A skateboarding event in Hollywood turned rowdy Saturday night as partygoers lighted trash cans and at least one car on fire before police declared an “unlawful assembly” and ordered people to leave.
The crowd gathered in the 1600 block of North Cherokee grew unruly just after 7:20 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department. People started lighting trash cans on fire and setting off fireworks, authorities said.
Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, a freelance journalist who was at the scene, captured video of a burning vehicle — possibly a decommissioned police car — at the end of a skateboarding ramp. As the car burned, dozens of people ambled around the blaze calmly, and a few continued skating up the ramp toward the flames. Motorcycle riders did wheelies as smiling attendees took selfies.
Eventually, authorities declared the gathering unlawful and moved to disperse the fiery festivities.
Beckner-Carmitchel’s video showed a police helicopter flying overhead and ordering people to leave minutes before Los Angeles police officers started marching through and yelling the same order. Several partygoers screamed obscenities in response.
Footage of the aftermath taken by OnScene.TV showed graffiti scrawled across a city fire truck, trash strewn across the ground and the charred remains of a car sitting in the street.
Police said there were no arrests reported as of late Saturday.
It’s not clear why the gathering — dubbed Skate Jam Hollywood — turned so chaotic, but a social media post advertised Saturday night’s event as a “f— awesome” free show by the punk band Dead City. The California-based band has a history of fiery and raucous street shows that sometimes attract thousands of fans and end in clashes with police.
Keri Blakinger
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