Montgomery County police are seeking the public's help in identifying and locating multiple suspects who damaged two County police cruisers during what police call a "street takeover" at the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and East-West Highway Sunday morning, February 22, 2026, sometime after 12:39 AM. According to police, the suspects were part of a large group engaging in illegal motor vehicle activity in Prince George's County, and were proceeding into Montgomery County with the alleged intent of doing the same in downtown Silver Spring. Angry that County police had blocked their entry into Silver Spring, the suspects attempted - successfully - to carry out their car show in Chevy Chase. When County police arrived at the intersection of Connecticut and East-West, the suspects proceeded to attack their cruisers.
In a press release, County police say Maryland State Police eventually arrived to assist in "clearing the area." The statement makes no mention of arrests. It states that no County officers were injured, but that the front and rear windows of a police cruiser were broken while an officer sat inside, and that unspecified damage was inflicted on at least one other police cruiser.
Anyone with information regarding identities of the individuals involved is asked to visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, MD website at www.crimesolversmcmd.org and click on the “Submit a Tip” link at the top of the page or call 1-866-411-8477. Tips leading to an arrest may be eligible for a reward ranging from $250 up to $10,000. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
Few details about this apparently powerful group have been provided to the public by police. A number of things are quite obvious, however.
First and foremost, most of us would call this a riot, not a "street takeover." The police statement acknowledges that the participants in these intersection riots are known to carry firearms - you know, the same firearms that law-abiding citizens in Montgomery County are not allowed to carry. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Second, in the video, there's a guy with an exposed face literally holding a sign advertising an organization that is part of this Montgomery County Council-endorsed enterprise.
Third, this is another direct result of the radical Marxist Montgomery County Council's pro-criminal, anti-police, defund-the-police actions and rhetoric since 2002 and specifically over the last six years. It's a nationwide problem to an extent, where police in many jurisdictions with similar "leadership" to MoCo are uncertain if they will have the support of elected officials - or even end up in prison - if they employ the level of force required by a given situation. But it should never have become a problem here, and that is squarely the fault of the County Council, which has made abundantly clear that it does not support our police officers.
The end result is the lawless environment Montgomery County residents have experienced over the last six years. That criminals are allowed to "take over" an intersection in view of the Columbia Country Club is rich with symbolism of just how far MoCo has fallen since the turn of the century. The Councilmembers who sit on the Public Safety Committee should probably step down, just for starters. Taxpayers, who will pay to repair the damaged police cruisers, and who are paying obscene auto insurance rates thanks to our pro-criminal elected officials, demand and deserve answers about what happened Sunday, who was behind it, what's going to prevent it from happening again, what's going to change - right now - about the way the law is enforced in Montgomery County, when criminals will get the same third-degree treatment as law-abiding taxpayers, and what the County Council is going to do - right now - to regain the confidence of the rank-and-file police officers of the Montgomery County Police Department.
If you think the local media is going to ask those questions, well, I've got an unbuilt Potomac River bridge to sell you. The press is as pro-criminal and anti-police as their fellow travelers on the County Council. Together they are a proud Fifth Column. Only the voters can likely bring change this November, and they've so far shown no indication they will do so. Is a "street takeover" in Chevy Chase (Chevy Chase!!) a smelling salts moment?
"I am concerned for the security of our great Nation; not so much because of any potential threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within." - Gen. Douglas MacArthur, 1957
48 comments:
Could not have stated it better Robert. I saw the video and could not believe it. E-W Highway and Conn Ave. in Chevy Chase. Terrific! Don't wait up for Elrich or the police chief to get in front of a camera. Thanks voters!
The only way you end this is by kettling the intersection with a massive police response and arresting/charging everyone in it.
Yeah, saw the video and audio: "Stay in your cars." W T F? Sworn officer's of the law, supposed to risk their lives to uphold the law and keep the public safe, cannot even fight crime being committed OM them real time. This is disgusting and way beyond totally unacceptable. It's like the carjacking of the Pho place owners: Porche on Wisconsin Ave where the MoCo PoPo couldn't even chase after to catch the perps, OR even more eerily similar to Uvalde school shooting. Stand down, don't engage, be a coward... WTF? I watch Live PD ; On Patrol Live on Reelz Channel every Friday and Saturday nights and if that scenario played out in Richland County SC, the whole precinct would have been on scene with shots fired, perps run over, all arrests made, impounded cars & a sheriff and judges who would take care of business and prosecute and incarcerate. One of those rallies netted ONE lousy arrest but at least got 2 illegal loaded handguns off the streets. There is truly NO ceiling to this in the pathetic county known as MoCo.
