What started as a Sunday night hangout on Milwaukee’s south side turned into full-on street mayhem near 13th and Mitchell, as drivers and crowds took over the intersection and surrounding blocks.
Milwaukee police responded to reports of cars doing donuts, motorcycles threading through dense crowds and people climbing onto moving vehicles while intersections were blocked off. Officers shut down several nearby streets, and the scene finally cleared shortly before 10 p.m., according to FOX6 News Milwaukee.
Reporters who arrived at the intersection found a large crowd in the roadway and multiple squad cars using lights and crime-scene tape to lock down the area, FOX6 News Milwaukee reported. Officers at the scene did not say whether the disturbance was officially being investigated as a street takeover, and it was not immediately clear if anyone had been arrested, cited or injured.
The chaos unfolded after a Puerto Rican parade and festival earlier in the day that ran along Oklahoma Avenue and into Humboldt Park, according to listings and coverage from the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Organizers and city officials have not said whether people who attended the daytime celebrations later joined the night-time crowd at 13th and Mitchell.
A Familiar Pattern For The City
For Milwaukee officials, scenes like this have become uncomfortably familiar. City leaders and police say street meetups that block traffic and turn intersections into impromptu stunt arenas have been popping up more often this spring, and have grown more dangerous.
Milwaukee Police Department leaders told the Common Council’s Public Safety and Health Committee that they had identified and arrested a suspected “primary organizer” behind some of the gatherings and were working on broader enforcement plans, including possible “mass arrests” when needed, according to Urban Milwaukee. Authorities have also linked several incidents to people coming in from outside the city, and separate complaints in nearby Glendale led to criminal charges earlier in the season.
Officials Push Tougher Enforcement
City lawmakers are trying to put more teeth into the rules. The Milwaukee Common Council has advanced an ordinance that would slap a $500 ticket on spectators who knowingly show up to watch street takeovers. Mayor Cavalier Johnson and the city’s police chief have both backed the tougher approach.
“Previously, we have had limited options to stop street takeovers,” Johnson said while explaining the proposed penalties, according to TMJ4.
At 13th and Mitchell on Sunday, reporters again saw several squads on scene and crime-scene tape cordoning off the area, but officers did not confirm whether they were officially classifying the crowd as a takeover, FOX6 News Milwaukee reported.
Police are now asking residents to submit any videos or tips that could help identify people involved. Officials say new enforcement tools are meant to make it easier to hold participants accountable. The incident remains under review and could still lead to citations or criminal charges if investigators determine that laws were broken, according to Urban Milwaukee.
