SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Police Department towed 14 cars, issued 20 misdemeanor citations and issued 15 infraction citations related to a recent sideshow incident.
Police said the activity happened Friday in the northern Natomas area. From a Facebook post on Saturday, police said an event organizer was arrested or active warrants related to organizing a previous sideshow. Those other sideshows result in thousands of dollars of damage to city streets, police said. They also said the event organizer will face new charges for organizing Friday's activities.
"The Sacramento Police Department will continue to take enforcement action related to sideshows and will be obtaining follow-up warrants to tow participant vehicles at a later date," police said on Facebook.
Police did not release the name of the person arrested.
In recent months, law enforcement and cities around California have done work to put the breaks on illegal sideshows.
In October, it became a misdemeanor offense for spectators who are watching sideshows in Fairfield.
The Fairfield City Council approved an ordinance on Sept. 7 that prohibits gatherings surrounding sideshows. Those who violate the new law could face six months in jail or a $1,000 fine. The Solano County District Attorney also has the discretion to prosecute the offense as an infraction.
Also in that same month, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 3 into law which could suspend the licenses of drivers caught participating in these dangerous street events for up to six months.
Sideshow events were born in 1980’s Oakland, California in mall parking lots, according to San Francisco Bay area hip hop historian Sean Kennedy.
“The original sideshows were just meant to show off cars, but they developed into larger events under Oakland's unique hyphy culture in the 1990s,” according to the state analyses of AB 3. “These events involve customized cars and hyphy music, an Oakland slang term meaning "hyperactive" that was coined by Rapper Keak da Sneak and popularized by E-40's song, "Hyphy.”
Over the course of 40 years, in California, the underground street racing and sideshow scene has grown with immense popularity among car enthusiasts, bloggers, YouTubers, and spectators.