And by perp walking and frog marching suspects when they are arrested. Criminals learn fast to avoid certain jurisdictions and to swarm others. We've been getting swarmed for six years, and residents with functioning brains have had just about enough.
Remarkable. The police are asking us to help identify who attacked them. Up is down: left is right. But they were right there. I understand they were ordered to stand down but how hard is it to grab the guy with his stupid sign?
When will the public say enough is enough?!! 😡 Bethesda is going downhill and no longer is the safe place it used to be sadly. What a travesty. Respect and manners need to be mainstream again!
Uhh...maybe they police can start with this genius, who is literally pointing people to his youtube site:
https://www.instagram.com/shotbyfrenchie/
I love it when they leave behind their instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/theyluvfrenchie/
Frenchie & friends are still at large almost 72 hours later? They're laughing at us. This could be as good as the Westbard shooting investigation. Two justice systems - one for us, the law-abiding taxpayers, and another softer one for the criminals. Make it make sense.
I'm sure that the officer IN the smashed windshield patrol car can attest that "Frenchie" & co are not from France but rather from El Salvador, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Syria, Philippines etc, etc for starters... But WE'RE supposed to be the one's asked for identifying the lawless perps?
First, it’s terrible.
Second, it was Pg County people from the report. And police seemed on the ball in blocking them at the beginning.
Now there are attempts to identify them.
How this turned this into a criticism of Mo County Marxist politics is beyond me.
Why not just merge with SS? We could be Silver Spring West, and North Bethesda just become tony Bethesda. That's what is really happening. Wake up!!
9:50: The Council has brought us to this point of lawlessness.
Not to worry! With the PL they won't need the cars.
This is absolutely sickening.
They're goading us and our po po and legislators ask for more. Despicable.
I live on east west close to where this happened. it's so sad this is how the "youngins" act today. it breaks my heart that ive watched Bethesda go downhill. I loved living here 10 years ago. it's not the same anymore
It looks like two suspects were arrested.https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/maryland/prince-georges-county/street-takeover-prince-georges-county-arrests/65-bb481df1-d949-456f-a030-ec6d6392eab5?tbref=hp
@3:05 PM: Exactly right Robert. Exactly right. It's only a matter of time before they decide to do this at Wisconsin and Woodmont, or Old Georgetown Road and Wisconsin. Even then, I don't think it'll be enough for the police response and arrests that are necessary. Shameful.
@3:01 PM: Given the circumstances, "stay in your cars" was actually the right thing for them to do given the number of officers who responded. There weren't enough officers on scene given the size of the crowd. Had the officers exited their vehicles they would have been attacked by the crowd. Had they tried to make an arrest they would have been attacked by the crowd. Even if the officers used deadly force to protect themselves, members of the crowd might have been armed and shot back, and there was a much bigger crowd than the number of officers. I agree with you that this police response was pathetic. They needed to call in every available unit from across other districts and kettle the intersection on all sides. They should have then arrested, processed and charged every single person in that intersection. They should have seized and confiscated every vehicle in that intersection. That's how you end this. Unapologetically.
@9:50 PM: I don't want attempts to identify them. I want kettling of the intersection with a massive police response, arrests/charges for everyone involved and seizure/forfeiture of all vehicles involved. MoCo doesn't have the balls to do that because of its Marxist politics. That's the problem.
Do you mean 'how this doesn't...' ?
And where is Elrich or the police chief? Wait, never mind.
lets see how long it takes for them to get back on the streets doing stupid ****
4:58: Those two were arrested in Prince George's prior to the group entering Montgomery County, if I understand correctly. So the folks in the video are still at large.
The problem is that a majority of Bethesda and Chevy Chase residents believe in "sticking it to the man". So we have "Lord of Flies" situations occurring.
Goodness, a legion of armchair generals. If only our meek, timid police were as fearless and wise as the commenters on this thread. If only the Bethesda sergeant whose dashcam recorded the incident, ("Delta 10" is the shift supervisor for downtown Bethesda PD beats) had manned-up, Eastwood-style, stepped from his cruiser into a blinding fog and swirling cars, to confront a teeming crowd, already proven to have firearms secreted, now sufficiently amped-up enough to block & vandalize a cop’s occupied car.
