Posted on 06/20/2007 11:04:00 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
The city's Juneteenth festivities were marred by violence Tuesday, after a man was pulled from his car and beaten and a police officer injured while trying to break up a large-scale fight after the festival let out.
It was the second year in a row that police in riot gear were used to disperse the crowds.
While the event was largely peaceful and calm during the day, spurts of chaos ensued as police in riot gear attempted to disperse large groups of rowdy festival goers who ignored orders to leave, said Anne E. Schwartz, Milwaukee Police Department spokeswoman.
"During the day crowd was very well behaved and everything was fine throughout the afternoon. Unfortunately at closing time everything came unhinged and there were some problems," Schwartz said.
After the festival winded down around 6 p.m. a large group of festival goers leaving the area attacked at least two cars, one of which drivers was pulled from his vehicle and beaten near N. 1st and W. Burleigh, Schwartz said.
Footage captured by WTMJ-TV (Channel 4) showed a large group of people who surrounded and jumped on a car stuck in traffic and smashed out its windows. That car's driver escaped unharmed, the station reported.
Next the crowd targeted another vehicle, smashing in the hood and trunk and shattering its windshield, the station reported.
The driver got out and was attacked, being thrown to the ground and kicked in the head, Schwartz said.
Around the same time a large fight started in the area between groups of girls and then grew larger as more people got involved, she added.
Police in riot gear attempted to disperse the crowd who resisted, Schwartz said.
An officer wearing a face shield who tried to break up the fight was hit by one of the girls in the face. The shield shattered and the officer was cut by the shards, requiring stitches, Schwartz said.
Police in riot gear were called in at the end of last year's Juneteenth festival to break up a disturbance involving a group of people who tore down a tent and used its poles to beat each other.
And in 2002 a group of people at the festival - which commemorates the day in 1865 when word of freedom made it to slaves in Texas - began throwing sticks and bottles at uniformed officers.
Schwartz said it is unfortunate that the festival's reputation was again damaged by the acts of certain individuals.
"It seems that the trouble happens when we get the large groups leaving at closing time and ruining the festival for everyone," Schwartz said.
You should have said, "The brothers be rioting again?"
Different phrase but...GMTA!
I guess I’m not fluent yet.
Summertime version of Kwanzaa?...
Oh those WELS Swedes. I knew them well. But hardly like this. Too much Oof Dah from the Lutefisk? Now if it were WELS Germans like myself (at one time...and that's an old story) I'd say it was too much Edelweis mixed with undercooked kraut & brats. But then, that always tended to slow us down some.
I haven't heard so much commotion from my adopted state since Sven & Lars interviewed for a job at the foundry.
The interviewer asked how they could have worked together in the old country, since one said he'd been a diesel fitter and the other made women's pantie hose.
Sven said: "Vell, dat's easy. I made de pantie hose, then gave 'em to Lars who'd say 'ya, diesel fitter'".
I have to stop this Evelyn Wood stuff. I read you to say that you weren’t “flatulent” yet.
Yeesh
That’s after they both got fired as tasters at the M&Ms factory.
They spent all their time trying to peel them.
If they could pass a grammar class they would be psychology or sociology majors. On the other hand, if journalism proves too daunting, they change their majors to education.
As the last place where the Emancipation Proclamation was read, it deserves to be noted.
There was also a Juneteenth parade down Congress Avenue on Friday.
Whatsup wit dat?
juneteenth is a quagmire!
What caused them to attack?
I emailed the news director of a TV station with a story about it linked from DRUDGE asking the same question. He wrote back that the “driver apparently honked his horn or told them not to touch his car, but we’ll probably never know...”
Huh. These “teens” today!
Chickens; coming home to roost.
Hispanic.
Let me guess who these “people” are.
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