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A66 crash sparks crackdown
A head-on crash on the A66 in South Bank on Saturday 22 August killed PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, along with all five people in the Volkswagen Passat, including Michael Cahill, 23, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, Theo Rae, 17, and Cole Worthy, 17.
“PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed.”
The BBC said the Passat had been pursued by police and that the chain of events that ended on the A66 is believed to have begun eight miles away in Acklam, where a car was rammed into the bay window of Cole Worthy's father, Gye Worthy, exposing the room inside.
In Middlesbrough and the surrounding area, the BBC reported that more than 20 people had been arrested as part of a wider operation into what police called "serious and organised crime".
Chronicle Live said the National Crime Agency joined Cleveland Police to investigate suspected organised crime bosses behind the gangland feud linked to the A66 crash, with the total number of arrests reaching 27.
Chronicle Live also said Worthy's father's residence in Acklam was targeted in a ram-raid by a Volvo XC60 at 3am, 40 minutes prior to the A66 collision.
Arrests, bail, and distrust
In Grangetown, the BBC described a police operation after a pellet hit a member of its team and said young people told reporters they did not trust police, with the driver saying, "They're saying there are gangs, but there are no gangs,".
The Northern Echo said four men arrested on Thursday August 27 on Kingsley Road, Grangetown, were released on conditional bail, after Cleveland Police stopped their vehicle at about 10.30pm and arrested men aged 35, 25, 40 and 21.
The Northern Echo reported that those men were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage intended to endanger life, arson and possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply, and it said the arson allegation concerned a caravan set alight on Atlee Road at about 5.30am on Wednesday August 26.
Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Fox told the Northern Echo that "This latest disruptive activity now brings the total number of arrests to 24 since the investigation commenced," and he added that the force would not stop pursuing those involved in serious and organised crime.
Sky News said a further seven men were arrested, bringing the total number of arrests to 24, and it reported that the 23-year-old was arrested on suspicion of threats to kill.
Violence and ongoing risk
Beyond the A66 crash, Cleveland Police investigations also covered a house fire in Grangetown that killed Natalie McDonald, 34, and her seven-year-old niece Valentina Foster, and Sky News reported that police said on Friday they were not linking the house fire with the A66 crash.
“Police said on Friday afternoon that they are not linking the house fire with the A66 crash.”
The BBC said the attack in Acklam was far from Middlesbrough's only recent case of a vehicle being used as a weapon, noting that back in May a tractor was driven into a house on Priory Road and that Cleveland Police has investigated at least two further rammings since the A66 crash.
In County Durham, Sky News reported that cars were set on fire at a vigil in Haswell to remember Michael Cahill, 23, and it said Durham Constabulary called the crowd’s behaviour "completely unacceptable".
The Northern Echo said the wider operation began after the head-on crash on the A66 at South Bank in the early hours of Saturday August 22, and it reported that the five in the car travelling on the wrong side of the road may have had links to “serious and organised criminal activity".
Sky News added that more than 200 extra officers had been drafted in to help Cleveland Police after multiple violent incidents, while it also reported that two men were arrested on suspicion of murder in relation to the house fire.