. Both are felonies.
Street takeovers are inherently difficult to police, Milwaukee police said
Street takeovers remain inherently difficult to police, law enforcement officials said.
The weekend of April 25 to 26, police officials said they responded to nine takeovers throughout the city – including one officials said occurred downtown and was not reported to the department – that occurred late in the night.
From those events, the department towed two vehicles and issued seven citations to three people involved, Grant said. He said police believe the takeovers are preliminarily tied to a single group orchestrating them.
Police officials said the events are difficult to police proactively because they are organized privately and those involved often flee to a new location when police respond or are on the way.
Complicating matters further is the fact that the drivers may be wearing masks, making them difficult to identify after the fact, said Inspector Paul Lough. Officials have previously said drivers also use license plate flipping tools on the vehicles to evade identification.
Lough said the department intends to arrest participants as it identifies them.
“I’m very confident we’re going to be being able to hold more and more people accountable as we move forward,” he said.
Responding to a street takeover also requires a significant amount of staffing, and can happen as other crime occurs in the city. During one takeover, Grant said, the department received 165 other calls for service.
Scott Spiker, who chairs the public safety committee, called for the police to make an “example of” one group doing a street takeover.
“I’m looking for what we can change given our staffing limitations that would allow us to get our arms around this problem,” Spiker said.
Council President Jose Perez said he supported a plan for mass arrests if it was effective. He’s worried someone will get seriously hurt or killed if the events aren’t stopped.
“I think we should try to go down that road and , if it makes a difference, continue to do it,” Perez said.
This year will be the first time a new fine for attendees of the takeovers will be in place. That municipal fine can range between $300 to $1,000 depending on whether someone is a spectator, driver or passenger. Council members passed it in September 2025, in hopes it would be a deterrent.
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at: dclarey@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee street takeover responses to include mass arrests, police say
Reporting by David Clarey, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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