Reprinted from the Oakland Tribune
Up to 180 people involved in Emeryville bar brawl
By Harry Harris
EMERYVILLE -- A brawl at Kitty's bar early Friday involving up to 180 people spilled onto the streets, prompting overwhelmed Emeryville police who were being punched and having bottles thrown at them to call for mutual aid before order finally was restored, authorities said.
"It was an ugly scene," Emeryville Sgt. Fred Dauer said.
One Emeryville officer was injured, and at least two people were arrested. At least 30 officers from Oakland, Berkeley, the California Highway Patrol and UC Berkeley police responded to assist the five Emeryville officers on the scene, that department's entire contingent of officers on duty.
The chaos began about 1:25 a.m. when acting Emeryville Sgt. Richard Lee was flagged down by security guards at the bar at 6702 Hollis St. The guards reported a large fight inside involving patrons with knives and guns.
Lee observed up to 180 people inside fighting with bottles and other weapons, police said, and called for the four other Emeryville police officers working to respond.
The fighting spilled onto the street, and police saw numerous people being attacked and left bloodied. As Emeryville police were trying to break up the fighting, they were attacked by the crowd, police said.
Three officers were assaulted, including one who suffered minor injuries when he was punched in the face.
When the unruly crowd began throwing bottles at the officers and tried to free some brawlers who had been
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detained, a call for mutual aid was made and the other police agencies responded.
"It was very nice to get that response," Dauer said.
With the help of the extra officers, the crowd finally was dispersed and the situation declared under control at 1:45 a.m.
Dauer said that even though the security guards reported seeing guns, police heard no gunfire and there were no reports of anyone having been shot.
Dauer said there have been problems at the bar before, but nothing like Friday's incident. He said the bar may have been having a theme night of some kind, but it was not known what touched off the fight.
"It started small and grew very quickly," he said.
No one could be reached at the establishment Friday morning for comment.
Police Break Up Bar Brawl in Emeryville
ReplyDeleteEMERYVILLE (KRON) – Two people are in custody in connection with a bar brawl that took place in Emeryville early Friday. More than 30 police officers were sent to the scene.
Guards told police the fight started at about 1:30 a.m. at Kitty’s Bar. They reported seeing customers with knives and guns, police said. However police say there were no reports of shots.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found approximately 180 people fighting with bottles and other weapons and had to call for backup.
Officers from Oakland, Berkeley and U.C. Berkeley police as well as the California Highway Patrol were sent to the scene to help Emeryville police.
Three officers sustained minor injuries.
(Copyright 2011, KRON 4, All rights reserved.)
There goes their Caberet Permit!!!! Bye Bye Kitty's!
ReplyDeleteHow much does it cost the residents to keep the peace--provide police coverage--at Kitty's and the Shopping Mall? I hear that it is very expensive
ReplyDeleteStatistically speaking, Emeryville is a very dangerous place to live. Even without the Bay Street Mall and Kittys, the crime rate is astronomical. Look at the City Data website or the FBI crime Data and the numbers are very telling. Emeryville has a higher rate of violent crime than Oakland or Richmond per Capita or resident. Example: #6 out of the top 101 cities with the most robberies, #12 out of the top 101 cities with the most Auto thefts, #14 out of the top 101 cities with the most thefts and #31 out of the top 101 least safe cities in the Nation! The City has 3.93 Police Officers per 1000 residents and spends approximately 10 million a year on Police protection. Compare this number to similar size Cities such as Albany or Piedmont and it's double or triple what they spend. Even with a relatively heavy Police presence per resident, the crime rate is one of the worst in the nation. Specific dollar amounts spent to deal with Bay Street or Kitty's can be found in the Monthly Progress reports issued by the Police Department on the City's website.
ReplyDeleteHardly surprising.
ReplyDeleteAbout 8 years ago there was a huge fight in front of the high school that included more than just students, it was family and community members as well (the students called in some backup for the fight).
So, there were about 15-20 people fighting in the street in front of the high school, and good old Emery PD had 4 officers on the scene...who stood there, watched, and did nothing. At some point a gun fell out of a purse and they arrested that woman, but that was the extent of their 'policing'.
So it's no wonder they had to call for help, they probably had no idea what to do.