Video shows Boston police cruiser in flames during street ‘takeover’

A video online shows a Boston police cruiser engulfed in flames in the middle of the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Tremont Street in the early hours of Sunday morning.

A YouTube account named External Affairs Porter captured when firefighters arrived on scene to extinguish the flames as huge plumes of smoke drifted off into the night.

One street is lined with several cruisers with their lights flashing as at least two ladder trucks arrive to douse the flames.

“There were guys shooting fireworks at the cruisers,” the person behind the lens tells a passerby who stops to ask about what happened.

The video shows the aftermath of a recent example of a nationwide trend called street “takeovers,” a phenomenon fueled by social media that leads to large-scale gatherings of unruly crowds that disrupt traffic and often overwhelm law enforcement.

Multiple such incidents happened this past weekend, with the one in Boston involving more than 100 people who shot fireworks at cruisers and struck them with cones, poles and other objects.

Two men from Rhode Island were arrested at the Boston takeover, and Mayor Michelle Wu blamed “outside individuals” for sowing disorder and bringing “dangerous behavior” to the city.

“A strong message from the criminal justice system is needed,” a prosecutor said at their arraignments on Monday.

The prosecutor added that since both men are from Rhode Island, they have a “lack of ties to the community,” which contributes to their criminal activity and “disregard to local government” and city residents.

One man posted a $500 bail; the other was held on a $1,000 bail. Officials had originally asked for $15,000 and $20,000 bail amounts.

Similarly, fireworks were fired at a police cruiser in Randolph. And in Middleborough, a Dodge power unit drove at a responding officer to a takeover event in a commercial parking lot.

A fourth takeover event from the weekend, this time in Fall River, saw hundreds of people blocking roads throughout the city with multiple reports of reckless driving and street racing.

No officers were reported injured during these events.

MassLive has requested police video footage from the Middleborough Police Department, which was denied based on an ongoing investigation. Records requests with the three other departments are pending.

What happened in Boston?

Before the police cruiser caught fire, police said the cruiser was surrounded by the crowd, and several members of the crowd jumped on its hood.

This prevented the officer inside — who was driving in circles, attempting to get away from the crowd — from being able to see, prosecutors said in court.

The officer escaped their cruiser after it began to fill with “sparks and smoke,” and other officers jumped in to help with tasers and “unholstered” guns, the prosecutor said.

The two men arrested in connection with the street takeover were Julian Bowers, 18, of Cumberland, Rhode Island, and William Cantwell, 19, of Warwick, Rhode Island.

They were charged with malicious destruction of property over $1,200, disorderly conduct, assault and battery on a police officer and resisting arrest.

Cantwell was also charged with possession of Class D, marijuana, after police searched his bag and found two packages of cannabis edibles, according to the release.

The two young men appeared side by side in Roxbury District Court for their arraignments on Monday afternoon.

The judge listened to a short statement of facts on the case, where prosecutors described how a Boston police officer was inside their cruiser when it was anthem with fireworks “from all angles” and filled with smoke.

Bowers was arrested after a foot chase from the scene, after police said he was seen throwing objects at the cruiser. Cantwell was also chased on foot by police after he was seen smashing an orange pole off the cruiser several times, police said.

Boston police sent more units to the scene and were able to disperse the crowd using department-issued equipment. Boston firefighters extinguished the flaming cruiser, which was eventually destroyed.

The next court date for Cantwell and Bowers is Nov. 5.