Two-minute impact
Montgomery County Sheriff Wesley Doolittle announced the partnership with 23 law enforcement agencies, including the Houston Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety, all Montgomery County constable offices, the Harris County Sheriff's Office and the Conroe Police Department.
"We're going to have this task force running Friday through Sunday, so we want to have a clear message that any illegal behavior will result in swift action, not just from our office, but from all the partner agencies and from our district attorney," Doolittle said.
The task force is centered around the annual Lone Star Throwdown, a statewide car show held at the Lone Star Convention Center from Feb. 21-23 that features a large number of modified vehicles. According to Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon, the event held last year ended in a number of incidents, including:
- Street racing
- Street and parking lot takeovers
- Public and private property damage
"When an individual registers for one of our events, there are certain rules that a registrant and even vendors are to abide by while at the event," Lone Star Throwdown representatives said in a statement online. "These rules are put in place to ensure the safety of all attendees at the event. We as an event do not condone any behavior that puts the attendees at our event in danger or causes property damage to the property [where] the event is held. With that being said, we will never condone or promote the behavior we don’t allow at the event to happen outside of the event."
In their words
- "[Lone Star Throwdown] attracts people from all over the nation," Doolittle said. "This brings economic benefits to our agency, but it also brings trouble to the people that are organizing the events. They have pure intentions to have fun, to enjoy the community, and we welcome that. It's the after actions, the things that take place there that we want to combat."
- "It's our honor and privilege to be a part of this multiagency initiative and to recognize the importance of collaboration and law enforcement," HPD Executive Assistant Chief Alvaro Guzman said. "The Houston Police Department has seen the benefits of partnering and collaborating with our law enforcement partners, not just our local agencies, but agencies throughout the state of Texas. In today's ever-evolving landscape, crime and illegal activities know no boundaries, which is why working together across agencies, jurisdictions and disciplines is not just beneficial, but it's essential."
- "The community can expect to see troopers in the area looking for dangerous violations, including racing and other clearly unsafe acts," DPS Major Terry Truett said. "Troopers will work with our DPS special agents to address criminal acts and take appropriate enforcement action."
