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Two men were released on bail after a “large-scale vehicle takeover” ended with a police cruiser being torched early Sunday morning in Boston.
More than 100 people participated in the takeover that involved street racing just after 2 a.m. on Sunday, the Boston Police Department told CBS News. When officers arrived, they found more than 100 people attacking police cruisers with cones, fireworks, poles and other items.
Cars were also blocking the intersection, preventing traffic from flowing through the area. The police cruiser was destroyed by the flames and towed away from the area, according to the report.
Simran Nalhatra, who witnessed the street takeover, told 25News, “It was like a riot.”
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“We saw someone get arrested, and we looked to our right, and there was this cop car on fire,” Nalhatra recalled. “It was really scary. I was like, ‘I don’t know why it was so loud,’ and everyone’s screaming, and it went on for an hour or two.”
“At one point, members of the crowd jumped onto the hood of the cruiser, further endangering officers,” the police department said.
Two people were arrested during the street takeover – Julian Bowers, 18, of Cumberland, Rhode Island, and William Cantwell, 19, from Warwick, Rhode Island. The two were charged with assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and malicious destruction of property over $1,200.
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Bowers allegedly threw objects at police officers and the cruisers, while Cantwell was accused of using a pole to smash a police cruiser.
The two men pleaded not guilty and the judge set bail at $500 for Bowers and $1,000 for Cantwell, and both were seen fist-bumping after learning the bail amount, CBS News reported. Prosecutors had asked for $15,000 cash bail for Bowers and $20,000 for Cantwell.
Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox told reporters that while no officers were hurt, the city won’t put up with the kind of behavior seen on Sunday.
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“The fact is they could have been hurt,” Cox said. “There’s a lot of folks that come from all over to do these illegal street racing, in not only our city but throughout the country. This is just not going to be tolerated.”
Around an hour before the street takeover in Boston, officers responded to a similar situation in nearby Randolph, Massachusetts, as officials said police cruisers were also targeted in that incident by a group of over 100 people.
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