Police officers in Philadelphia are injured and patrol cars damaged during illegal car meetings

Several Philadelphia police officers were attacked and their vehicles damaged as they attempted to break up nearly a dozen illegal car gatherings across the city from Saturday night into Sunday morning, police said, causing chaos and straining the nerves of residents in surrounding neighborhoods.

According to investigators, there were 11 large gatherings, some of which attracted more than 200 cars, as well as a number of smaller gatherings scattered across almost every corner of the city from the northeast to the southwest.

The wild scenes unfolded over the course of seven hours. The first incident was reported to police at 9:30 p.m. on Bustleton Avenue near Bleigh Avenue in Rhawnhurst. During that incident, 50 cars gathered at the scene, attracting numerous spectators. An arrest warrant was issued for one of the drivers, whose identity police have not determined, after he struck an innocent bystander while attempting to flee. Officers filed traffic obstruction charges against nine other drivers and 15 spectators.

An officer responding to a call for help nearby was injured when his vehicle was struck by a car fleeing the meeting, police said.

At other gatherings, attendees built campfires, set off firecrackers and, in one case, fired a flamethrower while drivers screeched through the streets, doing doughnuts, hanging out of their cars and leaving a huge cloud of smoke behind them, investigators said.

Deputy Police Commissioner Francis Healy said at a news conference on Sunday that officers believe the aggressive behavior was a retaliatory response to the department's increased crackdown on such meetings in recent months.

Investigators are carefully reviewing videos and evidence to identify those involved, he said.

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“We have your picture. We are after you. If you think you got away last night, you are wrong,” Healy said of the drivers. “We are coming with search warrants and we are coming with arrest warrants. So don't think we are going to give up and allow something like this to happen in our city.”

Deputy Police Commissioner Michael Cram said Sunday that fireworks and fire have become a regular feature of the gatherings, with drivers circling the flames to fire up the crowds. The groups are often even accompanied by camera crews, he said, and frequently shoot videos for their social media profiles.

Cram said a team of police officers is deployed every weekend to respond to the gatherings and try to prevent them, but they are difficult to control. As quickly as they form, the groups disperse, he said. For safety reasons, officers cannot chase after the cars, and when an officer is surrounded and his car is sometimes attacked, it is not even safe for him to get out of his vehicle, Healy said.

“It’s like a game of whack-a-mole,” Cram said.

Other gatherings were reported in South Philadelphia, Southwest Philadelphia and Center City, according to police. At a 4 a.m. gathering at the corner of Island and Bartram avenues, more than 200 cars drifted — racing and whipping their tails around — and engaged in drag racing. Officers who responded were assaulted and one vehicle was damaged, police said.

More officers were attacked shortly after 4:30 a.m. at the corner of 15th and Market streets, where more than 100 cars were reportedly drifting and spectators were setting fire to trash, police said. Five police vehicles were damaged, their windshields smashed and their tires flattened by spectators.

Police arrested two people at the corner of 20th Street and Pattison Avenue after a car fleeing a gathering there crashed into a pole at 11:47 p.m. Investigators did not identify the driver or the passenger, a minor, but said they lived nearby.

City Council President Kenyatta Johnson, in whose district the meeting took place, said on Sunday that such incidents are “a matter of public safety that can have deadly consequences for unsuspecting motorists, pedestrians and residents.”

“Philadelphia City Council members will continue to work with the police and Mayor Cherelle Parker's administration to address this problem citywide,” Johnson said. “I also call on the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office to prosecute anyone arrested in connection with this weekend's illegal car gatherings to the fullest extent of the law, including harming police officers.”

Car meet culture has become a staple in the city in recent years, organized and promoted through social media. The unauthorized, illegal gatherings block intersections and roads and lead to violence.

In June 2023, 18-year-old Anthony Allegrini Jr. of Glen Mills was killed by Pennsylvania State Police troopers after he struck two police officers with his Audi S4 while attempting to flee a car rally that closed I-95 near Penn's Landing. Two other attacks during that rally were captured on video.

Later that year, on October 1, 27-year-old Cody Heron brandished a gun and headbutted Nikki Bullock near Philadelphia City Hall as she made a delivery for Uber Eats with her children in the car. Heron pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a murder weapon.

He was sentenced to one to four years in prison and five years probation. Prosecutors said Heron, of Frankford, was part of a gathering of ATVs and motorcycles that drove illegally through downtown.

People who live near some of this weekend's car gatherings say they are frustrated by the city's inaction. The city's ordinance against nuisance cars, which carries a hefty $2,500 fine, has been an effective tool in the past month, according to police officials.

But some residents, including Drew Murray, say the city needs to find a permanent solution to the problem.

Murray, vice president of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, said Sunday he expects numerous phone calls from frustrated neighbors this week after a meeting was held over the weekend at the corner of 23rd and Spring Garden streets, one of many in recent months.

“It's clearly becoming a problem,” Murray said. “It's extremely dangerous for people in the community. It's a quality of life issue.”

Murray, who ran for city council as a Republican last year, said he plans to bring his neighbors' concerns to their local police department.

“The police don't want to make the situation any more dangerous by chasing these cars or doing anything that could put other pedestrians and other people in danger,” he said. “But we will definitely stay in touch with the county and work with them to hopefully see what we can do in the future to prevent this from happening.”