WATCH: Four ppl facing criminal charges in this chaotic incident over the weekend in Springfield, Virginia. Fairfax County police chief says he thinks they “narrowly escaped a line of duty death.” He says people tried to drag an officer out of her car. @WTOP pic.twitter.com/NXv8Ozmzsz
— Nick Iannelli (@NickWTOP) April 3, 2024
Fairfax County police chief Kevin Davis released video Wednesday showing the scene of a “street takeover” in Springfield, Virginia, over the weekend that he described as “utter chaos and disorder.”
According to Davis, a large group of people gathered for a party in a parking lot and were driving recklessly, speeding and doing doughnuts — and things turned ugly when an officer showed up.
“I believe we narrowly escaped a line-of-duty death scenario,” Davis said. “One of our own officers was surrounded by a bunch of masked tough guy wannabe thugs who surrounded her car and acted in a criminal manner.”
Video showed people surrounding the squad car as the officer called for backup, saying “I’ve got a huge crowd. They’re hitting my car.”
Dozens of officers responded from across the county to break up the crowd.
Davis described the individuals involved as being “cowards.”
“I believe that they fully intended to drag her out of that car,” Davis said. “Thankfully, they didn’t get into the car, and we’re very grateful for that.”
One officer sustained minor injuries after being hit by one of the drivers who was speeding away from the scene, according to Davis.
That driver was identified as Ronal Urrea-Hernandez, 18, of Catonsville, Maryland. Police said they have obtained warrants for felony hit-and-run among other charges, but the warrants haven’t been served yet.
Detectives identified three other suspects from the video, ranging in age from 17 to 20. Davis said he expected additional arrests.
Carlos A. Matinez Jr., 18, from Woodbridge was charged with reckless driving after police said he was involved in a crash with a cruiser.
Detectives are serving warrants for 20-year-old Dylan Heckard from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The charges against him include abduction, assault on a law enforcement officer and obstruction of justice, according to police.
Police said a 17-year-old Arlington man jumped on the police cruiser to prevent the officer from driving away. He’s being charged with disorderly conduct and abduction.
“I certainly have the experience of a riot in my past, but I’ve never seen a car takeover event where the police officer was surrounded, and the criminals were pulling on her door handles,” Davis said.
The department is adding resources to handle similar situations in the future.
According to Davis, they will from now on dispatch a “civil disturbance unit” if the department gets a call about a street takeover incident.
“We’re not going to be caught in a situation again where it’s one of us versus dozens of them who want to do us harm,” Davis said.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
