Cinco de Mayo sideshow in Oakland results in arrest; vehicle towed

Oakland police officers arrested at least one person for participating in illegal sideshow activity on Sunday evening amid Cinco de Mayo celebrations.

Police said the sideshow activity was happening on the 800 block of International Boulevard just before 5:45 p.m. In an email to CBS News Bay Area, police said officers observed a vehicle driving recklessly and engaged in illegal sideshow activity.

A police helicopter was dispatched and followed the vehicle until ground units were able to make an enforcement stop on the vehicle, a white Jeep Wrangler.

Police said the driver was taken into custody for various moving violations and the vehicle was towed.

In an earlier post on social media platform X, police said the person arrested was a sideshow promoter who was arrested for reckless evading. Police did not elaborate on which sideshow the suspect was promoting and how police determined the suspect's involvement.

Police asked anyone with information about the incident to contact the OPD Traffic Section at (510) 777-8570 or email tips to sideshowtips@oaklandca.gov.

The arrest happened during the department's stepped-up sideshow enforcement period for Cinco de Mayo following back-to-back years of sideshow activity during the celebrations. In 2022 and 2023, Oakland police towed 150 vehicles, issued nearly 80 citations and made several arrests during Cinco de Mayo.