‘Frightening’: Why this Mass. politician filed a bill on street takeovers

Four street “takeovers” in Massachusetts that resulted in violence provoked state Rep. Christopher Markey, D-9th Bristol, to create legislation to address the conduct.

“I think this would be a significant deterrent for the young men and women that are doing these things,” Markey said in an interview on Friday.

He said street takeovers can be “very frightening to a neighborhood” and are often motivated by “pure entertainment” or the “thrill of it.” The crackdown from the legislation would have more consequences than what is currently written in Massachusetts law, Markey told MassLive.

The street takeovers — in Boston, Randolph, Middleborough and Fall River over the span of just over three hours — led to violent confrontations, with a police cruiser catching on fire from fireworks in Bo