MCPD Sgt Patrick Kepp is the officer whose legs were amputated in 2024 when a police pursuit went wrong. The being-chased driver aimed his car directly at Sgt Kepp, who was outside his cruiser, deploying stop sticks to incapacitate the fleeing vehicle. Sgt Kepp might say unnecessary risk benefits no one. Getting out of a cruiser to address a life-threatening situation is one thing, but jeopardizing one's own life because cars are blocking an intersection and doing doughnuts is not what is meant by "life-threatening." Yes, police are there to protect the public, which in this case was accomplished by not escalating the situation further w/officers wading into the chaos. Imagine what happens if they had gone in: those on foot leap back in their cars and race hazardously through area roads, or perhaps flee on foot into adjoining neighborhoods. Neither of those sounds an appealing alternative.
I'm as horrified by last weekend's events as anyone. I live a mile south of the location, and I'm appalled. This is the stuff of PG county, Temple Hills, Landover. But I am aware the scene was not cause to instigate a gun battle or to provoke a high-speed chase. No life-threatening felonies had occurred that would justify such. Cops have license plate readers and video cams. They can & will identify which vehicles were present. Detectives will pay visits to those car owners, who won’t feel as smug when they’re facing jail.
@3:01 suggests we adopt the get-tough policies of rural sheriff's departments from TV, who send six units to investigate a DUI. A sad truth of such shows is TV producers encourage departments to permit extra units to respond to calls, because it makes for more visually stimulating television, which keeps viewers tuned in longer.
"if that scenario played out in Richland County SC, the whole precinct would have been on scene with shots fired, perps run over, all arrests made" (emphasis mine)
Um… you mean leave the rest of the 2D Bethesda precinct without any police coverage --from Swains Lock to S. Glen, Montrose, Veirs Mill & Connecticut to the DC line and the Potomac-- so there are plenty of police on hand to engage in a gun battle, ("shots fired") and grievous injuries ("perps run over" --PS, love the use of "perps." It shows an appreciation for network TV crime dramas.) What happens to the other events taking place across the lower county while your plan is being effected, @3:01? The burglaries, DUIs, domestic violence or pediatric choking where a cop is closer than EMTs? They must wait, because all hands are in Chevy Chase for a car rally.
Fair enough, but who here will explain to the innocent bystander, paralyzed when sideswiped by a fleeing rally-goer, that, yes, it’s a tough break, but it was worth it because PD caught a car rally punk. Who here supports tax increases we’ll need to cover the millions of dollars in claims that will be surely be filed as a result of unanticipated outcomes of the proposed cinematic gunfights and vehicular manslaughter @3:01 salivates at the thought of? Bullets may whiz into empty forests of Richland County, SC, @3:01, but at Connecticut & East-West they go through people's bedroom walls. Grow up.
@3:01 PM - "WTF? I watch Live PD ; On Patrol Live on Reelz Channel every Friday and Saturday nights" ROTFLMAO! B***h please. Put the damn popcorn down, get your fat a** off ya moma's coach and think before typing on you Commodore64. Reality TV ain't the practice of real police, and Richland County is equivalent to St. Mary's County at best. Just how do you seize every vehicle in sight, with only a handful of officers? Nice try Officer Fife.
GOT ONE!....and the big fishes got away. :(
@6:21 - Totally unecessary remark. For all you know he could be your relative.
How do you know they haven't? It takes a court order to get to the owner of a website, otherwise anyone could come after you, even trump.
Amen to the voice of sense and sensibility here.
Kudos to 10:04!
An adult finally entered the room.
10:04, you lost me when you were unable to connect the miscreant that took Officer Kepp's legs to our lackadaisical and spotty law enforcement and equally pathetic prosecution record.
MoCo officials better come out and say something. This story has now gone national.
@10:04 AM: Sounds like you'd support the hiring of more police then so that other-area coverage wouldn't be an issue for a sufficient response of units to this incident. In fact, the MoCo Police Department is less than half the size it should be for the population it serves.
@11:16 AM: No. 10:04 AM is part of the reason this kind of stuff continues unabated and unchecked. Perhaps you are too if you agree with him.
Up until the warm day thaw, there was ice on the road & sidewalk at that intersection, now we need DHS's ICE to point up and "kettle" at those intersections? Btw, to the poster who was offended at the country of origin roll call, Caucasians in the MoCo don't do stupid sh*t like that and are NOT part of that "powerful gang group. Education yourself before hastily posting in the comments section.
@12:16, you are right, and I apologize. Re-reading my post I see ambiguity that didn't strike me originally. In my haste, I also got the date wrong. It was 2023, not '24 when the Kepp incident occurred.
