Oakland police continuing increased sideshow enforcement

OAKLAND, Calif. (BCN/KTVU) - As has been the case the past several weekends, the Oakland Police Department this weekend has a large contingent of officers dedicated to preventing and reacting to "sideshows," gatherings of people watching drivers burning rubber and doing other daredevil driving, mostly at a handful of popular intersections.

The Oakland police enforcement efforts have stepped up since April 14, when sideshow participants at 42nd Avenue and International Boulevard set both a truck and a bus on fire.

That intersection, as well as a short distance west at 42nd Avenue and Interstate Highway 880 - a location sometimes called "the pit" - have been targets of increased enforcement.

Oakland police will get help from other law enforcement agencies as needed, officers said, including helicopter support.