{"id":306855,"date":"2026-06-14T03:09:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T03:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/306855\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T03:09:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T03:09:25","slug":"special-event-zone-underway-in-downtown-tampa-as-police-combat-teen-takeovers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/306855\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Special event zone\u2019 underway in downtown Tampa as police combat \u2018teen takeovers\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) \u2014 The Tampa Police Department has deployed additional officers to Curtis Hixon Park and other areas of downtown Tampa to combat planned teen takeover events.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cIf you choose to participate in an unsanctioned gathering, a street takeover, or a large crowd event that creates unsafe conditions, damaged property, or blocks roadways, or violates the law \u2026 you will be held accountable,\u201d said Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a class=\"link  yahoo-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/us\/articles\/ohio-police-chief-arrested-pinellas-210736374.html\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Ohio police chief arrested in Pinellas County on 70 counts of sex crimes: officials;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Ohio police chief arrested in Pinellas County on 70 counts of sex crimes&quot;}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Ohio police chief arrested in Pinellas County on 70 counts of sex crimes: officials <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Bercaw said that areas of downtown will be considered \u201cspecial event zones,\u201d meaning higher fines for traffic violations, potential increased charges for criminal acts, and the possibility of impounding vehicles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cTeens, make safe choices, respect the law, and respect the community. Help us ensure the summer is safe for everyone,\u201d Bercaw said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The special event zone will last through the weekend, as TPD says other potential events have been planned.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfla.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.&quot;}\" class=\"link \"> For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) \u2014 The Tampa Police Department has deployed additional officers to Curtis Hixon Park and other&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306856,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[26411,31941,6184,16569,135,137,136,3793],"class_list":["post-306855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-chief-lee-bercaw","tag-curtis-hixon-park","tag-downtown-tampa","tag-special-event","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-tampa-police-department"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}