I should have written, "In October, 2023, MCPD Sgt. Patrick Kepp's legs were amputated..."(etc) I should also have included that his assailant was captured, tried, and charged with attempted first- or second-degree murder and first- or second-degree assault, among other things. A jury trial found him not guilty of attempted murder or 1st-degree assault, but convicted him on 2nd-degree assault and an additional *dozen* lesser charges, sufficient enough to net the driver 22 years and change in prison.
While one can argue the Kepp prosecution was inadequate, having not secured an attempted murder conviction, there is no "spotty law enforcement" to be found in either Sgt Kepp's case or in what happened at Connecticut & East-West the other night. Cops leaping from their vehicles last weekend, when surrounded by however many dozen rally cars, (some of them spinning recklessly about in a haze of burning rubber and who knows what else,) and their "people" [ED: what are we calling these drivers and their passengers? I know Robert needs to be careful about what is published on his site, lest some random troll makes trouble for a perceived slight] would surely have led to injuries, possibly serious, or even death(s).
The idea of law enforcement is to protect the public, certainly. But not at any cost. Not so long ago, area police used to run radar traps around the county. Police would often stand behind a tree, aiming their radar guns at cars roaring along. When they clocked someone over the limit, the cop would step into traffic, hold out his arm, and wave the driver to the curb. That stopped after one such driver ran over and killed the officer who was flagging him down. Would you say it was spotty law enforcement that police took their own welfare into account, that they thereafter ran radar from the safety of their cars, or would you allow for a practical balancing of public safety --stopping speeders and DUIs, which continued to be a regular activity of LEO-- with officer safety --not getting needlessly killed by a two-ton hunk of steel rocketing down the blvd. Last weekend, police resolved the car rally situation, and they did so without putting at risk the lives of their officers, (remember, we pick up the tab if those guys go on disability,) the community residents, or even the gaggle of "people" in those rally cars. I'm sure it wasn't as cathartic as a good bust-'em-up would have been, (and I confess the surge of adrenaline when I watch Live PD chase scenes; I'm not immune.) But, practically, rationally speaking, MCPD did a *good* thing by not escalating the situation further. It was shocking to watch the "people," it was offensive, and LEO will need to find additional ways to disrupt and to disband these sorts of gatherings. I support the choice MCPD made, to not make matters worse by going hands-on, despite that not being the graphic, telegenic option @3:01 may have selected.
Exactly, just like when the man on the bicycle tried to stop the girl and boy from illegally posting black signs on the CCT. He never touched her, but the video went viral and was at the top of Twitter trending at the time. The other 50 states are laughing at us daily.
Why should “going national” even change anyone’s opinion or actions? Just do what should be done.
2:26, you still don't get it, but you're getting there. The miscreant that is ultimately responsible for that tragic attack was a known chronic speeder up and down the interstate and other places, he had a known history and the police had multiple opportunities to keep him off the road BEFORE that horrible event. That is the call of the enforcement/prosecution issue with our local government, and why we keep inviting trouble.
"...the same firearms that law-abiding citizens in Montgomery County are not allowed to carry" Completely wrong. It is legal to concealed carry in Maryland.
"...and who are paying obscene auto insurance rates thanks to our pro-criminal elected officials..." Insurance companies set auto insurance rates, not local governments.
Street takeovers happen all over the country. Police are careful to swarm them and give chase for the same reason they're careful to chase motorcyclists - because it puts more innocent bystanders in danger. It's much safer to get their plates, find their bragging videos on social media, and arrest them later when they're on foot.
Per the news reports about it, eight street takeovers were shut down that night and two people were arrested. But I guess that doesn't tie into all the fearmongering about Bethesda being a lawless post-apocalyptic wasteland.
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/crime/illegal-street-takeover-investigations-maryland-virginia/65-39193a65-559b-4700-824d-7e9a1dde2b03
You want the police to start shooting when there are innocent drivers, stuck behind this takeover, in the line of fire? Are you insane?
9:29 Show your source
haha Bethesda is becoming a lawless post-apocalyptic wasteland just like dtss. You just don't see it because you accept it :)
sadly i do agree that Bethesda has become a wasteland... and especially when the purple line opens (if it ever does). I am glad that i have lived here when it wasn't open and that I am moving, thank god! only a few more months to deal with all this ****! I loved living in Bethesda from 2008 - 2018.
:( we can’t have anything nice
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